Katie Hageman

Ms.Daluga

 Frying Nemo Blog post #3

20 April 2015

                                                            Beets and Borscht

            Nowadays  when you  hear the word beets you usually relate the word back to music as a descriptor or headphone company. But In Russia beets are a traditional food used in dishes daily. Beets are one of Russia’s main ingredients in meals and can be seen served during any season. Russia is commonly known for harvesting sugar beets which are mainly used for their sugar. In Russia, sugar beets are mainly harvested in Krasnodar which is in the North Caucasas.The second major region of Russia is the Central Black Earth region which is South of Moscow. Link to picture of the regions :http://www.sugarpub.com/features/first-post. The Sugar beet production has gradually increasing in recent years. The cold weather and competing spring planted grains have lower spring beets production rate.

Continuing  on with the Beet theme, Russia also uses red beets in a variety of dishes. The most popular is called Borscht. Borscht is tradionally a Ukrainian soup. But as I said in my previous blogs, Ukraine’s culture is very similar to Russia. The main ingredient is usually beetroot but can be switched out with tomatoes. This soup also includes other vegetables like celery and cabbage. One interesting fact I found out about Borscht is that it can be transitioned into every season. Even though it is a soup, it is eaten year round. During the warmer months Borscht is transitioned into a lighter soup  with adding chicken stock. Traditional Borscht recipe:http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/borscht-recipe.html

One fun fact about Beetroot is that they have a large source of vitamin C. Vitamin C is known for combating colds. Since Russia is known for their cold climates , beets in meals are beneficial since winter season is  when most people pick up colds.