Ukraine to apply for borsht to be on UNESCO list

Ukraine has applied for Borsht, a soup-like dish which the country claims to have ownership of, to be a designated Ukrainian recipe by UNESCO.

The move is part of an attempt to resolve a dispute with Poland and Russia, two countries which Ukraine has accused of claiming ownership of the dish.

A live televised demonstration of Borsht being made took place on Friday in Kiev to mark the UNESCO application.

The event attracted 25 cooks from all over the country.

"Borsht is the identity of our nation," said Tetyana Sokor, a representative from the Sumy region in the east of the country who was taking part in the live demonstration.

A standard Borsht dish contains carrot, beets, and peppers, it's then often mixed with oil, slices of fat, garlic, and brown bread.

But each region of Ukraine has its own take on the recipe.

Each of Friday's participants cooked their own region's version of the dish which can include a wide variety of ingredients from chicken and fish, to fruits such as pears.

It's claimed that Borsht's association with the country dates right back to 1556 when it was mentioned in the dictionary of the history of the Ukrainian language.

"The reason to apply to UNESCO is made first of all for Ukrainians - to make them love Ukrainian cuisine, to revive it," said Yevhen Klopotenko, a chef who led the application for Borsht to have a cultural heritage of UNESCO.

"We're trying to show by this event that it's absolutely not only unique by taste but also unique by preparation (cooking)," said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of the Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.