Borscht

Borscht is a sour beet soup from Eastern Europe, and here it is in its hot Ukrainian form: beef broth, beets, cabbage and potatoes, with a vinegar sourness that keeps the colour red. In Hebrew it is also called hamitza, mostly when it is served cold.

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Gluten freeDairy freeMeat

Updated

BorschtIllustration
Time3 h 20 minCook 2 h 30 min
Pot10 bowls4 litres
Per bowl212 kcal20.2 g protein · a 400 ml bowl
Cost of the pot₪94for the pot, about ₪9.4 a bowl

The story of Borscht

Borscht is cooked from Ukraine to Lithuania, and it changes along the way: in Ukraine it is a rich soup with all the vegetables in it, in Poland a clear red broth, in Lithuania a cold pink soup. In Ukraine it is a national dish, and in 2022 the culture of Ukrainian borscht cooking was added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.

Eastern European Jews made borscht two ways: hot with meat for winter, and cold without meat, with sour cream, for summer and dairy meals. The cold version came to Israel with the first waves of immigration and was sold for years in bottles as hamitza, while hot borscht with beef and cabbage returned to Israeli tables in a big way with the immigration from the former Soviet Union. The Jewish resort hotels of the Catskill Mountains in New York were even nicknamed the Borscht Belt.

What makes Borscht itself

Three things make borscht: beets for colour and sweetness, sourness that balances the sweet and keeps the red, and dill and garlic added at the very end. In the Ukrainian method the beets are sautéed separately with tomato paste and vinegar and only then go into the broth. That way they skip the long cooking of the meat and keep their colour.

Borscht for any number of people

Change the number of people and the bowl size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost, calories and protein per bowl.

Bowl size
Units
4litres in the pot
5Pot to use, litres
₪94Cost of the pot
₪9.4per bowl
212kcal per bowl
20.2g protein per bowl
IngredientAmountCost
The broth
Bone-in beef shank800 g₪80
Cold water3 l
Bay leaves1 g · 2 pcs₪0.4
Salt15 g₪0.0
The vegetables
Fresh red beets600 g · 3 pcs₪3.5
White cabbage400 g₪2.0
Potatoes400 g · 3 pcs₪2.4
Carrots150 g · 2 pcs₪0.7
Onion150 g · 1 pcs₪0.9
The sauté and the sour
Canola oil30 ml₪0.5
Tomato paste60 g₪2.1
Vinegar (or lemon juice)30 ml₪0.2
Sugar10 g₪0.1
Garlic15 g · 3 pcs₪0.5
Dill15 g₪0.9
Black pepper2 g₪0.3
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Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.

How many calories in Borscht? Nutrition facts and calorie calculator

Change the amount of any ingredient, drop one, or pick a lighter version, and the numbers per serving update at once: calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium and fibre.

Borscht has 53 calories per 100 ml. A 400 ml bowl made with our recipe has 212 calories: 20.2 g protein, 5.8 g fat and 18.1 g carbohydrates. A 250 ml cup has 132 calories.

Lighter

Ingredients, for the whole recipe

  • 800 g92 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs0 kcal per serving
  • 15 g0 kcal per serving
  • 3 pcs26 kcal per serving
  • 400 g10 kcal per serving
  • 3 pcs31 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs6 kcal per serving
  • 1 pcs6 kcal per serving
  • 30 ml24 kcal per serving
  • 60 g8 kcal per serving
  • 30 ml1 kcal per serving
  • 10 g4 kcal per serving
  • 3 pcs2 kcal per serving
  • 15 g1 kcal per serving
  • 2 g1 kcal per serving

What each add-on adds to Borscht

Values for the amount in the row, from the national food database.

