Shchi
Shchi 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. In the past, the term sour shchi was also used to refer to a drink, a variation of kvass, which was unrelated to the soup.
History
Shchi is a traditional soup of Russia. Cabbage soups have been known in Kievan Rus as far back as the 9th century, soon after cabbage was introduced from Byzantium. Its popularity in Russia originates from several factors:- Shchi is relatively easy to prepare;
- it can be cooked with or without various types of meat;
- and it can be frozen in the winter and carried as a solid on a trip to be cut up when needed.
Historical ingredients
The major components of shchi were originally cabbage, meat, mushrooms, flour, and spices. Cabbage and meat were cooked separately and smetana was added as a garnish before serving. Shchi is traditionally eaten with rye bread.The ingredients of shchi gradually changed. Flour, which formerly was used to increase the soup's caloric value, now was excluded for the sake of finer taste. The spice mixture was enriched with black pepper and bay leaf, which were imported to Russia around the 15th century, also from Byzantium. Meat was sometimes substituted with fish, due to reasons related to the Eastern [Orthodox Church] calendar-related fasting. As for the vegetables, carrot and parsley could be added to the shchi. Beef was the most popular meat for shchi in Russia, while pork was more common in Ukraine. The water-to-cabbage ratio varies and whereas early shchi was often so viscous that a spoon could stand in it, more diluted preparation was adopted later.
Contemporary ingredients
Sometimes, tomato sauces are added to shchi.To mitigate accidental overspiceness, oversaltiness or general sourness of kvashenaya kapusta, a portion of cooked pasta can be added to the batch of shchi.
Tushonka can also be found in shchi in place of meat or fish.
On some occasions, caviar d'aubergine, also called "baklazhanaya eekra" or courgette caviar, is added to shchi to improve the thickness of the resulting soup. Caviar, can be found in shchi as an artisan additive rather than a "serious" component of shchi.