Barszcz – understood as an umbrella term for several soups (for barszcz biały, check the article about żur) – has been a part of Slavic culture since time immemorial, yet it was not always prepared with beets. It was originally made from the aforementioned hogweed, which required the plant to be soured like sauerkraut, which resulted in a pleasantly tart taste, much like contemporary barszcz – or, for example, sorrel soup, which is sometimes referred to as ‘green borscht’.
In his Zielnik Polski (Polish Herbarium, 1595), the Polish pharmacist and priest Marcin of Urzędów wrote:
Quiet and peaceful people are defamed by others who say: they are like barszcz, neither helpful nor harmful. The latter is true of barszcz, as it is not at all harmful; yet the first is derogatory, as it suits the human situation very well.
On a linguistic note, it’s worth mentioning that a whole array of other sayings and proverbs connected to barszcz exist, which is proof of its cultural importance. You could say: ‘Gdzie jest barszcz, kapusta, tam chata niepusta’ (Where there’s barszcz and cabbage, the house is not empty) or ‘Barszcz gęsty, gość częsty’ (When the barszcz is thick, guests come often).
Another Renaissance pharmacist, Syrenius, says in his Zielnik (Herbarium, 1613):
Our Polish barszcz is well known to everyone here, in Ruthenia, Lithuania and Samogitia (…) It is useful as a medicine and at the table, since it is very tasty. (…) Barszcz, the way it is made here as well as in Ruthenia and Lithuania, is a flavourful and graceful soup. Brewed on its own, with capon or other spices, as well as with eggs, cream or millet… (…) also, when raw and fermented, it drinks well when one has a fever.
Beetroot itself was grown in some parts of Europe as early as the Middle Ages, and was probably introduced to Poland through Italy in the 16th century. Mikołaj Rej, one of the fathers of Polish literature, in his Wizerunek Własny Żywota Człowieka Poczciwego (A Self-Description of the Life of a Decent Fellow, 1567) includes an autumn recipe for ćwikła which consists of baked beetroot, which was then finely cut, mixed with grated horseradish, fennel, salt and vinegar; as a devotee of all things Polish, Rej considered it better then imported limunije – lemons.