Sopa De Acedera

This recipe for Sopa de acedera, or Sorrel Soup, hails from the 1886 Mexican manuscript compiled by Manuela Heredia y Cervantes. The cookbook captures a moment when Mexican culinary tradition was deeply influenced by both Spanish and indigenous practices, and households often cooked seasonally and with whatever the land, markets, or home gardens provided. Sorrel itself was commonly used for its tartness, a trait beloved in Mexican cookery. The inclusion of a yolk-enriched milk mixture and bread is reminiscent of European techniques, a nod to the enduring colonial legacy in 19th-century Mexican kitchens. By the late 1800s, such recipes were handwritten and shared primarily among middle-class women managing their households—or, like Heredia y Cervantes, preserving culinary heirlooms for future generations.

Traditionally, this soup would have been made in a heavy clay or copper pot over a wood or charcoal fire, with the onions chopped using a simple metal knife and the sorrel likely torn or roughly chopped by hand. The bread would be fried in a basic iron skillet or toasted on a comal—a flat clay or metal griddle common in Mexican kitchens. A ceramic or earthenware soup tureen was typically used for serving, and all dairy would have been fresh, often directly from the home kitchen or a local vendor. Whisks were less common; the egg yolk and milk would be combined with a fork or small wooden spoon.