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{{Short description|Central American dish}}
{{about|the culinary dish|the mountain peak|Păpușa}}
{{More sources needed|date=September 2024}}
{{Expand Spanish|topic=cult|Pupusa|date=January 2024}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name            = Pupusa
| image           = Pupusas El Salvador Centro America.JPG
| caption         =
| image_size      = 255px
| alternate_name  =
| country         = <!-- Any change to this field should be discussed on talk page first -->[[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]]<ref name=Univision>{{cite web|url=https://www.univision.com/noticias/mes-de-la-hispanidad/la-guerra-de-las-pupusas-son-salvadorenas-u-hondurenas-univision34-investiga|title=La Guerra de las Pupusas: ¿Son Salvadoreñas u Hondureñas? Univision34 Investiga|trans-title=The Pupusa War: Are They Salvadoran or Honduran? Univision34 Investigates|language=es|date=27 July 2011|work=[[Univision]]|location=[[Los Angeles]], California|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606085036/https://www.univision.com/noticias/mes-de-la-hispanidad/la-guerra-de-las-pupusas-son-salvadorenas-u-hondurenas-univision34-investiga|archive-date=6 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=COHA>{{cite web|url=http://www.coha.org/coha-research-food-wars-in-latin-america|title=COHA Research: Food Wars in Latin America|language=en|date=8 September 2014|work=[[Council on Hemispheric Affairs]]|first1=Alejandro|last1=Sanchez}}</ref>
| region          =
| creator         =
| course          =
| type            =
| served          =
| main_ingredient = [[Maize flour|Corn]] or [[rice flour]]<br />Fillings e.g. meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, beans
| variations      =
| calories        =
| other           =
}}

A '''pupusa''' is a thick [[Griddle#Residential|griddle]] cake or flatbread from [[El Salvador]] and <!-- Any change to these countries should be discussed on talk page first -->[[Honduras]]<ref name=Univision /><ref name=COHA /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Leidy|date=2020-05-13|title=Pupusa: a typical dish from El Salvador|url=https://openculturalcenter.org/pupusa-a-typical-dish-from-el-salvador/|access-date=2021-03-23|website=Open Cultural Center|language=en-US|archive-date=26 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226184946/https://openculturalcenter.org/pupusa-a-typical-dish-from-el-salvador/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vasquez|first=Nelson|date=2020-09-25|title=Salvadoran Food: Pupusas|url=https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/ma_tesol/3|journal=ESL for Academic Purposes}}</ref> made with [[cornmeal]] or rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan [[arepa]]. In El Salvador, it has been declared the [[national dish]] and has a specific day to celebrate it. It is usually stuffed with one or more ingredients, which may include cheese (such as {{lang|es|[[quesillo]]}} or cheese with {{lang|es|[[Echites panduratus|loroco]]}} buds), {{lang|es|[[chicharrón]]}}, squash, or refried beans. It is typically accompanied by {{lang|es|[[curtido]]}} (a spicy fermented cabbage [[Coleslaw|slaw]]) and tomato salsa, and is traditionally eaten by hand.

==Etymology==
The exact origin of the term {{lang|es|pupusa}} is unknown. The {{ill|Dictionary of Americanisms (Royal Spanish Academy){{!}}Dictionary of Americanisms|es|Diccionario de americanismos}}, published by the [[Association of Academies of the Spanish Language]], states that pupusa derives from the [[Nawat language|Nawat]] word {{lang|ppl|puxahua}} meaning "fluffy" or "fluffy thing".<ref>{{cite book|title=Diccionario de Americanismos|year=2010|trans-title=Dictionary of Americanisms|language=es|publisher=[[Association of Academies of the Spanish Language]]|isbn=9788429495508|page=1,787}}</ref> In her book ''Interlude and Other Verses'', Lidia Pérez de Novoa believed that pupusa derives from the Nawat word {{lang|ppl|pupusawa}} meaning "to puff up".<ref name="Perez de Novoa">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BL-PDwAAQBAJ&q=pupusa|title=Interludio y Otros Versos|trans-title=Interlude and Other Verses|language=es|date=2019|access-date=6 July 2023|first1=Lidia Georgina|last1=Pérez de Novoa|publisher=Liber Factory coedición Lord Byron|isbn=9788417707415|page=71}}</ref>

