What is ciorba? Ciorba is a traditional Romanian dish, which is also found in Balkan cultures.
Ciorba is a soup in the universal sense, but in Romanian cuisine the term „soup” generally refers to a sweet soup, non-soured soup! So, we have to make the difference between „supa” and „ciorba”:
The soup is prepared only with vegetables, optionally with meat, generally meat of chicken, and water, without something sour.
But, the ciorba is a soup that is soured with different traditional Romanian ingredients, depending on the region, time of year or the ingredients from which it is prepared.
- borscht, „borș”, is a ferment made from bran, water, cherry twigs and larch twigs and it’s possible to prepare it almost whole the year. It is used and sold in whole Romania.
- vinegar of wine or lemon juice, are used and sold in whole Romania
- pickle juice, especially from cabbage or cucumbers pickled in brine (in salt water). Especially in Moldavia and South Romania from Slavonic influences, is used all the year but the most in winter.
The beneficial role of soups is to stimulate intestinal transit, the intake of vitamin C, to ward off nausea and fatigue (especially after a party with alcohol!). In addition, they are excellent for slimming belts: they create the feeling of satiety without a major caloric intake!
Thus, the soup is most often soured with