Add-onCaloriesProtein, gFat, g
A tablespoon of oil122013.8
A slice of white bread792.50.5
A slice of challah12641.1
A side cup of cooked rice, about1823.50.3

How to make Borscht

In cook mode the screen stays on, tap a step when it is done, and the timers run next to each step.
  1. Put the beef in a 6 litre pot with 3 litres of cold water, bring slowly to the boil and skim the foam for about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the bay leaves and half the salt, and simmer gently with the lid ajar for an hour and a half, until the meat is tender.
  3. Meanwhile peel the beets and cut them into matchsticks or grate them coarsely. Chop the onion and grate the carrots.
  4. In a wide pan heat the oil, fry the onion for 5 minutes, add the carrots for 3 minutes, then the beets, tomato paste, vinegar and sugar. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring, and add a ladle of broth if it dries out.
  5. Lift out the meat, pull it off the bone, cut it into cubes and return it to the pot. Add the potatoes in cubes and cook for 10 minutes.
  6. Add the thinly sliced cabbage and cook for 10 minutes more.
  7. Stir in the beet mixture, bring back to a gentle simmer only and cook for 10 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft.
  8. Add the crushed garlic, chopped dill and pepper. Taste and balance the salt, sugar and vinegar.
  9. Turn off the heat, cover and let the borscht rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

The science of Borscht

Kitchen science

Betanin, the colour of beets

The red in beets is betanin, a pigment from the betalain family, different from the pigments in red cabbage or berries. It dissolves in water and is most stable in mildly acidic conditions, at a pH of about 4 to 5. In neutral conditions it drifts towards a dark violet and breaks down faster.

Kitchen science

Why borscht turns brown

Long heating splits betanin into yellowish betalamic acid and a colourless compound. A long boil, oxygen and light speed this up, and the red turns orange and then brown. That is why the beets go in late, with acid, and only at a gentle simmer.

Kitchen science

Vinegar at the right time

Vinegar protects the colour, but it also strengthens the pectin in vegetable cell walls. Potatoes added to an acidic pot stay hard for a long time. So the potatoes and cabbage cook in the broth first, and the beets with the vinegar follow.

Kitchen science

Why borscht rests at the end

When hot beet soup rests below the boil, part of the broken-down betanin rejoins and the colour deepens a little. Meanwhile the sugar, vinegar and garlic soak into the vegetables and the flavour evens out.

Borscht in every kitchen

Ukrainian with beef

The recipe here: beef broth, beets sautéed with tomato paste and vinegar, cabbage and potatoes. Served hot with dill and garlic, no sour cream.

Lithuanian cold borscht

A bright pink soup of grated cooked beets, kefir or buttermilk, fresh cucumber, spring onion, dill and hard-boiled egg, with hot potatoes on the side. Dairy, no meat.

Israeli cold hamitza

Beets cooked in water with lemon and sugar, strained and chilled. Served cold with a spoon of sour cream and a boiled potato, at a meal without meat.

Polish clear barszcz

A clear, sour beet broth without the vegetables, sipped from a cup or served with tiny mushroom dumplings.

Vegetarian with beans and mushrooms

The same method with water or vegetable stock, and white beans and mushrooms instead of beef. This version can be served with sour cream.

Common Borscht problems and how to fix them

Brown borscht

The beets cooked too long or boiled hard, or there was not enough vinegar. Cook the beets separately with vinegar and tomato paste and add them at the end. To rescue it, add a spoon of vinegar and a spoon of grated raw beet, and heat without boiling.

Pale pink borscht

Too few beets for the liquid, or beets boiled from the start in lots of water. Keep about 600 g of beets to 3 litres of water, and add squeezed or grated raw beet at the end.

Borscht too sweet

Beets are sweet on their own, and sometimes the sugar was overdone. Add vinegar or lemon a teaspoon at a time, tasting, until the sourness balances it.

Potatoes not softening in borscht

The vinegar went in before the potatoes were soft, and the acid firmed up their pectin. Cook the potatoes in the broth until almost tender, then add the sour beets.

Cabbage dissolved in the borscht

It went in too early. Thinly sliced cabbage needs only 15 to 20 minutes in total.

Cloudy, greasy borscht

The meat boiled hard and the foam was not skimmed. Simmer gently, skim, and if needed chill overnight and lift off the set fat.

Storing, freezing and reheating

4 days

In the fridge

3 months

In the freezer

2+4

To cool

Bring it from 60 to 21 °C within two hours and down to 5 °C within four more. Split a big pot into shallow boxes.

75 °C

Reheating

Reheat slowly to just below the boil. A hard boil on reheating dulls the colour, and the potatoes soften a little after freezing.

Nutrition of Borscht

From our recipe, per bowl and per 100 g, next to the national food database.

