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Nov. 3, 2006
Borscht: it does a body good
Our reporter is hot on the trail of one of the best Jewish staples.
TRUDE LABOSSIERE HUEBNER
With cooler weather returning to Vancouver, thoughts of borscht
began to fascinate me. I telephoned a number of cooks with the hope
they would be willing to both feed me and share their recipes. What
transpired was a rekindling of past relationships and the discovery
of the surprising health benefits of the traditional Russian soup.
There are as many stories of why borscht is considered a Jewish
staple food as there are recipes and cooks. Both beets and onions
grew wild in Eastern Europe.The wild beet grew along European shorelines.
The ancient Romans were the first to cultivate beets to use the
roots as food; the tribes that invaded Rome were responsible for
spreading beets throughout Europe.
Fast forward to Poland in the mid-19th century: the first sugar
factory was built when it was discovered that beets were a concentrated
source of sugar.
I decided to find someone of Polish descent who is a great cook,
a borschtmeister. A phone call to Bea Goslin, daughter of the late
Harry Toft, born in Lithuania, and the late Clara Brandwein, born
in Poland, garnered a lunch date - but, on such short notice, there
was no time to home cook, so we walked to a neighborhood eatery,
Accents on Broadway, which came highly recommended by Russian emigré
Alla Polykov.
We were blessed: the lunch special featured borscht and a dessert.
As we caught up on news, two steaming soup plates were set in front
of us. I waited for Goslin to sample. "This is authentic,"
she said, and we dug into the thick red beauty of beets and vegetables.
The borscht is pareve, filled with vegetables and served with a
great dollop of sour cream.
"I loved being in the kitchen with my mother. I make my borscht
exactly the same way my mother did, using freshly squeezed lemon
juice instead of sour salt crystals," said Goslin. Before leaving,
we discovered that Jeffrey Poirier, the chef, is French, and adds
leeks to the borscht.
If we have no time to cook, but want the borscht experience at home,
where can we go?
A call to Eppy Rappaport of Omnitsky Kosher revealed that, "Borscht
is really an Eastern European recipe. It's a food of Ashkenazi Jews.
The people who know how to make it are dying off," he claimed.
"I stopped making it while I was still in Winnipeg, there just
is no call for it." Omnitsky's customers buy the bottled variety,
to the tune of 30-40 cases each year.
Harvey Sandler, executive chef at Nava Creative Kosher Cuisine,
also said there is no call for borscht, and it is not on the menu
at Nava, the kosher café at the Jewish Community Centre of
Greater Vancouver.
Has borscht left the Jewish table?
Jen Fouks is known as the best non-commercial cook in the community.
To have been invited to her table was a delightful experience; it
was always sure to please. I found her at the Weinberg Residence,
happy to share her tips for the best borscht.
"I was cooking borscht right up until I moved into the Weinberg
eight months ago," said Fouks. "I made both cold and hot
borscht, and both meat and dairy." Years ago, she explained,
her husband, Jack, would bring home a brisket point and she would
use the bone for the meat borscht.
"For cold borscht, I always cooked the beets with the skins
on, peeling them after they were cooked," said Fouks. "After
they were cooled, I grated them and then covered them with cold
water, which I then used to deepen the color of the soup."
She recommended using sour salt crystals and to keep tasting until
the flavor is just right.
Ruth Godlovitch is 88 years young and living at Cavell Gardens.
Ruth said that borscht is served about once a month at Cavell, "and
it is a really good borscht, made with beets and cabbage and some
tomato pieces. I always add some brown sugar to mine at the table,
as I like it sweet," she laughed. "My family made borscht
with shredded cabbage and tomatoes, the Russian way – and I
made it with short ribs for my husband and children."
Borscht is a nutrition powerhouse, packed with amazing amounts of
vitamins and minerals. Could this be the reason our elders are in
their late 80s and early 90s?
The nutritional profile of beets shows they are an excellent source
of the B vitamin folate, which is critical for women who hope to
become pregnant. Folate prevents neural tube defect, a condition
where the spinal column does not develop properly. One cup of beets
contains 34 per cent of our daily folate requirement, and at only
74 calories. Manganese, potassium, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper
and phosphorus are all present in measurable amounts. Using fresh
lemon, a 1/4 cup, provides just over 45 per cent of our daily vitamin
C requirement. And the onion in borscht is rich in chromium, packing
20 per cent of our daily needs and a surprising 15 per cent of vitamin
C, along with almost 10 per cent of vitamin B6 daily needs.
With the beets and tomatoes, you are getting a good serving of vitamin
C, confirmed Ramona Josephson, a Vancouver-based dietician. And
science-based studies indicate that cooked tomatoes contain lycopene,
which helps prevent prostate cancer. She suggested substituting
low-fat yogurt for sour cream in the dairy version, and to prepare
the meat version a day ahead, placing it in the refrigerator and
removing the hardened fat before enjoying the borscht the next day.
Borscht is a nutrient-dense food. Make it in quantity and share
it with others as an act of tzedakah.
Home-style borscht is also available for dining in and take-out
at Kaplan's Deli Restaurant and Bakery and, from time to time, it's
the daily soup at the Four Seasons Hotel. Sabra Kosher Bakery &
Restaurant sells the bottled variety.
Recipes for borscht can be found in Bubbe's Kitchen, a cookbook
produced by the National Council of Jewish Women, Vancouver chapter.
It's available at the NCJW office, 604-257-5180.
Trude LaBossiere Huebner is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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