Sea Turtles

The green sea turtle is not the only edible turtle, but for the purposes of describing American seafood, this is the most exploited species. The taste and fashion for turtle soup probably traveled from the Caribbean to England, and from thence to North America. For much of the last half of the eighteenth century and into the early nineteenth century, turtle soup was so stylish that a mock version was developed to replace it. Some American sailing ships captured turtles for fresh meat, but sailors did not often welcome it.