The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-22

SuOAc Sduu anu on IulS lIt
turtles rise, sun themselves and lay their
eggs No effort is made at propagation.
Iney become so tame they win IN unit the
plane In droves and eat from the owners
hanos, and therein you see the fallacy of
TINS method OF keeping them. Did they
obtain proper and sufficient food from the
water they would not be eating liver and
corn meal furnished them by their captor.
In this we discover one reason why terrapin
so procured lack the rare and wild flavor
OF their brothers from the Chesapeake. The
dealer at Little creek collects uerrapin
through the late summer and early fall
and when cold weather sets in he packs the
thousands he has gathered in barrels and
ships them to purchasers in all the large
cities.
TERRAPIN FARMS.
Efforts have been made at Atlantic City
by State Senator Gardner of New Jersey,
l think, and also down in Florida by ex-
United States Senator Conover, if am not
mistaken, to conduct what they CALI ter
rapin FARMS" in which endeavors have
been made to induce the artificial propaga-
ton OF the valuable turtles. Bat all these
are no more successful than the experiments
OF those who bring wild trout from their
native mountain streams and having
placed them in artificial ponds, where they
are fed upon liver and similar food as
though they were hogs being fattened for
the slaughter, are surprised that the over
grown fish which are thus produced are
soft IN flesh and deficient in flavor.
The Chesapeake terrapin is taken from
its native mud only in the proper season.
In the fall, when the weather is first giving
promise Of winter, this turtle seekers walk
along the intricately winding Chesapeake
shores when the tide has receded and
wherever they notice little holes in the mud
they dig as though for dear life and before
long plump diamond-back is in their grasp
The turtles are only taken while in this
wild state, and after their capture they
never know the taste of food They arc
packed in barrels. which they leave only to
drop into the pot. You can put terrapin
in bureau drawer and keep it there for
two or three months without it's suffer
ing the slightest harm or even making
a movement, providing light is never ad-
mitted to its hiding place. The way to
keep them, however, which l prefer, is to
place them in dark cellar and cover them
with the sea grass. which should be kept
continually dampened.
MUCH IN THE COOKING.
But, after all, the terrapin does not fur
nish very desirable morsel unless it falls
into the hands OF one who knows how to
properly sacrifice it on the culinary altar.
Whether you find the dish delicious or not
depends entirely upon the manner in which
it has been prepared. have heard many
men who were otherwise sensible pronounce
stewed terrapin an uninviting and even
nauseating compound. In almost all such
cases have found that they had eaten it in
establishments that make chicken GRO
quettes out of veal and deviled crabs from
corn meal, potatoes, and lobster meat.
Many restaurants, in fact, that profess to
hQ raOnta nla fha liuaFz NJ he hier
''slider" turtles in preparing terrapin and
there are very few, in fact, that do not buy
the small, tough bull terrapin of Long
Island, which they can purchase for from
So to IS a dozen, and mix their meat with
that of a few fat cows or heifers.
The highest price demanded for terrapin
from any locality is for what are known
as counts" meaning thereby turtles which
measure not less than 5 inches across the
lower she'll. l. however. prefer heifers
measuring about 4 inches. While they or
dinarily do not contain as many eggs as
their larger sisters, yet their meat is much
more tender. The actual cooking of the
terrapin is simplicity itself. They are sim
ply thrown into boiling water, and you car
tell when they have been there sufficiently
long by feeling the claws between thumb
and finger, and if this pressure breaks
the meat it is time to remove
allow it to remain there longer makes the
meat stringy, condition which, am sorry
to say, is frequently found. The boiled
terrapin can easily be opened with a knife.
After this course of treatment the meat
should be picked out. care being exercised
in the vicinity Of the gall bag, the breaking
of which would destroy entirely the flavor
of the dish. The joints should be cut with
a pair of sharp scissors in order to leave
than IN Y1OY~fiOna ct1ffioianflu
venient eating. When the meat has cooled
it should be placed in a crock and put in the
refrigerator. The sooner it Is used after il
has become cold the better.
But the actual cooking of the tarrapin is
a very small and Insignificant portion Of
its preparation. 1t is after this tn It the
cooks ability is put to the test In this
connection let me say in the first place
that do net believe there is French cook
living who knows how to prepare terrapin.
l cannot tell why, but it is an absolute
fact that colored woman has a knack in
dressing the dish which belongs to no other
race or sex. OF course there are many
American housewives who have achieved
fame for their preparation of the prince OF
turtles but somehow or other they will use
flour and eggs, and both of these are
denominations. If any word of mine can
lead them to discard these evil ways ]
uOHeotlJ DelleNo Will AdN6 performed
| public benefit.
DIFFERENT WAYS OF PREPARING IT.
Philadelphia gained its fame as the place
| where stewed terrapin can be properly
treated largely through the cooking Of
| Prosser, a famous colored caterer, VINO is
now dead. | have before me an oddly
written account of his formula, prepared
by one of his disciples, and published some
years ago in a gastronomic journal. which
is now defunct. His method is described as
follows:
"You can't enjoy terrapin unless the day
| is nipping. Temperature and terrapin GO
hand in hand. Now, as to your terripin, bless
you'll Their is all the difference the world
in them. The more notherly is the terrapin
ground the better. You eat Florida ter.
| rapin-you needn't despise it, for terrapin
is terrapin everyw here-but you get q
Chesapeake one or a Delaware bay one, or,
| better still, Long Island one, and there
| is just the diffe renee between $40 dozen
and 1885, Warm water kind O. washes the
delicate flavor out of them. Don't you let
Mr.. Bergh know it, but your terrapin
| must be boiled alive. Have good big pot
with not fl e under it, so that he shant
languish, and when it has got on full head
of steam pop him in. What am going TO
| give is a recipe for single one. If you
are awfully rich and go in for gross OF
| terrapin lust use your multiple.