Borsch

The name is pronounced chy to rhyme with try and the soup is similar to some of the borschs but more cabbagy.

In it [The Best of Rus»ian Cooking] you’ll find the hearty fare long associated with Rus­sian meals — the pirogs and piroshki, stroganoff, tvorojniki (cottage cheese cakes), Kotleti (meatballs), borschs, sturgeon steaks, tortes, blinis, pilafs, stuffed cabbage leaves, cabbage soups, the zakooska tidbits eaten before dinner, etc.

Of the making of borschs, there is no end. And champions defend their favorites. In our poll, the Polish cabbage borsch won out over the Russian but it was close.

Ukrainian borsch—commonly spelled “borscht” outside of Ukraine—is the classic, bright-red, slightly sour beet soup, chock-full of vegetables (and sometimes meat) and topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill.