Ingredients
The ferment
- 300 gcoarse wheat bran
- 100 gcornmeal
- 2.5 litreswarm water
- 1 sliceof stale rye bread, or 100 ml of a previous borș, as starter
- 2 sprigslovage
- 1 tspsalt
Equipment
- a glass or ceramic crock — never metal
- a wooden spoon
Directions
- Mix the bran and cornmeal in the crock and pour over the warm water — hand-hot, around 35°C (95°F), not hotter.
- Stir in the starter: a slice of stale rye bread, or far better, a cupful of borș kept from a previous batch, which is how Romanian households maintain it from year to year. Add the lovage and salt.
- Cover with a cloth and leave somewhere warm, around 25°C (77°F), stirring once a day with a wooden spoon.
- Use wood, glass or plastic and never metal. The ferment becomes genuinely acidic, and a metal crock or spoon taints it with a metallic edge that carries straight through into the soup.
- After three to five days it will smell sharply sour and yeasty and taste distinctly acidic. That acidity is the whole product.
- Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or muslin into bottles. This clear sour liquid is the borș.
- Keep it refrigerated, where it holds a fortnight and sharpens as it goes.
- To use it, add it to a ciorbă at the end of cooking and boil for two or three minutes. Romanian cooks always boil it in rather than stirring it in raw, which settles the flavour and drives off the yeasty note. Keep a cupful back for the next batch.
Technique
- Never metal. This is the one rule of a borș crock.
- Boil it briefly in the soup rather than adding it at the table.
- It is a souring agent rather than a stock — it does the job lemon or vinegar would, with a rounder, more savoury sourness.
Substitutions
- Lemon juice, vinegar or sauerkraut brine as emergency substitutes in a soup.
- Bottled borș from a Romanian shop, which is exactly this.
- Rye flour for some of the bran, which starts it faster.
Variations
- Ciorbă is the general name for any soup soured with borș.
- The Moldovan borș acru is the same ferment.
History
Distinctly Romanian and Moldovan; the bran is soured in a wooden vessel with a starter kept from batch to batch.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bors?
Bors is a fermented & pickled from Romania: sour liquid fermented from wheat bran, used to sharpen ciorbă soups. Distinctly Romanian and Moldovan; the bran is soured in a wooden vessel with a starter kept from batch to batch.
How long does Bors take to make?
Bors takes 20 min plus 3 to 5 days souring of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 2 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Bors?
Yes, within limits. Lemon juice, vinegar or sauerkraut brine as emergency substitutes in a soup. Bottled borș from a Romanian shop, which is exactly this. Rye flour for some of the bran, which starts it faster.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bors?
Use wood, glass or plastic and never metal. The ferment becomes genuinely acidic, and a metal crock or spoon taints it with a metallic edge that carries straight through into the soup.
