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Also known as “Haitian Independence Soup” or “Freedom Soup,” soup joumou is a taste of Haitian history and independence
New Year’s Day is one of the most exciting days of the year for me. Not just because it signifies the beginning of a new year, or because it means a new me (and the beginning of a resolution I’ll probably drop within a month). No, it’s because I get to indulge in a big bowl of soup joumou.
Soup joumou is a slightly sweet, incredibly savory squash soup that originated in Haiti. The soup is built on a base of either calabaza squash, butternut squash, or pumpkin; filled with root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and turnips; seasoned with epis, a blend of peppers, garlic, and herbs found in most Haitian dishes; and topped with some form of carb. Every Haitian household and chef has their own recipe and way of preparing the dish. Many like to use rigatoni as their carb of choice, while some may opt for spaghetti. Others choose to use rice, a staple ingredient in Haitian cuisine, rather than pasta in their soup. Some Haitian chefs and home cooks prefer to keep the soup vegetarian whereas others, like my mom, use both beef and chicken.
“A lot of us think that soup joumou is this very one specific thing,” says Nadege Fleurimond, an author and the chef-owner of BunNan and Fleurimond Catering in Brooklyn. “It does vary from household to household.”
No matter what differences may lie between every cup, bowl, or pot of soup joumou, one thing remains the same: soup joumou means freedom.
On January 1,1804, Haiti became the Western Hemisphere’s first Black republic — the result of a 13-year revolution during which enslaved Haitians fought against and overthrew their French rulers. For approximately three centuries prior, the French and Spanish had enslaved the indigenous Taino people on the island of Hispaniola (the landmass that houses Haiti and the Dominican Republic), as well as captured Africans. The Taino population was decimated by disease, war, and forced labor. The relocated African population of Saint Domingue (now Haiti) was similarly devastated by chattel slavery, the main driving economic force of the region. In 1791, enslaved Haitians led by general Toussaint L’Ouverture began their revolt against Napoleon Bonaparte and their enslavers. Now known as the Haitian Revolution, the 13-year battle had ripple effects across the Western Hemisphere — including Bonaparte’s decision to sell Louisiana to the United States — and marked the beginning of Haitian sovereignty.
To celebrate their newly realized independence, Haitians began to indulge in the things that their enslavers had prohibited, including soup joumou. Under French rule, enslaved Haitians were required to harvest the ingredients and cook the soup, but were never allowed to consume it, as soup joumou was a delicacy that was reserved exclusively for the white enslavers. When Haitian independence was realized on January 1, 1804, Haitians across the country began a new tradition: every year on New Year’s Day, Haitian Independence Day, they will eat the soup.
This story of triumph, celebration, and reclamation is one that I, and many other Haitians and their descendants, grew up hearing. Soup joumou provided a simple vessel for learning Haitian history that we weren’t necessarily taught in school. When I was growing up, my mother would receive a pot of soup from a friend or family member every year. As my sister and I gathered around the pot, bowls in hand, ready for my mom’s ladle to provide us with our highly anticipated serving, Mom would remind us that soup joumou is a symbol of our freedom and how hard our ancestors fought for it.
The sharing of soup joumou — and as a result, Haitian history — is a time-honored tradition held by Haitians everywhere. “In our neighborhood [growing up in Haiti], families would go and trade soup with each other,” says Wesly Jean Simon, chef-owner of the Brooklyn restaurants Djon Djon and Market Bar. “Somebody would come and drop off a bowl, then I’d go drop off a bowl from my mother to another family member and then we’d all trade soup.”
In the United States, Haitians are sharing the soup with their communities, whether its members are Haitian or not. When we spoke, Fleurimond had just finished shooting a soup joumou tutorial for her social channels to help demystify the daunting dish. On December 26, she will be hosting a live soup joumou cooking class in Brooklyn in partnership with Little Haiti BK. In addition to teaching others how to make the soup, Fleurimond makes it for her family and friends who aren’t Haitian. “I think it is on our part as Haitians to keep sharing [soup joumou],” Fleurimond says.
For the last five years, Simon has been giving out free bowls of the soup at his restaurants. He also brings some to local hospitals and police precincts in order to show essential works his appreciation. Last year, he gave out 900 cups of soup to his community; this year, he hopes to hit 2,000. When it comes to giving out free soup, his focus is split between providing a little piece of home to Haitian migrants who may be struggling with food insecurity and non-Haitians who have never interacted with Haitian food before. “I know the Haitians are going to come anyway and get it,” he says. “But I focus on non-Haitians because it’s a part of Haitian history and I want the world to remember our history.”
When I moved out after graduating college, my mom began making extra-large portions of soup joumou and bringing a pot over to my apartment on New Year’s Day, providing enough for me to share with my friends. As I split my bounty that first year with my roommates, neither of whom are of Haitian descent, I made sure to share the dish’s storied history with them. Now, every year, even as early as Thanksgiving, my roommates ask me if my mother is bringing soup joumou again. One of them even told her co-workers that while her family doesn’t have any holiday traditions surrounding New Year’s Day, she looks forward to having my mom’s soup joumou with me. “That’s the beauty of it,” says Fleurimond. “Soup joumou is becoming a part of other people’s tradition.”