Salvadoran linguist Jorge Lemus argued that the word pupusa does not have Nawat roots, stating that the [[Pipil people]] referred to pupusas as {{lang|ppl|kukumuzin}}. In his book ''Quicheísmos: Contribution to the Study of American Folklore...'', {{ill|Santiago Barberena|es|Santiago Ignacio Barberena}} believed that the word pupusa originated from a combination of the [[Kʼicheʼ language|K'iche']] words {{lang|quc|pop}} (meaning "sphere") and {{lang|quc|utz}} (meaning "good thing"), forming the word {{lang|quc|poputz}} meaning "good sphere"; however, the term {{lang|quc|poputz}} does not appear in any K'iche' language dictionaries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339887120|title=La Palabra Pupusa no es Pipil|trans-title=The Word Pupusa is Not Pipil|language=es|date=September 2016|access-date=6 July 2023|first1=Jorge E.|last1=Lemus|publisher=Don Bosco University|pages=1–5}}</ref>

==Origin==
El Salvador and Honduras both claim to be the birthplace of the pupusa. Salvadoran archeologist Roberto Ordóñez attributed the creation of the pupusa to the [[Pipil people|Pipil]] people due to the name meaning "swollen" in the Pipil language.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} Honduran etymologists say that since the Pipil language is so close to the [[Nahuatl]] language, the Nahuas of Honduras could have created the dish.<ref>{{cite web|title=La Guerra de las Pupusas|url=http://losangeles.univision.com/mes-de-la-hispanidad/article/2011-07-27/origen-de-las-pupusas-salvador-honduras|date=27 July 2011|work=losangeles.univision.com|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716020748/http://losangeles.univision.com/mes-de-la-hispanidad/article/2011-07-27/origen-de-las-pupusas-salvador-honduras|archive-date=16 July 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> However, no direct links have been made to the community.

The topic of the pupusa's origin also came up during the negotiation for the [[Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement]] (CAFTA–DR). Both nations wanted to make the pupusa an exclusive export. After two days, the Honduran delegation ceded the right to El Salvador.<ref>{{cite web|title=Honduras Insists pupusas|url=http://www.elsalvador.com:80/noticias/2003/12/08/nacional/nacio4.html|author=Gómez, Iván |date=8 December 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041031230137/http://www.elsalvador.com:80/noticias/2003/12/08/nacional/nacio4.html|archive-date=31 October 2004}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Nicaraguan Cheese Pupusas.jpg|thumb|Nicaraguan cheese pupusas from [[Masatepe]], locally known as rellenas in the departments of [[Masaya Department|Masaya]], [[Granada Department|Granada]], and [[Rivas Department|Rivas]]]]
The oldest historical record of pupusas dates back to Nicaragua in 1837, when Guatemalan poet [[José Batres Montúfar]] documented and ate the dish while traveling through [[Masaya Department|Masaya]], [[Rivas Department|Rivas]], and [[Granada Department|Granada]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guanacos.com/historia-de-las-pupusas/|title= The Pupusas: History, Evolution and National Popularity|date= 28 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Un-plato-modesto-convertido-en-referente-cultural-20221112-0055.html|title= A Modest Dish Turned Into a Cultural Reference|work=La Prensa Gráfica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Las-pupusas-de-San-Salvador-son-bicentenarias-20211113-0047.html|title= The Pupusas of San Salvador are bicentennial}}</ref> He recalled through a letter he wrote to his family.
<blockquote>The tortillas cost 8 per half a real, but they are enormous, a foot in diameter and true laborer's pistons: they are almost never called tortillas, except for their accidents: one filled, that is, a pupusa from San Salvador; a stir, ground the dough together with the cheese; an empty one, which is what I prefer, is the one that has nothing extra.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guanacos.com/historia-de-las-pupusas/|title= The Pupusas: History, Evolution and National Popularity|date= 28 November 2022}}</ref></blockquote>

Pupusas have been linked to the [[Pipil people|Pipil tribes]] who inhabited the territory now known as [[El Salvador]]. A version of the pre-Columbian pupusa was vegetarian and half-moon shaped. In the late 1940s, pupusas were still not widespread across [[El Salvador]] and were mostly localized in the central towns. They were documented previously in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La palabra pupusa no es pipil |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339887120}}</ref> As the Salvadoran population began migrating to other areas in the 1960s, pupusa stands proliferated across the country. In Guatemala during the 1970s, pupusas had a half-moon shape. Pupusas served east of the [[Lempa River]] usually have a much larger diameter.

