Cucumber soup is a traditional Polish and Lithuanian soup (, ). It is made from sour, salted cucumbers and

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

. Occasionally,

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

is substituted for the potatoes. Cucumber soup is also any

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...

using

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

s. The two major varieties are fresh cucumber soup and pickled cucumber soup. A similar soup is also common in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, where it is known as '' rassolnik''. There is another cucumber based soup known as

tarator Tzatziki (, , ), also known as ''cacık'' () or ''tarator'', is a class of dip, soup, or sauce found in the cuisines of Southeastern Europe and West Asia. It is made of salted strained yogurt or diluted yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, sa ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, which is served cold.

Fresh cucumber soups

Some fresh cucumber soups are just a blend of ingredients (cucumber, spices, other vegetables or fruits, etc.) served cold; others are cooked, possibly in some kind of

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish, or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups ...

, and served either hot or chilled. File:CucumberMintSoupYogurtDumpling (8363451507).jpg, Fresh cucumber-mint soup with a yogurt dumpling File:Cucumber and zucchini soup.jpg, Pork-stuffed cucumber and zucchini soup in pork broth.

Fresh cucumber soups

See also

References

Further reading