Sopa Paraguaya - History and Origin of The Name

History and Origin of The Name

A story of the origin of the dish involves Don Carlos Antonio López (the founder of the Paraguayan state and president of the country between 1841 and 1862) and one of his cooks (called machú in the Guarani language). It is said that the great governor, a famously obese man, liked a white soup elaborated with milk, Paraguay cheese (fresh cheese), egg and corn flour. One day the machú mistakenly added too much corn flour to the mixture. Near noon, she found herself with two problems: first, the mixture was too thick for tykuetî; second, she didn't have time to start over the process, or replace the favorite dish with another. So, showing off a decided attitude, a mix of fear and wit, she poured the mixture into an iron container and cooked it in the tatakua ("hole of fire", a rustic Guarani oven made of clay and adobe), from which she obtained a "solid soup". Don Carlos, after tasting it, found it very delicious and immediately named it "sopa paraguaya".

Another story, no less credible, says that in ancient times, this food was made with fresh corn and cooked in the ñaúpyvú (clay pot), not in the "modern" oven inherited from the colonizers. Everything suggests that the first Iberians who arrived in Guarani lands called food boiled in the ñaúpyvú "soup". It is believed that finished adding "Paraguayan" (demonym that was used in colonial times to denote the area of the Jesuit-Guarani missions), to distinguish it from the soup (broth) prepared by the Europeans.