Borș is either (1) a liquid ingredient used in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

and

Moldovan cuisine Moldovan cuisine is a style of cooking related to the people of Moldova. It consists mainly of ingredients such as various meats, potatoes, cabbage, and a variety of cereal grains. The local cuisine is very similar to Romanian, and also draws i ...

or (2) the sour soup ('' ciorbă'') typically made with this ingredient. The ingredient borș consists of water in which

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, ...

, sometimes sugar beet 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 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 * So ...

''borshch'' or ''borscht'', but it has a different meaning: the traditional Ukrainian borshch is a beetroot soup, which Romanians generally call ''borș de sfeclă roșie'' (red beetroot borscht) ". In fact, Romanian gastronomy may use with hardly any discrimination the

word '' ciorbă'' ("soup"), ''borș'' or, sometimes, ''zeamă'' ("juice") or ''acritură'' ("sour stuff"). In

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

region (nowadays,

Western Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova), also called Western Moldavia or Romanian Moldavia, is the historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1859, the P ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, and Bukovina), where Romanians lived in closest contact with Ukrainians, the word ''borș'' means simply any

sour soup Various sour soups, characterized by their sour taste, are known in various East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Slavic cuisines. Asian origin * Samlar machu, a Khmer term for a category of sour soups. *Canh chua (literally "sour soup") is a ...

. Romanian "borș" soup recipes can include various kinds of vegetables and any kind of meat, including fish. "Borș/

ciorbă de perișoare Ciorbă de perișoare is a Romanian traditional sour soup with meatballs. Perișoare are meatballs usually made with minced pork meat, mixed with rice and spices and boiled in a ciorbă—a soup with vegetables such as onions, parsnips and cel ...

" (a broth with meatballs) is quite common. One ingredient required in all recipes by Romanian tradition is

lovage Lovage (), ''Levisticum officinale'', is a tall perennial plant, the sole species in the genus ''Levisticum'' in the family Apiaceae, subfamily Apioideae. It has been long cultivated in Europe, the leaves being used as a herb, the roots as a veg ...

leaves, which has a characteristic flavour and significantly improves the soup's aroma.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bors (bran) Romanian soups Moldovan cuisine Romanian sauces Fermented foods

See also

Notes and references