In the 1980s, the [[Salvadoran Civil War]] forced a Salvadoran migration to other countries, mainly the United States, which made pupusas available elsewhere: [[Salvadoran American|Salvadoran immigrants]] brought the dish to most areas of the US, and they spread to Canada and Australia as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-wp0/wp-content/uploads/sites/99/2017/08/07153335/Pupusas-Arepas.pdf|title=Pupusas and the Arepa|access-date=2021-03-22|archive-date=5 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005173633/https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-wp0/wp-content/uploads/sites/99/2017/08/07153335/Pupusas-Arepas.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Kiniry |first1=Laura |last2=Kavanaugh |first2=Daniel |date=11 July 2019 |title=For Salvadorans, pupusas mean comfort |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190711-for-salvadorans-pupusas-mean-comfort |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=BBC |language=en}}</ref> By the 1990s, they were common in cities such as [[Los Angeles]], New York, and San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hansen |first=Barbara |date=9 Aug 1990 |title=Pupusas |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-09-fo-0-story.html |access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Pupusas have been popular in [[Washington, D.C.]], since the 1980s and in 2019, 6 November was declared the day of the pupusa.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Carmen |date=2019-08-19 |title=National day of pupusas in Washington D. C. |url=https://vozdeladiasporanews.com/dia-nacional-de-la-pupusa-en-washington-d-c/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=Voz del la Diaspora |language=en |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005173634/https://vozdeladiasporanews.com/dia-nacional-de-la-pupusa-en-washington-d-c/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Barnes |first1=Sophia |last2=Patron |first2=Mariela |date=8 Nov 2019 |title=Praising the Pupusa: DC's Love for an Iconic Salvadoran Dish |url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/the-pupusa-iconic-salvadoran-dish-is-a-dc-mainstay-national-pupusa-day/2106358/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=NBC4 Washington |language=en-US}}</ref>

In April 2005, the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly declared pupusas as the national dish of El Salvador and every second Sunday of November would be National Pupusas Day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/decretos/details/1535|title=Declárase Día Nacional de las Pupusasecreto Día Nacional de las Pupusas — Asamblea Legislativa|website=www.asamblea.gob.sv|language=es|access-date=2020-05-29|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806150021/https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/decretos/details/1535|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cultura.gob.sv/secultura-invita-a-celebrar-el-dia-nacional-de-la-pupusa/|title=Secultura invita al Día Nacional de la Pupusa|website=www.cultura.gob.sv|language=es|access-date=2020-05-29|archive-date=23 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623144409/http://www.cultura.gob.sv/secultura-invita-a-celebrar-el-dia-nacional-de-la-pupusa/|url-status=dead}}</ref> A fair is typically held on the day in the capital and a few big cities. On 10 November 2007, in celebration of National Pupusa Day, the Secretary of Culture organized a fair in the capital park in which they would make the world's biggest pupusa. The pupusa was {{Convert|3.15|m|ft|sp=us}} in diameter and was made with {{Convert|200|lb|kg}} of [[masa]], {{Convert|40|lb|kg}} of cheese, and 40&nbsp;pounds of chicharrón. It fed 5,000 people. Five years later, the record was broken again with a pupusa {{Convert|4.25|m|ft|sp=us}} in diameter.<ref name="Historia">{{cite web|title=Historia de la Pupusa Salvadorena|url=http://www.redislam.net/2013/01/historia-de-la-pupusa-salvadorena.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120103513/http://www.redislam.net/2013/01/historia-de-la-pupusa-salvadorena.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-01-20|work=redislam.net|date=January 2013}}</ref> [[Guinness World Records]] listed the largest pupusa at {{Convert|15|ft|m}}, created in [[Olocuilta]], [[El Salvador]], on 8 November 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-pupusa|title=Largest pupusa|work=Guinness World Records|access-date=2017-09-24|language=en-GB}}</ref> This record was broken on 28 September 2024 when Salvadoran chefs in [[Washington, D.C.]] created a {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} pupusa.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/28/pupusa-guinness-world-record-dc/|title=Salvadoran Chefs in D.C. Break World Record for Largest Pupusa|language=en|date=28 September 2024|access-date=30 September 2024|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first1=Emma|last1=Uber}}</ref>

