Have you ever wondered why homemade borscht can never compare to restaurant borscht?
It seems like you put the same ingredients: beets, cabbage, potatoes...
But chefs know the truth: carrots are the main enemy of real borscht. Yes, those same carrots that you have been crumbling into the pot for years turned out to be unnecessary.
It's all about its hidden sweetness. Our grandmothers added it out of habit, but traditional Ukrainian borscht is not a vegetable stew. Its soul is a balance of sour, spicy and smoked.
The carrots disrupt this harmony, adding caramel notes that flatten the flavor.
Imagine: you are drinking an expensive wine, and someone mixes a spoonful of sugar into the glass. It's like carrots ruining borscht.
What can I replace it with? The answer is simple - parsley root. It does not add sweetness, but it enriches the broth with a slight spiciness and the aroma of forest grass.
Peel the root, cut into thin strips, fry with onions in lard and add to the soup 20 minutes before it is ready.
You will immediately notice how the depth of taste changes: the broth will become rich, and the aftertaste will be clean, without a cloying aftertaste.
If you don't have parsley root on hand, try celery. Its earthy hue will enhance the "winter" character of the borscht, but it's important not to overdo it. Half a small root per pot is enough, otherwise the soup will become bitter.
Another secret is to avoid tomato paste. Instead, use pickled beetroot brine. It will give the necessary acidity and a bright color that does not fade even after a day.
Just add a couple of spoons of brine to the broth along with the beets, and the borscht will sparkle with new colors.
But what if you want something sweet? Roast the beets with a spoonful of vinegar and a pinch of sugar - this way you will get natural caramelization without any foreign impurities.
Forget about carrots, and your borscht will stop being “just soup.” It will turn into a dish that will make your guests ask for more.
Try it yourself: next time you want to cook borscht, hide the carrots away. Instead, use parsley root, add a generous amount of smoked ribs, and don't forget a spoonful of sour cream with garlic.
The result will shock you. It will be the same borscht that is written about in culinary blogs - thick, aromatic, with a slight spiciness and zero hint of banality.
