What is the difference between Yucatecan sour lime and Mexican lime?

The Mexican lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) common throughout Mexico is small, acidic and very aromatic. The Yucatecan sour lime, also Citrus aurantiifolia but of local variety, has a more floral, slightly sweet and less acidic aroma. Sweet lime, a different citrus, is not used in this soup. Substituting Yucatecan sour lime with regular lime alters the characteristic aromatic profile of the Yucatecan dish.

What does sopa de lima taste like?

It tastes of deep chicken or turkey broth with a very particular floral citrus perfume from the Yucatecan sour lime, freshness from coriander, subtle sweetness from the mild habanero chilli and spicy notes of allspice and Yucatecan oregano. The fried tortillas add a crunchy texture and the flavour of toasted maize. It is light, refreshing, perfect for the tropical heat, totally different from any other Mexican broth.

How is sopa de lima served?

It is served hot in a deep bowl with the golden broth, the shredded chicken or turkey meat and lime slices floating. Just before serving, the crunchy fried tortilla strips and chopped coriander are added. It is accompanied with warm tortillas, habanero chilli sauce (xnipek or chiltomate) and half an extra lime to squeeze to taste. It is a starter or light main, especially popular as a midday meal in warm weather.

Where does sopa de lima originate from?

It originates from Yucatán, with its epicentre in Mérida and extends across the whole peninsula (Campeche and Quintana Roo). It is a mestizo Maya-Spanish dish: it combines pre-Hispanic turkey broth technique with the sour lime brought by the Spanish via the Caribbean in the 16th century. It is consolidated in 19th-century Yucatecan Creole cookbooks and popularised touristically in the 20th century as a regional icon.

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Yucatecan sopa de lima: the citrus chicken broth with fried tortilla

What is it?

Sopa de lima is one of the most representative broths of the Yucatecan and peninsular repertoire. It is made with a very aromatic chicken or turkey (guajolote) broth, juice and slices of Yucatecan sour lime (Citrus aurantiifolia, local variety) — a citrus endemic to the peninsula, distinct from sweet lime and Mexican lime — red or white onion, tomato, sweet pepper or mild habanero chilli, coriander and, above all, strips of fried maize tortilla added at serving for a crunchy texture. It is a distinctive dish of Mérida, Valladolid, Tizimín and the entire Yucatán peninsula. Yucatán Today and México Desconocido record it as one of the gastronomic symbols of the state. Its fresh citrus profile makes it ideal for the tropical heat of Yucatán and sets it apart from any other broth in the national repertoire. It is served as a starter or as a light main in traditional tasting menus alongside poc chuc, cochinita pibil and panuchos.

Origin and history

Sopa de lima has mestizo Maya-Spanish origins. Maya peoples were already consuming wild turkey broths with local herbs and native citrus such as Mexican lime before the arrival of the Spanish. Sour lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) reached the peninsula via Caribbean trade during the early colonial period in the 16th century and found ideal conditions to acclimatise in the warm Yucatán climate, developing unique aromatic characteristics. The present-day soup is documented as such from the 19th century, according to Yucatán Today, in Yucatecan Creole cookbooks such as that of Manuela Navarrete (a family recipe book published in the late 19th century). In the 20th century, sopa de lima consolidated itself as a tourist dish when hotels and restaurants in Mérida included it on their menus as a typical regional starter. Today it appears on the menus of restaurants such as La Chaya Maya, Néctar, Kuuk and K'u'uk, all benchmarks of contemporary Yucatecan cuisine. The Yucatecan sour lime even has geographical-indication recognition in process because of its varietal uniqueness.

Characteristic ingredients

The base is a well-seasoned chicken or turkey broth, made with bone-in pieces — breast, thighs, wings — boiled with onion, garlic, cumin, allspice (pimienta de Tabasco) and Yucatecan oregano. The herbs are strained and the broth is prepared separately with the sofrito: red or white onion, tomato and Yucatecan sweet pepper (kʼaat ik or mild habanero chilli). The juice of the Yucatecan sour lime is the signature of the dish: it is squeezed at the end of cooking to prevent the heat from altering the characteristic citrus aroma. Slices of whole lime are added floating at serving. The meat is finely shredded and stirred in. The maize tortillas are cut into 1 cm strips and fried in hot oil until golden; they are added at serving so that they keep their crunchy texture. Fresh coriander is added chopped at the end. Variants: the hotel version uses only chicken; the traditional home version uses turkey, considered tastier; some families add a touch of whole habanero chilli to the broth for fruity heat. The final soup should have a light golden colour, an intense citrus perfume and a crunchy texture at serving.

Cultural significance

Sopa de lima is the emblem dish of Yucatán, officially declared among the gastronomic icons of the state by the Secretariat of Tourism Development. It forms part of the 'great trinity' of the Yucatecan repertoire alongside cochinita pibil and papadzules. The 2010 UNESCO declaration of traditional Mexican cuisine implicitly includes Yucatecan cuisine as one of the most distinctive regional cuisines of the national corpus. The Yucatecan sour lime is also a key ingredient of the peninsular agricultural identity: it is cultivated in towns such as Maxcanú, Oxkutzcab and Akil. In popular culture, sopa de lima appears in regional novels and in state tourism promotion as 'the soup that resembles no other'. Chefs such as Roberto Solís (Néctar), Pedro Evia (Kuuk) and David Cetina (La Tradición) have reinterpreted it on contemporary haute Yucatecan menus. Boutique hotels in Mérida and the Riviera Maya serve it as a culinary welcome to tourists. It is also a Lenten dish when chicken is replaced with fish, giving rise to the less common but equally appreciated 'fish sopa de lima'.

Related recipes

Now that you know what it is, try cooking it at home with our step-by-step recipes:

Yucatecan Lime Soup

Ingredients to cook it

Find where to buy authentic ingredients in Mexican shops in the US:

Lime

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Yucatecan sour lime and Mexican lime?: The Mexican lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) common throughout Mexico is small, acidic and very aromatic. The Yucatecan sour lime, also Citrus aurantiifolia but of local variety, has a more floral, slightly sweet and less acidic aroma. Sweet lime, a different citrus, is not used in this soup. Substituting Yucatecan sour lime with regular lime alters the characteristic aromatic profile of the Yucatecan dish.
What does sopa de lima taste like?: It tastes of deep chicken or turkey broth with a very particular floral citrus perfume from the Yucatecan sour lime, freshness from coriander, subtle sweetness from the mild habanero chilli and spicy notes of allspice and Yucatecan oregano. The fried tortillas add a crunchy texture and the flavour of toasted maize. It is light, refreshing, perfect for the tropical heat, totally different from any other Mexican broth.
How is sopa de lima served?: It is served hot in a deep bowl with the golden broth, the shredded chicken or turkey meat and lime slices floating. Just before serving, the crunchy fried tortilla strips and chopped coriander are added. It is accompanied with warm tortillas, habanero chilli sauce (xnipek or chiltomate) and half an extra lime to squeeze to taste. It is a starter or light main, especially popular as a midday meal in warm weather.
Where does sopa de lima originate from?: It originates from Yucatán, with its epicentre in Mérida and extends across the whole peninsula (Campeche and Quintana Roo). It is a mestizo Maya-Spanish dish: it combines pre-Hispanic turkey broth technique with the sour lime brought by the Spanish via the Caribbean in the 16th century. It is consolidated in 19th-century Yucatecan Creole cookbooks and popularised touristically in the 20th century as a regional icon.