In the Mood for a SoupSong?

e-SoupSong 1: May 1, 2000

ONCE UPON A TIME, in Alice’s Wonderland, the mock turtle sang his soulful song to "Soup of the Evening, Beautiful Soup." It was, in fact, a paean to green turtle soup--and he sang it with tears brimming in his large eyes because, alas, he was only mock.

Times change. Just a week ago a United Nations conference in Nairobi rejected proposals to lift global bans on trade in marine turtles, the very stuff of fabled turtle soup. The signature dish of 18th and 19th century gourmet tables is now largely a curiosity.

Fact is, man’s relationship to his food changes constantly, with the winds of climate and population shift--and as culture, technology, religion, and values evolve. Yet food is also a constant in our lives--and far beyond mere body fuel. It’s a sacrament of friendship, the glue of family relationships, a compelling symbol of charity and sharing, an icon of sophistication, a touchstone of cultural values and tradition.

The website soupsong.com is obsessed with these things. In launching this monthly newsletter, it has no ax to grind, no product to sell, no hidden agenda. It proposes only to help you take a very close look at that...that THING you’re about to put--or not put--in your mouth. What is it...where did it come from...and how on earth did it end up in that particular bowl of soup with all those other things? If we are what we eat...and we eat what we love...we should be happy to peel back the layers of our foodstuffs--look into their hearts, listen to their stories, trace their evolution through history and art.

If this sounds like a good idea to you, scroll down for e-SOUPSONG 1: This month, a look at turtles, turtle soup, and its mock. If not, run don’t walk to unsubscribe at https://soupsong.com/newsletter.html

TURTLES

Well, there’s Yertle the Turtle. Ninja Turtles (Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael). Daisuke Gori. The Tortoise and the Hare (aka Cecil Turtle and Bugs Bunny in the 40s). And there are literally thousands of Turtle folktales, from every continent and most every culture.

No wonder. They’ve been around for a long time, predating mankind by millions of years. Sea turtles swam jurassic seas. Twenty-five million years ago, they grew 12 feet long…and, with their hard shells, they stayed relatively immune to predators until quite recently, when Man got so clever with his tools.

Today some 250 species thrive, on land, sea, fresh water. Stinkpots, side-necked, soft-shell, terrapin, tortoise, snapping, marsh, and marine—all are distinguished by the fact that, as a family, they are the only reptiles bearing shells. In the immortal words of Ogden Nash: "The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks/ Which practically conceal its sex/ I think it clever of the turtle/ In such a fix to be so fertile." For more, see the Turtle FoodTale.

TURTLE SOUP

Of course Turtle Soup has been a staple for thousands of years. Although Leviticus 11:29 proscribes it--"These also shall be unclean unto you...the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind"--Catholic monks doted on it as permissible "meat" during Lent. But it really hit the big time among gourmets in mid 18th century Europe. Hannah Glass made it a standard of English cookery in 1751. And who could forget its careful from-scratch preparation in Gabril Axel’s film "Babette’s Feast," based on Isak Dineson’s Jutland story? Or its relentless presence at the dinner parties of Martin Scorsese’s "Age of Innocence"? Or Katherine Houghton, in "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner," asking Tillie to switch from celery soup to turtle soup to celebrate her engagment to Sidney Poitier? For more, see Soup at the Movies.

And did you hear the one about Lady Curzon? In 1905 George Nathaniel Curzon, then Viceroy of India, ordered a great dinner to be prepared in honor of a guest who happened not to be able to drink alcohol. Lady Curzon, his American-born wife, was in a terrible position. She had to respect the habits of her guest of honor. However, the rest of the party was made up of Englishmen--and no civilized Englishman would dine without some form of libation. In the end, Lady Curzon resolved her dilemma by ordering the chef to put sherry in the turtle soup--a custom that set the tone for society dinners henceforth.

Today, sea turtle soup is a rarity, mercifully protected by global conventions. But it continues to catch at the public imagination--in good old rock and roll, for instance: Yo La Tengo’s 1999 cut on the soundtrack of Book of Life; Mephiskapheles’ 1997 ska cut on Maximum Perversion; DJ Food’s 1997 cut from Refried Foods; and let’s not forget the title 1970 album of The Turtles...Turtle Soup. For more, see Musical Soup.

MOCK TURTLE SOUP

Mock Turtle Soup was created in 19th century England...not at all to protect an endangered breed, but rather because avid Englishmen despaired at paying the freight for horrifically expensive turtle meat imported from the West Indies. Veal was tried as a substitute, also calf’s head. Today the most common substitute is oxtail--witness James Joyce’s evocation in Ulysses: "Hot mockturtle vapour and steam of newbaked jampuffs rolypoly poured out from Harrison's. The heavy noonreek ticked the top of Mr. Bloom's gullet.... Pungent mockturtle oxtail mulligatawny. I'm hungry too."

My apologies to those of you who inadvertently received a test e-mail from me yesterday. For the future, I plan to supplement these newsletters with Holiday Soup Alerts, which will include traditional recipes in time to make them. Next month: Wedding Soups for June Brides.

Best regards,
Pat Solley