Mock turtle soup
Encyclopedia
Mock turtle soup is an English soup that was created in the mid-18th century as a cheaper imitation of green turtle soup
. It often uses brains
and organ meats such as calf's head or a calf's foot to duplicate the texture and flavour of the original's turtle meat.
Mock turtle soup is the basis for the character of the Mock Turtle
in Lewis Carroll
's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
, the joke being that Mock Turtle Soup is supposedly made from Mock Turtles.
and Ammerland
regions of Germany
, Mockturtlesuppe—the English designation "mock turtle" retained—is a traditional meal, dating from the time of the personal union
between the Kingdom of Hanover
and the Kingdom of Great Britain
.
The Campbell Soup Company
once produced canned mock turtle soup.
Turtle soup
Turtle soup is soup or stews made from the flesh of the turtle. The dish exists in many cultures and is viewed as a luxury or delicacy.The green turtle was commonly used for turtle soup in the United States and United Kingdom. Soup made from the snapping turtle was found mainly in the United States...
. It often uses brains
Offal
Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
and organ meats such as calf's head or a calf's foot to duplicate the texture and flavour of the original's turtle meat.
Mrs. Fowle's Mock Turtle Soup,:
"Take a large calf's head. Scald off the hair. Boil it until the horn is tender, then cut it into slices about the size of your finger, with as little lean as possible. Have ready three pints of good mutton or veal broth, put in it half a pint of Madeira wineMadeira wineMadeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. Some wines produced in small quantities in California and Texas are also referred to as "Madeira", or "Madera", although those wines do not conform to the EU PDO regulations...
, half a teaspoonful of thyme, pepper, a large onion, and the peel of a lemon chop't very small. A ¼ of a pint of oysters chop't very small, and their liquor; a little salt, the juice of two large onions, some sweet herbs, and the brains chop't. Stand all these together for about an hour, and send it up to the table with the forcemeatForcemeatForcemeat is a mixture of ground, lean meat emulsified with fat. The emulsification can be accomplished by either grinding, sieving, or pureeing the ingredients. The emulsification may either be smooth or coarse, depending on the desired consistency of the final product...
balls made small and the yolks of hard eggs."
Mock turtle soup is the basis for the character of the Mock Turtle
Mock Turtle
The Mock Turtle is a fictional character devised by Lewis Carroll from his popular book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Its name is taken from a dish that was popular in the Victorian period, mock turtle soup....
in Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
, the joke being that Mock Turtle Soup is supposedly made from Mock Turtles.
Germany
In the OldenburgOldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
and Ammerland
Ammerland
Ammerland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Oldenburg and the districts of Oldenburg, Cloppenburg, Leer, Friesland and Wesermarsch.- History :...
regions of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Mockturtlesuppe—the English designation "mock turtle" retained—is a traditional meal, dating from the time of the personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
between the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
and the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
.
US
An American version of the soup is popular in Cincinnati and canned under the name Worthmore's Mock Turtle Soup. According to Cincinnati Favorites, an online mailorder source for local delicacies, this version of the soup is made not with organ meats but with lean beef, ketchup, boiled eggs and lemon.The Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...
once produced canned mock turtle soup.