Raw Beef Soup Contained Acid

In 1904, the cookbook Cooking in Old Creole Days included a "raw beef soup" made from one pound of chipped beef, four ounces of water, and four drops of muriatic acid, now called hydrochloric acid. The recipe kept the mixture on ice for 12 hours, warmed the sealed jar in a bain-marie for one hour, then strained and chilled it again. It instructed readers to serve the cold soup as nourishment for very ill people.

Previous Fact Next Fact