Caldo

1. 1A long-simmered broth from bone-in chicken or beef, kept brothy rather than thick
2. 2Hearty chunks of root and starchy vegetables (e.g. cassava, potato, chayote, carrot)
3. 3Aromatized with herbs such as cilantro/culantro and often cumin and recado
4. 4Served as a full meal in a deep bowl, not a starter
5. 5Accompanied by lime, chili, and a starch on the side

slow simmering of bone-in meat

extracts gelatin and depth for a restorative, full-bodied broth

staged vegetable addition

roots and tender vegetables cook to ideal texture without disintegrating

Served

in a deep bowl with meat, vegetables, and broth together

Temperature

hot

Portion

main-course

Pairs with

white rice · corn tortillas · lime · habanero or chili sauce

• bone-in meat → boneless meat or bouillon onlyinadmissible

  broth lacks the body and richness that define caldo

• cassava → potatoadmissible

  acceptable starchy swap within the soup

• culantro → cilantroadmissible

  close herbal substitute

• Boiling hard and clouding the broth instead of gentle simmering
• Using boneless meat or pure bouillon and losing body
• Adding all vegetables at once so soft ones disintegrate

A broad Mesoamerican brothy-soup tradition; the Belizean Sunday caldo is shared in form with Mexican, Guatemalan, and Honduran caldos.

Shared by: Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras

1. 1.Belizean home-cooking tradition
2. 2.Central American caldo references

Confidence: medium