Martin Fone delves into the curious tale of an iconic Victorian delicacy: mock turtle soup. It all began out of necessity. In the early 18 th century, on discovering that they were edible, British sailors in the Caribbean kept live green turtles on board their ships to ensure a supply of fresh meat.
News of this exotic meat, offering cuts whose flavours were reminiscent of veal, beef, ham, and pork, soon spread to their homeland. By the middle of the century some 15,000 live turtles were being imported a year to satisfy the culinary cravings of the English aristocracy, the ‘most outspoken in their praise of this sea creature’s virtue’ as food. Particularly sought after was turtle soup, a dish that appeared as regularly as clockwork on the menu for the Lord Mayor’s Day Banquet in London from 1761 until 1825.
With its dull-green colour, delicate taste, and gelatinous feel in the mouth, it became so popular that turtle-shaped tureens were produced specifically for its presentation at table on formal occasions. One of the first to publish a recipe for turtle dressed ‘in the West India way’ was Hannah Glasse in her 1751 edition of The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy . As well as a recipe for soup there were others which made use of particular cuts of turtle meat, one for the calipash or back shell, another featuring the calipee or belly, another that made use of the offal and one for the fins.
Each dish was allocated a particular spot on the table for service. Eliz.