Basic Beet Borscht

Cut stems and leaves off beets but leave on skins and cover with water. Add a splash of vinegar so beets remain red. Cook about an hour until tender.

Drain and peel off skins (they should slip off easily) under running cold water. Coarse shred beets by hand into a soup pot. Cover with the 5 cups of water. Add citric acid, vinegar (or lemon juice) along with sugar to make a sweet and sour taste as desired. Add a bit of powdered chicken bouillon if desired.

Normally equal quantities of sweet and sour, or 1 part sugar to 1/2 part sour should give the desired taste you want. Heat and stir to dissolve sugar and let soup simmer a few minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat and cool and chill well.

To serve, one may stir some sour cream into the soup (it becomes a vivid pink!) or just dollop sour cream onto individual portions. Sometimes a hot boiled potato is placed into the cold soup too. Either way, sprinkle with chives.