Soup joumou: the taste of freedom
On the morning of 1 January, kitchens in Haiti and across the diaspora smell the same: squash, beef, herbs, and spices simmering in a big pot. This is soup joumou, and it is much more than a meal.
A soup that was forbidden
According to tradition, under slavery in Saint-Domingue the squash soup was prepared by enslaved cooks for the colonists’ tables, while they themselves were not allowed to eat it. When Haiti declared its independence on 1 January 1804, the newly free people made the soup their own. Eating it became a way of saying: we are free, and this table is ours.
What goes in the pot
Recipes change from family to family. Most start with joumou, a Caribbean squash, cooked and blended into a golden broth, then beef, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, turnip, pasta, and epis, the Haitian blend of herbs, garlic, and peppers.
Recognized by the world
In December 2021, UNESCO added soup joumou to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the first Haitian tradition on the list. On Independence Day, families still carry bowls to neighbors and friends. Freedom, in Haiti, is something you share.
