Beetroot Diversity (18 different varieties)

[potager]

This year, I had a project that was almost too much. I decided to grow as many different beetroot varieties as I could find seeds for. So now I have been digging up 18 varieties.

Wanna see? - take a look at my beetroot diversity photo.

Now, we're going to spend some time to figure out which varieties are best for what porpose. Well, one thing we know: to make borscht we need some red ones

Does anyone have experience to share?

[Andrey_BY]

Nice photo, Brian. But I can't see Russian/Soviet beet varieties... We have a lot of them, but only in classic bordouax colour. The most famous Russian variey is Bordo 237.

And you can make borshch from any coloured beetroots

[potager]

Bordo 237 - never heard about that one. It's not available here in Denmark as far as I know.

Can you tell more about it and it's history & origin?

Regarding the colour of borscht: Really?

[Andrey_BY]

Bordo-237 is one of the most famous and popular table beet varieties in former Soviet Union countries and almost unknown outside unfortunately.



*mid-early to midseason (60-115 days), sweet dark-red globe roots of 250-500 g and green foliage, good keeper in a moderate cold storage place; prolific and draught tolerant variety. Russian pre-1945 CV bred by VNIISSOK. I've listed it in SSE Yearbook 2007 and will list for 2008 Edition.

You can find more info about this beet variety here:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ighlight=bordo
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ight=bordo+237

Traditional borshch is usually red-bordouax, but there are some other coloured beets for experiments, of course

[feldon30]

Have you got a decent borscht recipe that doesn't include potatoes, meat, etc.?

My impression of borscht is that it is beets that are lightly pickled, but of course a jar of pickled beets has the wrong flavor.

[FlipTX]

I once made a soup with beets, sweet onion, and carrots, all of which were roasted with olive oil. I pureed it with vegetable stock and a dash of balsamic vinegar syrup. I only made it once because I'm so supremely clumsy that I ended up painting myself and half the kitchen with beet puree. Maybe I'll try it with white or golden beets next time...

[potager]

Originally Posted by feldon30

Have you got a decent borscht recipe that doesn't include potatoes, meat, etc.?

My impression of borscht is that it is beets that are lightly pickled, but of course a jar of pickled beets has the wrong flavor.

When it come to borscht, "decent" indeed include meat, potatoes etc. You even have to add tomatoes

You may have some language problems, but as you can see in favourite borscht recipe borscht does include lots of different ingredients other than beet

And just for the record: the beets should NOT be pickled, not even lightly!

[potager]

Originally Posted by FlipTX

Maybe I'll try it with white or golden beets next time...

You'd better choose the white ones

[Andrey_BY]

The real borshch (not borscht! ) includes only fresh beets and other contents according to different recipes

[feldon30]

When I go to a Jewish deli and order borscht, I get a bowl of julienned beets in a beet-colored liquid. It's served cold with sour cream.

I am growing golden beets this fall and think it would be a real trip to make my own borscht in this same vein.


I realize that is totally different from Russian borshch which is a meat, potato, and beet soup.

[Andrey_BY]

That's not a real borshch at all, feldon30! It's a Jewish kind of old good Russian Kholodnik - a cold soup from beets or/and sorrel with other ingredients with sour cream You know there is a quite big Russian diaspora in Israel

You can see some Kholodnik (Khaladnik in Belarusian language) recipes here:
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=6804

[potager]

Originally Posted by Andrey_BY

The real borshch (not borscht! ) includes only fresh beets and other contents according to different recipes

Hmmm ... borshch ... I guess, I'll have to correct that next week, then.

Where do I find a recipe for "real borshch"?

[Andrey_BY]

Brian, you can find it in my thread about Belarusian Cousine in Recipe area (the link in a bit up here)

[potager]

Hi Andrey

Thanks for the pointer. Interesting to see so many different recipes for Борщ. I also got some information about the name from a one of my seed saver friends who is married to a guy with roots in Sibiria. He could tell that borscht, borshch, borsht, borsch, borsjtj etc. are different transcribtions of Борщ.

Also he would not say which recipe was "the right one" as this soup can be varied in many different ways, but do remember the beets

That's just food I like, when you start cooking "by saying hmmm, let's see, what do we have today"....

[Andrey_BY]

Brian, yes, Борщ is borshch in Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian languages. There are some differences in its recipes in our cousines, but all recipes contain beets of course. My favorite is Ukrainian borshch