In 2011, ''The Guardian'' named pupusas that year's Best Street Food in New York.<ref>{{cite web|title=The best street food in New York |author=Resnick, Perry|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/sep/26/new-york-best-street-food|date=26 September 2011 |work=The Guardian }}</ref>

Both at home and abroad, pupusas are traditionally served with [[curtido]] (a pickled cabbage relish, analogous to German [[sauerkraut]] and Korean [[kimchi]] that comes in mild and spicy varieties) and [[tomato sauce]], and are traditionally eaten by hand. Author Carlos Cordova reports an ancient pre-Hispanic belief that it was sinful to cut tortillas with a knife; they must be cut with fingers as corn was believed to be a divine grain. This might be the reason why generation after generation has adhered to the rule of eating pupusas with the hands.<ref>Cordova, Carlos B. "The Salvadoran Americans". p 102. Westport, Conn. Greewood, 2005. Web</ref>

==Preparation==
[[File:2010.05.04.165724 Pupusería Las Chinamas El Salvador.jpg|thumb|A woman making pupusas in [[Ahuachapán]], western El Salvador]]
[[File:Traditional Pupusas over wood fire.jpg|thumb|Traditional pupusas in El Salvador are cooked over wood fire, using a pottery griddle called a {{lang|es|[[Comal (cookware)|comal]]}}.]]
A pupusa is a handmade maize or rice tortilla stuffed with ingredients. Stuffing can include cheese, refried beans, squash, [[Echites panduratus|loroco]], and {{lang|es|[[chicharrón]]}}.<ref name="Perez de Novoa" />

===Regional variations===
A variant of the pupusa in El Salvador is the {{lang|es|pupusa de arroz}}, originally hailing from the town of [[Olocuilta]] in the east of San Salvador.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Rice flour is used to make the dough and they are usually stuffed with chopped pork, cheese, beans, zucchini, and other vegetables. Another regional variation, found in [[Alegría, Usulután|Alegría]], is the {{lang|es|pupusa de banano}}, which calls for the addition of plantain bananas to the pupusa.

====Latin America====
Pupusas are also found in neighboring [[Central America]]n countries. Honduran versions use the local {{lang|es|quesillo}} type of cheese for the filling. In [[Costa Rica]], both "Salvadoran pupusas" and "pupusas" are available, the latter being a local version. There, they are a staple of the food stalls at regional carnivals known as fiestas.

A similar [[Cuisine of Mexico|Mexican dish]] is called a {{lang|es|[[gordita]]}} (literally, "little fatty"), but gorditas are usually open at one end. In [[Colombia]] and [[Venezuela]], they make {{lang|es|[[arepa]]s}}. Colombian {{lang|es|arepas}} are usually eaten without filling, or the filling is placed inside the dough before cooking. Venezuela has its own recipe for {{lang|es|arepas}}, but, unlike Colombian {{lang|es|arepas}}, the dough is cooked first, and then sliced in half and stuffed somewhat like a [[hamburger]].

====United States====
Pupusas made in the [[United States]] are typically made with [[Maseca]] commercial corn flour-{{lang|es|masa}} mix,{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} instead of fresh {{lang|es|masa}}. Some high-end {{lang|es|pupuserías}} in the United States use rice flour and wheat flour versions. In [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]], New Mexico, variations include using [[spinach]], [[pepperoni]], cheese, and green chile.

