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Lithuanian Cold Beet Soup

A chilled soup made from boiled beets, cucumbers, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, scallions, dill, and salt.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Cucumber and dill match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 530 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Lithuanian Cold Beet Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cook whole beets; cool.

  2. Peel and grate beets coarsely.

  3. Peel cucumbers; cut into little squares.

  4. Chop hard boiled eggs.

  5. Chop scallions.

Make the soup

  1. Mix the above ingredients together.

  2. Pour in buttermilk.

  3. Add sour cream.

  4. Salt to taste.

  5. Stir well.

  6. Place in refrigerator to cool.

Serve

  1. Serve with boiled young potatoes sprinkled with chopped dill.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

426Calories
35 gProtein
14 gFat
41 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Beet1/2 cup (85g)35
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Dill5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cucumber + dilltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together530 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Cream + buttermilktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together674 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Buttermilk + dilltop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together83 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  4. Cucumber + buttermilktop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together75 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Egg + dilltop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,008 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Red beets
Provide the main body, earthy sweetness and the deep red colour of the soup.
Sour cream
Adds richness and a tangy acidity that balances the sweet beets.
Buttermilk
Thins the soup to a pourable consistency while adding mild tang.
Eggs
Add body and a soft, creamy texture when chopped into the soup.
Cucumbers
Contribute crisp texture and cool, fresh moisture.

The step that matters

Cool the beets fully before grating and mixing. Beets that are still warm will soften the cucumbers and eggs and can make the cold soup taste muddy. Chilling the soup in the refrigerator lets the flavours settle and gives a crisp, refreshing result.

Swap the cucumber

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, cream, buttermilk, dill):

  1. Chivefits about as well
  2. Horseradishfits about as well
  3. Cucumberthe original
  4. Potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, cream, buttermilk, dill. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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