Okroshka: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|UkrainianRussian cold soup}}

| country = [[UkraineRussia]]

| creator = [[UkrainianRussian people]]

The classic soup is a mix of mostly raw vegetables (like [[cucumbers]], radishes and [[spring onions]]), boiled potatoes, eggs, cooked meat such as beef, veal, sausages or ham and whey or [[kvass]], which is a low-alcoholic (1.5% or less) beverage made from fermented black or [[rye bread]]. Okroshka is usually garnished with [[sour cream]] ([[smetana (dairy product)|smetana]]). Later versions that first appeared in Soviet times use light or diluted [[kefir]], [[whey]], [[ayran]], or mineralcarbonated water instead of kvass.

The ingredients are diced and then mixed with kvass just before eating; the ratio of chopped food to kvass is similar to that of cereal to milk. This allows the vegetables to retain their texture. For that same reason, even though the ingredients are similar to those in a [[Russian salad]], the taste of okroshka is quite different from that of the salad.

Okroshka is mostly served in summer because the soup combines the refreshing taste of kvass and the lightness of a salad. Salt and sugar can be added according to taste. In the recipes with mineralcarbonated de water, there is one more addition to the ingredients of okroshka: freshly squeezed lemon juice; this is to replace the flavor in the absence of kvass.