Why Was Turtle Soup Once Considered a Delicacy?
From the mid-18th century until the mid-20th century, turtle soup was one of the most luxurious dishes in European and American cuisine. It frequently appeared on the tables of wealthy families and was served at dinners held by prominent politicians. While turtle soup is still considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, it has become all but obsolete in America. But why, exactly, did this dish enjoy more than 200 years as a prized culinary staple?
From Survival Food to Status Symbol
The first Europeans to eat turtle were not aristocrats, but sailors and explorers in the late 17th century. The green sea turtles found in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean were initially seen as merely suitable sustenance for long journeys at sea. But as Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean islands taught European seafarers more about turtles, the simple food became seen as “exotic” and desirable. It caught the attention of the upper class in Europe, and before long, turtle meat became a coveted luxury on the continent.
By the early 18th century, Britain’s taste for turtle had extended to the American colonies, and while recipes for turtle casseroles and other dishes were prominent in cookbooks from the era, turtle soup was the most popular. Turtle’s delicate, veal-like taste and rich, gelatinous texture made it ideal for slow-simmered broths and stews.
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The Terrapin’s Territory
With demand for turtle soup surging, overfishing quickly became a problem. The Caribbean sea turtle population rapidly began depleting in the early 1800s. In the U.S., diamondback terrapins from the country’s eastern shores became a popular substitute for sea turtles. Abraham Lincoln even served terrapin stew at his second inauguration in 1865. The dish, according to an 1880 edition of The Washington Post, was “an important part of any Washington dinner laying claim to being a pretentious affair.”
By the turn of the 20th century, “mock” turtle soup, made with calf’s head instead of turtle meat, had become almost as beloved as the real thing. But the appetite for real turtle soup remained, and overharvesting of turtle populations continued, particularly as canned turtle soup became an increasingly mainstream product.
The Fall of a Delicacy
When Prohibition started in 1920 and the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol was banned in the U.S., a key ingredient of turtle soup, sherry, was no longer available. What’s more, without alcohol sales, many of the country’s fine dining establishments — the very ones that helped keep turtle soup flourishing among the upper class — struggled to remain open. As they gradually closed, with them went the once-ubiquitous terrapin treat.
In 1973, the Endangered Species Act made it illegal to kill sea turtles in U.S. waters — bad news for turtle soup fans but good news for sea turtles. By 2019, their population had rebounded, increasing by 980%. Even though a vintage recipe for turtle soup remained in a reissue of the classic American cookbook The Joy of Cooking as late as 1997, the hearty dish all but disappeared from menus and dining tables by the 1980s.
