Some smells carry a whole life within them. Anyone who has stepped into a dacha on a cool autumn day while a pot of borscht bubbled quietly on the stove knows exactly what this means: that warm, earthy scent of beetroot, cabbage and dill that settles into your woollen jumper and says – you have arrived.
Borscht is more than a soup. It is memory in ruby red. And the best part: almost everything that belongs in this pot can be grown in your own garden or on the balcony. That is exactly what this article is about – the eventful history of borscht, our recipe, and how a handful of seeds in spring becomes a steaming plate in autumn.
A Soup With History – and With Stories
From Hogweed to Beetroot
Hard to believe: the original borscht was not red at all. Its name goes back to common hogweed (Old Slavic bŭrščь), whose sour leaves and stalks were fermented and cooked into a tart soup in the Middle Ages – a poor man’s dish that filled you up when nothing else was there.
Only later did beetroot take over the leading role – transforming the modest herb soup into the deep red national dish we know today. With the beet came cabbage, carrots, onions and potatoes, and the stopgap became a feast.
One Plate, a Thousand Family Recipes
Ask ten families about the «one true» borscht and you will get twelve answers. With beef or vegetarian with mushroom stock. With beans or without. With a spoonful of sugar, a dash of vinegar, a secret pinch nobody talks about. In Ukraine they say: every housewife has her own borscht – and it was precisely this diversity that UNESCO had in mind when it declared Ukrainian borscht cooking culture an intangible cultural heritage in 2022.
Because yes, people even argued over borscht – who does this soup belong to: Ukraine, Russia, Poland? The most honest answer comes from the pot itself: borscht belongs to those who cook it, share it and pass it on. From Kyiv to Kraków, from the dacha to Germany.
Why Borscht Tastes Better on the Second Day
All borscht cooks know one secret: yesterday’s soup beats today’s. Overnight, the flavours of beetroot, cabbage and herbs merge into a round, deep balance of sweet and sour. That is why every dacha follows one rule: always cook a big pot. For today, for tomorrow – and for the neighbour who happens to drop by.
From Seed to Soup Pot: Grow Your Own Borscht
What makes borscht special: it is a true garden dish. Everything that goes into it grows in a single bed – and from your own harvest it tastes incomparably more intense than anything from the supermarket shelf. Here is how to plan your borscht bed:
🔴 Beetroot – the Heart of Borscht
Without it, no ruby red. We recommend two proven varieties:
- Beetroot Bona – round, reliable, wonderfully sweet and earthy. The classic for the soup pot.
- Beetroot Cylindra – cylindrical and therefore perfect for even batons and slices. If you preserve a lot, you will love it.
Growing tip: Sow directly into the bed from mid-April to June. Beetroot is uncomplicated – it likes loose soil and even moisture. From September you harvest roots that store in the cellar for months: borscht supplies for the whole winter.
🥬 White Cabbage – the Soul
- White Cabbage Brunswick – an old, flat-round variety with large, firm heads. Tender leaves that soften in the soup without falling apart – and ideal for homemade sauerkraut on the side.
Growing tip: Start indoors from March, plant out from May. Brunswick needs space and rich soil, but rewards you with heads you can cook from all autumn long.
🥕 Carrots – the Sweetness
- Carrot Nantes 5 – the tender, almost coreless classic with fine sweetness.
- Carrot Korala – strong in flavour and an excellent keeper, ideal for the late harvest.
Growing tip: Sow from March into fine, stone-free soil. Dacha insider tip: sow carrots and dill together in companion planting – the two like each other.
🌿 Dill & Parsley – the Green Finale
A borscht without fresh dill is like a dacha without a samovar – something is simply missing.
- Dill Goldkrone – rich in aroma and leaf. Sprinkled over the soup just before serving, it unfolds its full flavour.
- Parsley Moss Curled 2 or Parsley Festival 68 – for fresh, green depth.
Growing tip: Resow dill every 3–4 weeks and you will have fresh greens from May to October. And the dill flowers? They go into the pickle jar later.
💡 Bed schedule for the borscht year: March – start cabbage indoors, sow carrots · April – sow beetroot and dill · May – plant out cabbage · September/October – harvest, store... and fetch the biggest pot from the cupboard.
The Recipe: Borscht Like From the Dacha
Serves 6 · approx. 45 min preparation · approx. 1.5 h cooking time (with meat)
Ingredients
For the broth:
- 800 g beef on the bone (e.g. shank) – or vegetarian: 2 L strong vegetable broth with a handful of dried mushrooms
- 2.5 L water
- 2 bay leaves, 5 allspice berries, salt
For the soup:
- 3 medium beetroots (approx. 400 g)
- ¼ head of white cabbage (approx. 400 g), finely shredded
- 2 carrots, coarsely grated
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 3 potatoes, diced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1–2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- oil or clarified butter for frying
- salt, pepper
To serve:
- smetana (or sour cream/crème fraîche)
- a large bunch of fresh dill and parsley
- dark bread or pampushky (garlic rolls)
Method
- Start the broth: Put the meat in cold water, bring to the boil, skim off the foam. Add bay leaves, allspice and salt, then simmer gently for 1.5 hours. Remove the meat, take it off the bone, cut into pieces.
- The zazharka (the heart of it all!): Fry the onions in oil until translucent, add the carrots and the grated or batonned beetroot. Braise gently for 10 minutes, then stir in tomato paste, sugar and vinegar and braise for another 5 minutes. The vinegar is not an extra – the acid fixes the beet’s bright red. Without it, the borscht turns pale.
- Layer: Add the potatoes to the boiling broth; after 10 minutes, the cabbage. Cook for another 10 minutes.
- Unite: Add the zazharka and the meat to the pot and let it steep gently for just 5 more minutes – the beet should keep its colour, not boil away.
- Season: Stir in pressed garlic and find the sweet-sour balance with salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar. Lid on, heat off, let it rest for 15 minutes – this moment makes the difference.
- Serve: Fill deep plates, place a generous spoonful of smetana in the middle, scatter a handful of chopped dill and parsley on top. Serve with dark bread.
Dacha wisdom: Cook a double pot. Yesterday’s borscht – briefly reheated, fresh dill on top – is the real reward.
Vegetarian variant: Make the broth from dried porcini and vegetables and add white beans at the end – that is how many families traditionally cook it during Lent.
Your Borscht Begins With a Seed
The best borscht is the one whose story begins in spring – with a seed packet in your hand and soil under your fingernails. Everything you need for it, you will find with us:
🌱 The borscht bed to replant: Beetroot Bona · Beetroot Cylindra · White Cabbage Brunswick · Carrot Nantes 5 · Carrot Korala · Dill Goldkrone · Parsley Festival 68 – all in our shop.
Smachnoho – enjoy! And once you have cooked your borscht: we would love to see a photo. Write to us at info@nasch-datscha.de.
📖 Related from our blog
- 🌿 Dill, parsley & co. – the soul of the kitchen – the green finale of every borscht
- 🥬 Kapusta – make your own sauerkraut – your Brunswick cabbage can do more
- 🍛 Uzbek plov – the next feast from the cauldron
