Borș
is either a liquid ingredient used in
Romanian and
Moldovan cuisine or the sour soup (''
ciorbă'') typically made with this ingredient. It used to be common in
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
too, it is called Cibere.
The ingredient borș consists of water in which
wheat
Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
or
barley
Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
bran
Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a Cereal, cereal grain consisting of the hard layersthe combined aleurone and Fruit anatomy#Pericarp layers, pericarpsurrounding the endosperm. Maize, Corn (maize) bran also includes the p ...
, sometimes
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...
or a slice of bread have fermented. After decanting, the result is a slightly yellowish, sour liquid which can also be drunk as such. It contains lactic acid plus vitamins and minerals extracted from the bran. Whole
lovage leaves can be added in the final liquid.
Borș can also mean a sour soup (ciorbă) where the sour ingredient is typically borș.
The word ''borș'' shares its etymology with the
Ukrainian ''borshch'' or ''borscht'', but it has a different meaning: the traditional Ukrainian borshch is a
beetroot
The beetroot (British English) or beet (North American English) is the taproot portion of a ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, dinner bee ...
soup, which Romanians generally call ''borș de sfeclă roșie'' (red beetroot borscht)". In fact, Romanian gastronomy may use with hardly any discrimination the
Romanian word ''
ciorbă'' ("soup"), ''borș'' or, sometimes, ''zeamă'' ("juice") or ''acritură'' ("sour stuff"). In the region of
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
(nowadays,
Western Moldavia
Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...
,
Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
, and
Bukovina
Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
), where Romanians lived in closest contact with Ukrainians, the word ''borș'' means simply any
sour soup.
Romanian "borș" soup recipes can include various kinds of vegetables and any kind of meat, including fish. "Borș/
ciorbă de perișoare" (a broth with
meatballs) is quite common. One ingredient required in all recipes by Romanian tradition is lovage leaves, which has a characteristic flavour and significantly improves the soup's aroma.
See also
*
Borș de burechiușe
*
Kvass
*
Tarhana
*
Rejuvelac
*
Sour rye soup
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bors (bran)
Romanian soups
Moldovan cuisine
Romanian sauces
Fermented foods