Pupusa

Apupusais a thickgriddlecake or flatbread fromEl SalvadorandHondurasmade withcornmealor rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelanarepa. In El Salvador, it has been declared thenational dishand has a specific day to celebrate it. It is usually stuffed with one or more ingredients, which may include cheese (such asquesilloor cheese withlorocobuds),chicharrón, squash, or refried beans. It is typically accompanied bycurtido(a spicy fermented cabbageslaw) and tomato salsa, and is traditionally eaten by hand.
The exact origin of the termpupusais unknown. TheDictionary of Americanisms[es], published by theAssociation of Academies of the Spanish Language, states that pupusa derives from theNawatwordpuxahuameaning "fluffy" or "fluffy thing".In her bookInterlude and Other Verses, Lidia Pérez de Novoa believed that pupusa derives from the Nawat wordpupusawameaning "to puff up".
Salvadoran linguist Jorge Lemus argued that the word pupusa does not have Nawat roots, stating that thePipil peoplereferred to pupusas askukumuzin. In his bookQuicheísmos: Contribution to the Study of American Folklore...,Santiago Barberena[es]believed that the word pupusa originated from a combination of theK'iche'wordspop(meaning "sphere") andutz(meaning "good thing"), forming the wordpoputzmeaning "good sphere", however, the termpoputzdoes not appear in any K'iche' language dictionaries.
El Salvador and Honduras both claim to be the birthplace of the pupusa. Salvadoran archeologist Roberto Ordóñez attributed the creation of the pupusa to thePipilpeople due to the name meaning "swollen" in the Pipil language.Honduran etymologists say that since the Pipil language is so close to theNahuatllanguage, the Nahuas of Honduras could have created the dish.However, no direct links have been made to the community.
The topic of the pupusa's origin also came up during the negotiation for theDominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement(CAFTA–DR). Both nations wanted to make the pupusa an exclusive export. After two days, the Honduran delegation ceded the right to El Salvador.
The oldest historical record of pupusas dates back to Nicaragua in 1837, when Guatemalan poetJosé Batres Montúfardocumented and ate the dish while traveling throughMasaya,Rivas, andGranada.He recalled through a letter he wrote to his family.
Pupusas have been linked to thePipil tribeswho inhabited the territory now known asEl Salvador. A version of the pre-Columbian pupusa was vegetarian and half-moon shaped. In the late 1940s, pupusas were still not widespread acrossEl Salvadorand were mostly localized in the central towns. They were documented previously in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras.As the Salvadoran population began migrating to other areas in the 1960s, pupusa stands proliferated across the country. In Guatemala during the 1970s, pupusas had a half-moon shape. Pupusas served east of theLempa Riverusually have a much larger diameter.
In the 1980s, theSalvadoran Civil Warforced a Salvadoran migration to other countries, mainly the United States, which made pupusas available elsewhere:Salvadoran immigrantsbrought the dish to most areas of the US, and they spread to Canada and Australia as well.By the 1990s, they were common in cities such asLos Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.Pupusas have been popular inWashington, D.C., since the 1980s and in 2019, 6 November was declared the day of the pupusa.
In April 2005, the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly declared pupusas as the national dish of El Salvador and every second Sunday of November would be National Pupusas Day.A fair is typically held on the day in the capital and a few big cities. On 10 November 2007, in celebration of National Pupusa Day, the Secretary of Culture organized a fair in the capital park in which they would make the world's biggest pupusa. The pupusa was 3.15 meters (10.3 ft) in diameter and was made with 200 pounds (91 kg) ofmasa, 40 pounds (18 kg) of cheese, and 40 pounds of chicharrón. It fed 5,000 people. Five years later, the record was broken again with a pupusa 4.25 meters (13.9 ft) in diameter.Guinness World Recordslisted the largest pupusa at 15 feet (4.6 m), created inOlocuilta,El Salvador, on 8 November 2015.This record was broken on 28 September 2024 when Salvadoran chefs inWashington, D.C.created a 20-foot-wide (6.1 m) pupusa.
In 2011,The Guardiannamed pupusas that year's Best Street Food in New York.
Both at home and abroad, pupusas are traditionally served withcurtido(a pickled cabbage relish, analogous to Germansauerkrautand Koreankimchithat comes in mild and spicy varieties) andtomato sauce, and are traditionally eaten by hand. Author Carlos Cordova reports an ancient pre-Hispanic belief that it was sinful to cut tortillas with a knife; they must be cut with fingers as corn was believed to be a divine grain. This might be the reason why generation after generation has adhered to the rule of eating pupusas with the hands.
A pupusa is a handmade maize or rice tortilla stuffed with ingredients. Stuffing can include cheese, refried beans, squash,loroco, andchicharrón.
A variant of the pupusa in El Salvador is thepupusa de arroz, originally hailing from the town ofOlocuiltain the east of San Salvador.Rice flour is used to make the dough and they are usually stuffed with chopped pork, cheese, beans, zucchini, and other vegetables. Another regional variation, found inAlegría, is thepupusa de banano, which calls for the addition of plantain bananas to the pupusa.
Pupusas are also found in neighboringCentral Americancountries. Honduran versions use the localquesillotype of cheese for the filling. InCosta Rica, both "Salvadoran pupusas" and "pupusas" are available, the latter being a local version. There, they are a staple of the food stalls at regional carnivals known as fiestas.
A similarMexican dishis called agordita(literally, "little fatty"), but gorditas are usually open at one end. InColombiaandVenezuela, they makearepas. Colombianarepasare usually eaten without filling, or the filling is placed inside the dough before cooking. Venezuela has its own recipe forarepas, but, unlike Colombianarepas, the dough is cooked first, and then sliced in half and stuffed somewhat like ahamburger.
Pupusas made in theUnited Statesare typically made withMasecacommercial corn flour-masamix,instead of freshmasa. Some high-endpupuseríasin the United States use rice flour and wheat flour versions. InSanta Fe, New Mexico, variations include usingspinach,pepperoni, cheese, and green chile.
Taco Cabana, aTex-Mexchain inTexas, created a dish called the pupusa that has no relation to the Salvadoran food.
In spite of their low market price, pupusas represent an important element in the economy of El Salvador. Rising ingredient costs in 2022 have led to concerns about rising pupusa prices.
In addition to whole pupusas, the individual ingredients are also exported; in 2005, for example, US$604,408 worth ofloroco, sometimes used as a pupusa filling, was sold to the United States alone.Frozen pupusas can be found in the refrigerated section of many Hispanic and international supermarkets in theUnited States, especially those located in highly concentrated areas of Salvadorans such asWashington, D.C., andLong Island, New York.
Pupusa sales play a significant role in the Salvadoran economy. According to the Salvadoran Ministry of Economy, in 2001–2003, pupuserias generated $22 million. The export of ingredients such as loroco has also helped boost the economy.As of 2005, 300,000 people made pupusas for a living, with a majority of them being women.