I’ve been enjoying tasty soups from around the world (from the Soup Peddler), and have noticed that those from Spanish-speaking regions are called either sopa (Sopa las Mananitas, Sopa de Albondigas, etc.) or caldo (Caldo de Pollo, Caldo Verde, etc.). Can any foodie and/or Spanish speaker enlighten me as to the difference between the meanings of the two terms, if any?
Moving from GQ to Cafe Society.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
My Guatemalan girlfriend says she was taught caldo is when it’s mostly broth and less viscous, while sopa tends to have more vegetables and whatnot in it, making it thicker. Although she notes that what they call Caldo de Pollo in Guatemala may be called Sopa de Pollo in Mexico, so there’s not necessarily a universal mathematical standard for determining the distinction.
And be aware that sopa secas can be a dish of rice or noodles without broth. I was eating with a particularly arrogant team member who insisted on ordering a sopa seca even after I told him it was not soup. “Of course it is, it says ‘sopa’”.
Well he might have known what sopa means but someone should have pointed out that seca means “dry”. I agree with Rigamaroles guatemalan GF, sopa is thicker and with more “stuff”.