Cabbage soup may refer to any of the variety of soups based on various
cabbages, or on
sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria fe ...
and known under different names in national cuisines. Often it is a
vegetable soup
Vegetable soup is a common soup prepared using vegetables and leaf vegetables as primary ingredients. It dates to ancient history, and is a mass-produced food product in contemporary times.
Overview
Vegetable soup is prepared using vegetables, ...
. It may be prepared with different ingredients. Vegetarian cabbage soup may use mushroom stock. Another variety is using a fish stock. Traditional cabbage soup is prepared using a pork stock.
In national cuisines
Cabbage soup is popular in
Russian,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
,
Slovak and
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* Som ...
cuisine. It is known as or in
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
, in
Slovak, and () in
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* Som ...
. It is also found in
Czech ( or ),
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
( or ),
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
() cuisine,
Finnish () and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
() cuisine.
The Swedish cabbage soup is usually made from white cabbage, which is browned before being boiled, and seasoned with generous amounts of
allspice
Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of ''Pimenta dioica'', a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm par ...
and sometimes served with boiled
meatballs
A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types ...
.
A variety of the soup called ''
shchi
Shchi ( rus, щи, p=ɕːi, a=Ru-щи.ogg) is a Russian-style cabbage soup. When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, while soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi (russian: зел� ...
'' (russian: щи) is a
national dish
A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons:
* It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
. While commonly it is made of
cabbages, dishes of the same name may be based on
dock
A dock (from Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The exact meaning va ...
,
spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed eith ...
or
nettle. The sauerkraut soup is called "sour shchi", as opposed to "fresh cabbage shchi".
In most of
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
sauerkraut soup ( lv, skābu kāpostu zupa) is made with sauerkraut,
potatoes
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
,
carrots
The carrot (''Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nati ...
and
groats, but the region in
Latgale
Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While ...
only sauerkraut and
bacon
Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sa ...
is used.
Traditional kapuśniak preparation
Drained and chopped
sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria fe ...
is cooked in water with chopped
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...
, pieces of
kielbasa and a bit of salt until the meat is almost tender. Instead of meat, a ready
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, ...
is also used. Afterwards, diced potatoes and carrots are added and boiled until they are cooked.
Tomato paste
Tomato paste is a thick paste made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce the water content, straining out the seeds and skins, and cooking the liquid again to reduce the base to a thick, rich concentrate. It is used to impart an intense ...
and spices may be added. In some regions the soup is served with added
flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many c ...
and
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food), spread, melted a ...
. A lean kapusniak is cooked with
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
s and
fungi
A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...
.
Kapuśniak is served hot, in some regions with sour cream and sprinkled with chopped parsley and dill.
In popular culture
Louis de Funès
Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fil ...
was the protagonist of the French film ''
La Soupe aux choux'' (''Cabbage Soup'').
Catherine the Great, a Russian
tsarina
Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; bg, царица, tsaritsa; sr, / ; russian: царица, tsaritsa) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (mon ...
of German origin, initially notorious at the Russian court for her poor command of Russian, was quipped to be capable of making seven misspellings in a two-letter word: a two-letter Russian word would become in German.
See also
*
Cabbage soup diet
The cabbage soup diet is a radical weight loss diet designed around heavy consumption of a low-calorie cabbage soup over seven days. It is generally considered a fad diet, in that it is designed for short-term weight-loss and requires no long-t ...
, a fad diet involving heavy consumption of cabbage soup
*
Cabbage stew
*
Caldo gallego
Caldo galego or simply ''caldo'' (in Galician), also known as ''caldo gallego'' (in Spanish), meaning literally “Galician broth”, is a traditional soup dish from Galicia. It is essentially a regional derivative (with added beans and turnip ...
*
List of cabbage dishes
This is a list of cabbage dishes and foods. Cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'' or variants) is a leafy green or purple biennial plant, grown as an annual plant, annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. Cabbage heads generally range from , ...
*
List of soups
This is a list of notable soups. Soups have been made since Ancient history, ancient times.
Some soups are served with large chunks of meat or vegetables left in the liquid, while others are served as a broth. A broth is a flavored liquid usua ...
*
List of vegetable soups
This is a list of vegetable soups. Vegetable soup is a common soup prepared using vegetables and leaf vegetables as primary ingredients.
Vegetable soups
* Atama soup – a vegetable and palm nut soup that originates in South Nigeria.
*
* ...
*
Borscht
Borscht () is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which g ...
*
Spinach soup
Spinach soup is a soup prepared using spinach as a primary ingredient. A common dish around the world, the soup can be prepared as a broth-based or cream-based soup, and the latter can be referred to as "cream of spinach soup." In China, a spin ...
*
Watercress soup
Watercress soup is a soup prepared using the leaf vegetable watercress as a primary ingredient. It may be prepared as a cream soup or as a broth/stock-based soup using vegetable or chicken stock. Additional ingredients used can include vegetables ...
Sources
* Клиновецька З. ''Страви й напитки на Україні''і — Київ — Львів 1913 р.—С.4
* ''Кулинария'', Государственное издательство торговой литературы — Москва 1959 г. — С.57
* Українські страви. К.:Державне видавництво технічної літератури УРСР. 1961. 454 с.
{{Soups
Polish soups
Ukrainian soups
Cabbage soups
Australian soups