Sho Spaeth is the lead writer and editor at ChefSteps.com. He is also the author of Homemade Ramen, a James Beard Award–nominated cookbook.

Sho Spaeth

Gazpacho! Everyone knows what it is, right? Maybe. In what might be the strongest example of menu word association, as soon you see gazpacho listed among appetizers and salads, your brain immediately reads it as “cold soup.” (Maybe some of your brains do something a little more interesting—“light liquid lunch,” say, or “salad smoothie.”) “Watermelon gazpacho”? Cold watermelon soup. “Avocado gazpacho”? Yup, cold avocado soup.And yet gazpacho is a specific dish, one with a well-established provenance. Most people would be able to tell you that, actually, it’s a cold tomato soup from Spain. Others might say, actually, it’s a cold Spanish soup, but it doesn’t need to be made with tomatoes, as it was enjoyed long before the Columbian exchange.So what is it? And how does one make gazpacho and “gazpachos” these days? What’s acceptable? What’s authentic? What tastes great? Read on for our approach to making soups in the style of one of the most iconic cold soups in existence.