[[Taco Cabana]], a [[Tex-Mex cuisine|Tex-Mex]] chain in [[Texas]], created a dish called the ''pupusa'', which consists of chicken strips in a corn tortilla, that has no relation to the Salvadoran food.<ref name="chron">Peralta, Eyder (27 July 2006). [http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Bona-fide-pupusas-1522608.php "Bona fide pupusas: Classic or clueless? Here's how to tell"], ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'' Dining Guide, p. 4</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:Plain pupusas revueltas.jpg|{{lang|es|Pupusas revueltas}} stuffed with meat, beans and cheese
File:Pupusas by Roland Tanglao.jpg|Pupusas and tomato sauce
Image:Pupusas,_Salvadoreñas,_para_llevar.jpg|Pupusas for carryout, in El Salvador, are wrapped in plastic and then in paper.
image:Pupuseria_in_Stgo_Texacuangos_dpto_San_Salvador_El_Salvador.jpg|A pupusería in Santiago Texacuangos, El Salvador. Note the various pupusas advertised on the wall: chicken, jalapeño, [[chipilín]], and avocado
file:Typical_Pupuseria_setup_in_El_Salvador.jpg|A pupusería in [[Olocuilta]].
file:El_Salvador_Pupuseria_en_la_noche.jpg|An outdoor pupusería in El Salvador at night
File:Sarita's Pupuseria - February 2024 - Sasrah Stierch 01.jpg|Pork and bean pupusa from Sarita's Pupuseria in Los Angeles, California
</gallery>

==Economic impact==
In spite of their low market price, pupusas represent an important element in the economy of El Salvador. Rising ingredient costs in 2022 have led to concerns about rising pupusa prices.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alfaro |first=Karla |date=15 Jan 2022 |title=Pupusas increase in price in downtown San Salvador |work=CE Noticias Financieras English |publisher=ContentEngine LLC |location=Miami |access-date= |via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref>

In addition to whole pupusas, the individual ingredients are also exported; in 2005, for example, US$604,408 worth of [[Echites panduratus|loroco]], sometimes used as a pupusa filling, was sold to the United States alone.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}
Frozen pupusas can be found in the refrigerated section of many Hispanic and international supermarkets in the [[United States]], especially those located in highly concentrated areas of Salvadorans such as [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Long Island, New York|Long Island]], New York.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Pupusa sales play a significant role in the Salvadoran economy. According to the Salvadoran Ministry of Economy, in 2001–2003, pupuserias generated $22&nbsp;million. The export of ingredients such as loroco has also helped boost the economy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Las Pupusas: ícono culinario salvadoreño celebrará su día|work=El Periodista|date=4 November 2014|url=http://www.elperiodista.com.sv/index.php/45-municipios-activos/804-las-pupusas-icono-culinario-salvadoreno-celebrara-su-dia.html|access-date=9 May 2015|archive-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095746/http://www.elperiodista.com.sv/index.php/45-municipios-activos/804-las-pupusas-icono-culinario-salvadoreno-celebrara-su-dia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> As of 2005, some 300,000 people made pupusas for a living, with a majority of them being women.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

==See also==
{{portal|El Salvador|Food}}

* [[Latin American cuisine]]
* [[List of maize dishes]]
* [[List of street foods]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Carman, Tim.  "[https://lib.byu.edu/remoteauth/?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=wapo.a9bfdd4a-792b-11e1-9362-cd989ac6bfb2&site=eds-live&scope=site. Perfect Pupusas Require a Mastery of Masa]". ''The Washington Post'', 2012.
* Lawson, Susan C. "[https://lib.byu.edu/remoteauth/?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=6644089&site=eds-live&scope=site. Latin LESSONS]". ''Indianapolis Monthly'', vol. 25, no. 10, 2002, pp. 164.
* Nickles, Greg. [https://lib.byu.edu/remoteauth/?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=17905579&site=eds-live&scope=site. "The Flavors of El Salvador"]. ''El Salvador: The People & Culture'', 2002, pp. 28–29.
* {{cite book | last1=Planet | first1=L. | last2=Staff | first2=Lonely Planet Publications | title=The World's Best Street Food: Where to Find It and How to Make It | publisher=Lonely Planet Publications | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-74321-664-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wat9BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT137 | access-date=30 July 2016 | page=137}}
* Scherer, Jane. "[https://lib.byu.edu/remoteauth/?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=1252547&site=eds-live&scope=site. Pupusas]". ''Faces'', vol. 15, no. 3, November 1998, p. 19.

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[[Category:Maize dishes]]
[[Category:National dishes]]
[[Category:Salvadoran cuisine]]
[[Category:Tortilla-based dishes]]
[[Category:Honduran cuisine]]