In cold times, Brownsville gathers around warming foods

Hot soup has traditionally been a comfort during chilly weather. And in the Rio Grande Valley, where temperatures rarely drop, a cold front is a good excuse to indulge in local versions of northern classics, such as chicken soup and clam chowder.

Chile con carne, frijoles a la charra (borracho bean soup), fideo and a wide array of tortilla soups are all popular staples in the area during the wintertime, said Susan Klein, a retired Brownsville caterer. But one of the all-time favorites in the Valley is caldo de res, a beef soup with potatoes, corn, cabbage and spices.

"I feel it is one of those soups that people who have lived here all their lives, who have grown up in homes where it was fixed, can make it better than anyone else," said Klein, who does not cook the soup often but enjoys eating it.

Caldo de res and cold weather go together like tamales and Christmas, said Tony Zavaleta, vice president for external affairs at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.

Zavaleta called it a "cultural super food," or a dish that one ethnic group identifies with.

"It is a meal grandmothers and mothers would prepare for their children because they can put all kinds of things in it, from leftovers to different kinds of vegetables," Zavaleta said. "As long as there have been people, there has been caldo."

But each culture has its own version of it, he said.

Sofia Martinez, owner of Las Canastas located at 825 Palm Blvd., said caldo de res is one of the specialty dishes at the restaurant.

"When it is cold, more people ask for caldo and fideo," she said. "Caldo warms the body."

When temperatures dip into the 30s today, Elizabeth Lopez Peña, 58, said she will prepare caldo for her family using her mother’s recipe, the one she learned when raised in small ranch just outside Matamoros.

"I am going to keep myself nice and warm this winter," she said.