It’s the holiday dedicated to the national plate par excellence, something that goes beyond the country’s borders. The site where it emerged more than 200 years ago is still unknown.
What for many is a delicacy consists of a thick handmade corn or rice tortilla that is filled with one or more ingredients. The most common ones are cheese, pork rinds, ayote (squash), or refried beans.
The Salvadorean government declared the date in April 2005, with a piece of legislation, and it’s been celebrated in many ways all over the world.
The same as in the world great typical dishes are prepared, such as paella and pizza, for example, the “pupusa” has its size records.
There are continuous attempts to make the largest in the country and in the world. In Soyapango, members of El Salvador’s Central American Cooking Academy (ACEGA), made one with a diameter of 5.5 meters in 2021.
The previous “pupusa” measured 4.25 meters and was made by 50 chefs in 2019, with 150 pounds of corn flour, 50 pounds of pork rinds and 50 pounds of beans.
Those who live in Olocuilt, a municipality of the Department of La Paz in El Salvador’s central area, are ready to set a new record on the occasion of this year’s celebration.
At the “pupusódromo” in El Manguito, for the 18th time in a row, they will try to cook a larger “pupusa.”
The effort to set a new Guinness record includes an average of 35 restaurants and 70 people in the process of making the largest “pupusa,” a typical plate that stands out for its flavor, variety, and price.
According to statistics from the Consumer Protection Office, 67 percent of Salvadoreans have “pupusa” as breakfast and 71 percent as lunch, to the extent that not eating it on weekends “is a sin,” according to popular wisdom.
It’s not strange then that you can find a “pupusería” almost on every corner of the country. It is an industry that generates nearly 300 thousand jobs at the national level, especially for the female sector, according to Economy Ministry data.
Taken from Orbe
By Luis Beatón, Chief Correspondent/San Salvador
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