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Shchi (, ) is a Russian soup with cabbage as the primary ingredient. Its primary distinction is its sour taste, which usually originates from cabbage. When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, and soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi (, zelyoniye shchi). In the past, the term sour shchi was also used to referred to a drink, a variation of kvass, which was unrelated to the soup.
History
Shchi is a traditional soup of Russia where it is known from at least the 9th century, soon after cabbage was introduced there from Byzant...