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Beetroot for borscht for winter

Beet Base for Borscht (for Winter)

A beet borscht base put up for winter is a real lifesaver! Many cooks will agree that summer preserves make life easier on busy workdays, when you need to put together something quick and tasty for lunch or dinner for the whole family — and the food still has to be wholesome and varied. Nourishing, hearty, vitamin-rich borscht deserves a regular spot on the winter table, but it takes quite a while to make. A beet base prepared during harvest season greatly simplifies and speeds it up — just add meat and potatoes, and your delicious, fragrant borscht is ready.

Snezhana

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beets

Carrots

Onion

Tomatoes

Vegetable oil

300

Sugar

100

Salt

2.5

Distilled vinegar

Water

Bay leaf

Peppercorns

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 6 % 1 g

Fats 41 % 7 g

Carbohydrates 53 % 9 g

98 kcal

GI: 50 / 0 / 50

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather the ingredients. At harvest time there are often vegetables that aren't fit for long-term storage but are too good to throw away. Such unsightly carrots and beets are perfect for putting up for winter. The one rule: don't use any that have started to rot. Scrub the vegetables thoroughly under running water with a brush, drain them in a colander, and let the water run off.
Step 2:

Peel the carrots; with young ones, you can just rub the skin off with a brush. Grate the carrots on the coarse side of a grater, or use a food processor or other tool to chop them quickly.
Step 3:

Do the same with the beets: wash, peel, and grate them on a grater or in a food processor.
Step 4:

Peel the onion and finely chop it with a knife or run it through a food processor.
Step 5:

Wash the tomatoes, cut out the stem ends, and cut them into large pieces.
Step 6:

Put the tomatoes in a bowl and blend them. If you don't have a blender, you can scald the skins off with boiling water and chop the tomatoes with a knife.
Step 7:

Pour the vegetable oil into a large basin or heavy-bottomed pot. Add the prepared vegetables — beets, carrots, and onion — and stir so they're well coated with oil. Pour in half the vinegar and water, stir, and set over the heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower it to medium heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Step 8:

When the vegetables release their juices, add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, spices (except the bay leaf), and the remaining vinegar and water, and stir. Cover, bring back to a boil, lower to medium heat, and simmer for about another 20 minutes. Add the bay leaf, stir, and simmer for 10 minutes more. Get the canning jars ready ahead of time: wash and sterilize them the usual way — over a water bath or in the oven — and boil the lids.
Step 9:

Spoon the base into the jars. Seal them right away and let them cool upside down at room temperature under a blanket. Store them in a cool place for the winter. Enjoy!