ServingkcalProtein, gFat, gCarbs, gFibre, g
Our recipe, a 400 ml bowl21220.25.818.14.6
Our recipe, 100 ml535.11.54.51.2
Typical Borscht, 100 g463.81.63.80.8
Typical Borscht, 100 g (2)270.70.64.11.0
Typical Borscht, 100 g (3)260.80.64.00.7
Typical Borscht, 100 g (4)371.01.05.51.0

What the ingredients of Borscht cost

What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.

IngredientPriceIn this potWhere to buy
Bone-in beef shank₪100 per kg₪80Butcher
Fresh red beets₪5.9 per kg₪3.5Greengrocer
Potatoes₪5.9 per kg₪2.4Greengrocer
Tomato paste₪35 per kg₪2.1Supermarket
White cabbage₪4.9 per kg₪2Greengrocer
Dill₪4.9 each₪0.9Greengrocer
Onion₪5.9 per kg₪0.9Greengrocer
Carrots₪4.9 per kg₪0.7Greengrocer
Garlic₪34 per kg₪0.5Greengrocer
Canola oil₪15 per litre₪0.4Supermarket
Bay leaves₪360 per kg₪0.4Supermarket
Black pepper₪139 per kg₪0.3Supermarket
Vinegar (or lemon juice)₪6.9 per litre₪0.2Supermarket
Sugar₪5.5 per kg₪0.1Supermarket
Salt₪2.1 per kg₪0Supermarket

Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.

Make Borscht a meal

Shabbat

Ready Shabbat food

Soup, hamin, mains and sides, with a quantity calculator and prices.

Plan Shabbat
Hosting

Hosting trays

9 trays to go with the soup, with a planner by number of guests.

Tray planner
Events

Catering

A whole menu in grams per guest, with a reheating table.

Menus

What to serve with Borscht

Hot, with chopped dill, a little more garlic and dark rye bread, or Ukrainian garlic rolls. Sour cream goes only with the vegetarian version or cold hamitza, when there is no meat at the meal.

Borscht in large quantities: events, offices and communities

How much of everything by number of guests, at a 400 ml bowl. For institutional pots, catering and community kitchens.

GuestsLitres30 l potsCost of ingredients
25101₪236
50201₪472
100402₪943
200803₪1,886
5002008₪4,716

Every ingredient for any number of guests is in the calculator above: type the number of people.

Order Borscht

A ready pot for Shabbat, an event or the office, ordered ahead.

  • Cooked to order, for Shabbat, an event or the office.
  • Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
  • Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
Ask for a quote for Borscht

Order Borscht for a large event

Large orders in Israel and abroad: events, offices, synagogues, communities and institutions.

  • In Israel: cooked in Tel Aviv and delivered to events in the area, and to large events anywhere in the country on a quote.
  • Abroad: for communities, events and restaurants. Tell us where, how many and when, and we come back with a quote and options.
  • Institutional quantities and a shopping list for any number of guests, in the calculator above.
Ask for a large-order quote

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between borscht and hamitza?

It is the same beet soup. In Hebrew, hamitza mostly means the cold, clear version, and borscht the hot one with vegetables, often with meat.

How do you keep borscht red?

Cook the beets with vinegar or lemon, add them to the pot at the end, and do not boil hard once they are in.

Is borscht eaten hot or cold?

Both. Ukrainian borscht with beef is served hot, while Lithuanian and Israeli cold borscht are served chilled, with sour cream and no meat.

What is the difference between Ukrainian and Polish borscht?

Ukrainian borscht is thick and full of vegetables: cabbage, potatoes and sometimes beans. Polish barszcz is a clear, strained beet broth served in a cup or with small dumplings.

What is Romanian borscht?

In Romania, borș is the name of a sour liquid made from fermented wheat bran, used to sour soups. So Romanian borscht is usually a sour vegetable and meat soup, not necessarily a beet soup.

Can you make vegetarian borscht?

Yes. Swap the beef broth for water or vegetable stock and add white beans or mushrooms for body. This version can be served with sour cream.

How long does borscht take to cook?

About two and a half hours in total: an hour and a half for the meat, then about 40 minutes for the vegetables and beets.

How many calories are in Borscht?

A 400 ml bowl of Borscht made with our recipe has about 212 calories and 20.2 g of protein. Per 100 ml: 53 calories.

How much does it cost to make Borscht at home?

A pot of 10 bowls costs about ₪94 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪9.4 a bowl. The calculator above works it out for any number of people.

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