14 Completely Insane Dishes from History

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Turtle Soup

While these days most species of turtles are protected from hunting, turtle soup was all the rage in 18th-century Britain. Imported live from the West Indies, the turtles were butchered in situ, and made into a soup fit for a banquet. Well two soups actually, calipash and calipee, made from the upper and lower flesh of the turtle and served in the animal's upper and lower shells. Importing the live turtles, butchering and preparing the soup was so expensive and time-consuming, that by the 19th century, tinned or dried turtle was often used instead. Shortly after, even this was too expensive and mock turtle soup, made from calf, became popular.