Sorrel soup explained

Sorrel soup
Alternate Name:	Green borscht, green shchi, green soup
Region:	Eastern and Northeastern Europe
Type:	Soup
Served:	Hot or cold
Main Ingredient:	Water or broth, sorrel leaves, and salt

Sorrel soup is made from water or broth, sorrel leaves, and salt.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]} Varieties of the same soup include spinach, garden orache, chard, nettle, and occasionally dandelion, goutweed or ramsons, together with or instead of sorrel.^{[1] [2] [3] [6] [7] [8]} It is known in Ashkenazi Jewish,^[4] Belarusian,^[7] Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian,^[9] Lithuanian, Romanian, Armenian, Polish,^[5] Russian^[1] and Ukrainian^{[6] [8]} cuisines. Its other English names, spelled variously schav, shchav, shav, or shtshav, are borrowed from the Yiddish language,^[4] which in turn derives from Slavic languages, like for example Belarusian шчаўе, Russian and Ukrainian щавель, shchavel, Polish szczaw. The soup name comes ultimately from the Proto-Slavic ščаvĭ for sorrel. Due to its commonness as a soup in Eastern European cuisines, it is often called green borscht, as a cousin of the standard, reddish-purple beetroot borscht.^{[1] [6] [7] [8]} In Russia, where shchi (along with or rather than borscht) has been the staple soup, sorrel soup is also called green shchi.^{[10] [11]} In old Russian cookbooks it was called simply green soup.^{[2] [3]}

Sorrel soup usually includes further ingredients such as egg yolks or whole eggs (hard-boiled or scrambled), potatoes, carrots, parsley root, and rice.^{[1] [3] [12]} A variety of Ukrainian green borscht also includes beetroot.^[11] In Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian cuisines, sorrel soup may be prepared using any kind of broth instead of water.^{[1] [3]} It is usually garnished with smetana, an Eastern European variety of sour cream.^{[1] [3]} It may be served either hot or chilled.

Sorrel soup is characterized by its sour taste due to oxalic acid (called "sorrel acid" in Slavic languages) present in sorrel. The "sorrel-sour" taste may disappear when sour cream is added, as the oxalic acid reacts with calcium and casein. Some may refer to sorrel flavor as "tannic," as with spinach or walnuts.

See also

• Mulukhiyah
• Patriotic soup
• Spinach soup
• Watercress soup
• Cream of sorrel soup

Notes and References

1. Book: Burlakoff , Nikolai . The World of Russian Borsch: Explorations of Memory, People, History, Cookbooks & Recipes. 2013. Createspace Independent Pub. North Charleston, SC. 978-1484027400.
2. Екатерина Авдеева. Ручная книга русской опытной хозяйки. СПб, 1842
3. Елена Молоховец. Подарок молодым хозяйкам. 1-е издание, 1861, с. 65
4. Encyclopedia: Marks. Gil. Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Schav. 2010. John Wiley & Sons. Hoboken. 978-0-470-39130-3.
5. Book: Ochorowicz-Monatowa , Maria . Uniwersalna książka kucharska z ilustracyami i kolorowemi tablicami odznaczona na wystawie hygienicznej w Warszawie w 1910 r. : przeszło 2200 skromnych i wytwornych przepisów gospodarskich i kuchennych z uwzględnieniem niezbędnych warunków odpowiedniej dyety codziennej hygieny oraz kuchni jarskiej. E. Wende i S-ka. Warszawa / Lwów. 1913. Polish.
6. Book: Artyukh , Lidiya . Ukrayinska narodna kulinariya. Ukrainian folk cuisine. uk:(Українська народна кулинарія). 1977. Naukova dumka. Kyiv. Ukrainian. 55.
7. Book: Chakvin. Igor. Этнокультурные процессы Восточного Полесья в прошлом и настоящем. Gurko. Alexandra. Kasperovich. Galina. ru:Этнокультурные процессы Восточного Полесья в прошлом и настоящем. Ethnocultural processes of Eastern Polesie in the past and present. 2014. Litres. ru. 78. 9785457646278.
8. Book: Guboglo. Mikhail. Украинцы: Историко-этнографический очерк традиционной культуры. Simchenko. Yuri. ru:Украинцы: Историко-этнографический очерк традиционной культуры. Ukrainians: A historical ethnographic essay of the traditional culture. 1992. Российская академия наук, Институт этнологии и антропологии им. Н.Н. Миклухо-Маклая. Москва. 98. ru.
9. Book: Ošiņa . Sandra . Ošiņš . Valdis . Traditional and modern Latvian foods and beverages . 2014 . The Association of Latvian Rural Tourism.
10. Book: Pokhlyobkin , William . William Pokhlyobkin. National cuisines of our peoples. ru:Национальные кухни наших народов. 2004. Centrpolograf. Moscow. ru. 28. 5-9524-0718-8. http://www.jagannath.ru/users_files/books/V.V._Pohlyobkin_-_Natcionalnye_kuhni_na6ih_narodov.pdf . Щи
11. Book: Cookery. ru:Кулинария. 2 August 2015. Москва. Госторгиздат (Soviet state publishing house for business literature). 195558. ru. Щи, Борщ зелёный украинский
12. http://www.enjoyyourcooking.com/soup-recipes/sorrel-pork-soup-green-borscht.html Sorrel and Pork Soup (Green Borscht) Recipe