From a Rural Dish to a Certified Specialty
So how did this rural soup become a dish that carries the TSG (Traditional Specialty Guaranteed) label? In the 1960s, a couple owned a small grocery store in Almeirim, where they occasionally served food too. It’s said one day a salesman stopped by and was served a rich bean soup. The salesman enjoyed his soup so much that he came back another day for more. Not knowing the name of the soup, he described it as a ‘dark soup that resembles Almeirim’s cobblestones’.
The soup was then baptized as Sopa da Pedra de Almeirim or Almeirim’s Stone Soup. The small shop was turned into a restaurant in 1962 that became the first of many to serve the specialty. These days there’s an association of restaurants dedicated to the dish and even a festival that takes place every year. In 2022 the dish was granted a TSG status by the EU, which recognized it as a traditional dish that follows a specific recipe and method of preparation.
The Stone Soup Folktale
The dish was popularized in part because of its association with a European folk tale. This tale known as The Stone Soup Tale is told slightly differently depending on the country, but generally the plot is the same.
A group of hungry travelers arrive at a village bringing with them an empty cooking pot. Unable to get any food from the locals, they go to a nearby water stream, fill the pot with water, place it over a fire and add a stone inside. A curious villager, intrigued with the scene, questions the travelers. They go on raving about this stone soup they’re making and how delicious it will taste. They say they would love to share the soup with him, but claim it’s still missing some garnishing.
The villager, now interested in having some of the soup, donates some carrots. The traveler is approached by several more villagers interested in this promising soup. He tricks all of them into donating other vegetables and even meat. With the contribution of the villagers, the soup turns out beautiful and very nourishing. The stone is then removed, and both travelers and villagers get to have a bowl of it. This tale is meant to teach the value of sharing and cooperating.
From a Rural Dish to a Certified Specialty
So how did this rural soup become a dish that carries the TSG (Traditional Specialty Guaranteed) label? In the 1960s, a couple owned a small grocery store in Almeirim, where they occasionally served food too. It’s said one day a salesman stopped by and was served a rich bean soup. The salesman enjoyed his soup so much that he came back another day for more. Not knowing the name of the soup, he described it as a ‘dark soup that resembles Almeirim’s cobblestones’.
The soup was then baptized as Sopa da Pedra de Almeirim or Almeirim’s Stone Soup. The small shop was turned into a restaurant in 1962 that became the first of many to serve the specialty. These days there’s an association of restaurants dedicated to the dish and even a festival that takes place every year. In 2022 the dish was granted a TSG status by the EU, which recognized it as a traditional dish that follows a specific recipe and method of preparation.
The Stone Soup Folktale
The dish was popularized in part because of its association with a European folk tale. This tale known as The Stone Soup Tale is told slightly differently depending on the country, but generally the plot is the same.
A group of hungry travelers arrive at a village bringing with them an empty cooking pot. Unable to get any food from the locals, they go to a nearby water stream, fill the pot with water, place it over a fire and add a stone inside. A curious villager, intrigued with the scene, questions the travelers. They go on raving about this stone soup they’re making and how delicious it will taste. They say they would love to share the soup with him, but claim it’s still missing some garnishing.
The villager, now interested in having some of the soup, donates some carrots. The traveler is approached by several more villagers interested in this promising soup. He tricks all of them into donating other vegetables and even meat. With the contribution of the villagers, the soup turns out beautiful and very nourishing. The stone is then removed, and both travelers and villagers get to have a bowl of it. This tale is meant to teach the value of sharing and cooperating.
