Jewish vs Ukrainian Borscht vs Polish Barszcz

Part of our Heritage Kitchen Glossary – short guides to the dishes, ingredients and techniques of Eastern European cooking.

Ukrainian borscht, Polish barszcz czerwony and Jewish beet borscht all start from the beet and come from the same part of Europe, yet they ended up quite different in the bowl. Ukrainian borscht is a meal in itself, Polish barszcz is a clear ruby broth, and Jewish borscht was made in two versions: one for meat meals and one that could take sour cream.

Three soups, one beet

Ukrainian borscht is the hearty one: a thick soup on a meat broth, best made on the bone, with cabbage, potatoes, carrots and beets, finished with sour cream and dill. In 2022 UNESCO inscribed the culture of Ukrainian borscht cooking on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. There is also a lighter version, with a lenten pot for Christmas Eve, for anyone who wants less fat in the bowl.

Polish barszcz czerwony goes the other way. Beets, root vegetables and dried mushrooms are simmered into a broth, strained out, and the clear liquid is combined with zakwas buraczany, beet juice fermented five to seven days ahead. No cabbage or potatoes go into the soup itself. On Christmas Eve it is served in a bowl, or in some families a teacup, with mushroom-filled uszka dumplings; the rest of the year it is everyday food, eaten with sour cream.

Jewish beet borscht was shaped by what else was on the table. Ashkenazi cooks made hearty meat versions on chicken or beef broth, eaten without sour cream, and lighter vegetarian ones: beets simmered in water, soured with lemon juice and softened with a little sugar. Those could take sour cream, which turned the red soup pink. Jewish borscht is served hot or cold.

Same name, different histories

In Polish, barszcz first meant hogweed, a wild plant, and the first soup of that name was hogweed soured like sauerkraut. The first recorded recipe dates to 1580, and the beet version appears in cookbooks around 1735. In Ukrainian the name sounds close to борщівник, the name of the plant, and many believe the soup was named after it, but there is no firm evidence for that. A history of the dish published by Їzhakultura calls the idea most probably a modern invention, since hogweed was never used in borshch, and places the dish’s invention most likely in the 17th century. A 2021 Ukrainska Pravda report dates the first recorded mention of the word to 1556. The first Yiddish records of Jews cooking borsh soup date from the 1500s.

The table each soup was cooked for shaped it as well. Wigilia, the Polish Christmas Eve supper, is meatless and often starts with clear barszcz. Jewish cooks kept the meat version and the sour-cream version apart. Ukrainian borshch is cooked in meat or fish stock, with a meatless pot for Christmas Eve.

The English word “borscht,” with its extra “t,” comes from the Yiddish spelling. Eastern European Jews began arriving in America in large numbers in the 1880s and brought the soup with them, and the Catskill Mountains resorts that Jewish families favored came to be called the Borscht Belt.

Which one should you make?

For a hearty one-bowl dinner, make Ukrainian borscht, or the lighter version if you want less fat. For a Christmas Eve starter, Polish barszcz czerwony with uszka. For a soup you can serve hot or chilled, and keep pareve for a meat meal by leaving out the sour cream, make Jewish beet borscht. The beet is the same in all three; what changes is the table each one is cooked for.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Ukrainian borscht, Polish barszcz, and Jewish borscht?

Ukrainian borscht is a thick, hearty soup on a meat broth with cabbage and potatoes. Polish barszcz czerwony is a clear, strained broth soured with fermented zakwas buraczany and served without cabbage or potatoes. Jewish beet borscht comes in a meat version eaten without sour cream and a lighter vegetarian version, made with water, that can take sour cream.

Why is Polish barszcz clear while Ukrainian borscht is thick?

Barszcz czerwony is built from a separately simmered vegetable broth, strained clear, then combined with fermented beet juice. Ukrainian borscht keeps the cooked vegetables in the pot and is built on a meat broth, which is what makes it thick.

What are the two kinds of Jewish borscht?

Ashkenazi cooks made a meat version on chicken or beef broth, eaten without sour cream, and a vegetarian version of beets simmered in water with lemon juice and a little sugar. The vegetarian one could take sour cream, which turned it pink.

Where does the word borscht come from?

The English spelling, with its extra t, comes from the Yiddish spelling. Eastern European Jews brought the soup to America when they began arriving in large numbers in the 1880s, and the Catskill resorts their families favored came to be called the Borscht Belt.

Which of the three is a holiday soup?

Each has its own holiday. Polish barszcz czerwony with uszka often opens Wigilia, the meatless Christmas Eve supper. For Sviat Vechir, Ukrainian Christmas Eve, borscht is made without meat or dairy. Jewish beet borscht is closely tied to Passover, and with sour cream it also suits Shavuot, when it is customary to eat dairy.

Jewish Borscht vs Ukrainian Borscht vs Polish Barszcz: Three Beet Soups, One Root