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.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

"No," said Alice. "I don't even know what a Mock Turtle is."

"It's the thing Mock Turtle Soup is made from," said the Queen.

Carroll enjoyed such puns on Victorian fashions and etiquette, and showed this frequently. The description and drawing by John Tenniel gives comedic value to the Mock Turtle, as he is clearly an assemblage of creatures, therefore not a real turtle as his name rightly suggests.

Alice encounters the Mock Turtle with the Gryphon. The Mock Turtle is a very melancholy character, it is thought because he used to be a real turtle. He tells Alice his history of going to school in the sea, but cannot understand the school system that Alice describes to him- least of all the poetry she recites. Ironically, she cannot understand it either. This is a pun on the two meanings of "school", referring in the turtle's usage to a school of fish or marine animals, and by Alice to an institute of learning (see school). He says his teacher was an old Sea Turtle called Tortoise and when Alice asks him why he was called Tortoise if he was a Turtle the Mock Turtle answers, "We called him tortoise because he taught us!" ('tortoise' and 'taught us' both being pronounced <tɔːtʊs> in Carroll's dialect).

Mock turtle soup

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.

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 wine, 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 forcemeat balls made small and the yolks of hard eggs.

Germany

In the Oldenburg 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.

Turtle soup

Turtle soup is soup or stews made from the flesh of the turtle. The dish exists in some cultures and is viewed as a luxury or delicacy. The green turtle was commonly used for turtle soup in Singapore and The United States. Soup made from the snapping turtle was found mainly in the United States. Chinese and other East Asian cuisines use primarily soft-shelled turtles for turtle soup. An alternative form of this dish is the Mock turtle soup.

Cultural

Singapore

In countries such as Singapore with large Chinese populations, turtle soup is a Chinese delicacy. The meat, skin and innards of the turtle are used in the soup. Soft-shelled turtles (鱉) such as Pelodiscus sinensis are commonly consumed in this manner in Chinese cuisine, while consumption of hard-shelled turtles (龜) is often avoided due to their mythical connotations. However, the hard shells of certain turtles are used in the preparation of so-called "turtle jelly", or Guilinggao.

United States

19th-century American cookbooks advised homemakers that for the best turtle soup one should choose a turtle about 120 pounds (54 kg) in weight, as a smaller one would not have enough fat, and a bigger one would have too strong a flavor.

Turtle Soup

Turtle Soup is the last original studio album by The Turtles. It was released in 1969 on the White Whale Records label. The album was produced by Ray Davies of The Kinks – the first time he produced another artist's record. A 1993 Repertoire Records CD-issue included 8 bonus tracks. A 1996 Sundazed Records reissue included two bonus tracks.

Turtle Soup peaked at #117 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. Two singles from the album also earned a place on the Billboard Pop Singles chart: "You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain" (#51), and "Love in the City" (#91).

Track listing

All tracks written by Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim Pons and John Seiter, except as indicated.

Turtle Soup (Mock Turtles album)

Turtle Soup was the debut album by the British indie rock band The Mock Turtles, released in June 1991.

The album shares its name with the 1969 record Turtle Soup, released by the American psychedelic rock band The Turtles.

Track listing

Personnel