The classification of Sopa da Pedra de Almeirim as a Guaranteed Traditional Specialty (TSG) was published this Monday in the Official Journal of the European Union (EU).
The product results, according to the publication, from “a way of production, transformation or composition that corresponds to a traditional practice for that product or food”, made in Almeirim, Santarém.
The origin of the name of the soup is due, officially, “to its physical characteristics, since it is a thick broth, reddish brown in color and with many ingredients, someone compared it to the stones that form the floor of many paths that, even today they exist in the historic area of Almeirim”.
However, stone soup is also tied to the legend of a monk who asked for ingredients to add to a stone that he said he intended to make a soup with.
The ingredients of the Sopa da Pedra de Almeirim are beans, potato, chispe and/or cheeks, bacon, chorizo, black pudding and farinheira, onion, garlic, bay leaf, olive oil and/or lard and coriander.
The dish began to be served to the public in 1960 at the O Toucinho restaurant.
The Guaranteed Traditional Specialty (TSG) label emphasizes aspects more linked to traditions, the way in which the product is made or its composition, without being linked to a specific geographic area.
A product registered as ETG is protected by the EU against counterfeiting and misuse.
Source: Observadora
