Ingredients
32 oz beets, diced canned
3 cup water
1 celery stalk
1 carrot, quartered
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/4 tsp peppercorns, whole
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 dairy sour cream or dill sprigs
Directions
Drain beetsm reserving liquid. Set beets aside. In a large saucepan
combine beet liquid, water, celery, carrot, bay leaf, garlic,
peppercorns and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer
15 minutes. Remove vsegetables and seasonings with a slotted spoon.
Stir in reserved diced beets, lemon juice and sugar. Continue cooking
10 minutes or until heated through. Serve topped with sour cream
and/or dill sprigs. Makes 8 servings.
Tops Grocery Store Ad flyer. November 12, 1991 "Polish Christmas Eve"
Servings: 8 servings
Christmas Borscht Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Christmas; Holiday; Russian; Soup
The History of Recipes
We can track the history of written recipes way back into distant history, in fact as far back into history as early Egypt, and potentially, even further back. However, in the main part, these old records were just basic hieroglyphic recipes for preparing meals.
In fact, the most ancient recipe found, according to historians are a few clay tablets in Sumerian which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel exhilarated and blissful. Progressing into Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius assembled a number of documents showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by wealthy roman citizens. In his works, he describes how the meals were split into hors d`oeuvres, entrees and dessert, a style of dining still practiced today. Additionally, he informs us how the Romans were skilled in the use of many spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example basil, rue and dill. Later on, there were some books which were published in the fourteenth century - one book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these books are nothing to do with the indian food that is popular today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals on the tables of the rich and powerful of that time. Later on in the 1400s, knights returning from the crusades brought back a variety of foods and herbs from the Middle-East, including spices like coriander, basil and rosemary. These new herbs and spices created a surge in publications on food, many of which are now in academic collections. For the next few years, the upper-class families of the West strove to serve the most extravagent meals, and as a result the best chefs and their recipes were greatly in demand. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the 1800s that fine cookery and recipe collections became popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, testing, and recording recipes of the day. By the advent of the twentieth century, cookery publications were greatly in demand mostly as a result of increased literacy, people having increased leisure time and having more money. The introduction of the TV brings us TV chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of the internet, permitting everyone to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on this recipe site. |
We hope you enjoy this Christmas Borscht recipe.
