The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-22
TALE OF THE TERRAPIN.
THE DIAMoND-BACK DISCUSSED
BY THE HIGHEST AUTHORITIES.

Popular Ignorance Concerning the
Famous Turtle-Where and How He
Is Obtained - Various Methods of
Preparing Him and the True Gour-
NETS Recipe.
From the Washington Star.
This is the season of the year when mems
fancy-and women's, too, for that matter
fondly turn to thoughts Of terrapin. This
Is truly the most American of all dishes,
and vet concerning both the turtle which it
Is prepared from and the manner of its
cooking there is more difference of opinion
and more ignorance than attaches to any
gastronomic preparation with which l am
acquainted 1t is a matter 10 which many
men have many minds. do not profess to
be infaIhble in the discussion of this subject,
but do claim to have given it much serious
attention, and my views have at least the
benefit of being based upon long time ex-
periense.
The terrapin is purely an American crea-
ture, but, unlike the canvas-back duck, it is
not confined to the northern branch of this
continent, but is found In an enlarged form
in South America. 1t is mostly caught,
from Rhode Island to Louisiana, being
quite numerous along the Gulf of Mexico.
This great stretch of water, however, re-
veals many kinds, the yellow bellied, the
-bellied and what are technically known
as the Florida and Alabama terrapin, close
" allied species which reach a length of
fully fifteen inches. The salt water dia-
mond-back terrapin, however, is very rare
" found further south than Florida and no
orf1 han I Tel
POPULAR MIsAPPREHENsIoN.
Right here l wish to correct a popular
misapprehension. Ninety-nine people out
of 100 who are terrapin eaters will tell you
with much smacking of their lips and kind
ling of their eyes that they have Just eaten
"some real diamond-back terrapin. F"
Exactly what they mean by this they
would find it difficult to explain if they
were catechised. Diamond-back terrapin
are found in large numbers along the
shores of Long Island. Delaware bay
gives an enormous yield of the same turtle,
and have had them sent to me even from
Louisiana. All the terrapin in the
localities which 1 have named are
diamond-backs, which term means
nothing more than that the creatures have
diamond-shaped demarcations ON their
shells. But the epicure, the man who has
made a study Of this subject, will tell you
that the diamond back terrapin which comes
from Chesapeake bay is the noble member
of very large family, and it alone, when
properly prepared, furnishes the gourmet
with repast which is without an equal.
No one has been able to tell what food there
is in the waters of the Chesapeake which
gives its terrapin flavor of its own, and
no one has eaten terrapin in its perfect oon-
dition who has not had the dish prepared
from the tortoise whose home is in the state
of Maryland.
So marked, however, is the difference
between the Chesapeake dlamond-back and
those from other shores that when you can
readily purchase the finest Delaware terra
pin from SIS to $40 dozen their brethren
from the Chesapeake command from $35
to $40. The difference in taste is marked
and another distinguished popularity is
that the bones of the turtle from the Chesa-
peake are much smaller than those of
terrapin from any other locality. To tell
the difference, however, before plunging
the creature into the pot requires the eye
OF a very keen expert. have so schooled
myself than l can readily detect the differ
ence. 1t is a secret, however, that do not
care to reveal, but in a general way l may
say that the observant eye will notice a
marked difference between the heads of a
diamond-back from the Chesapeake aud
from elsewhere. So little is known of this
distinction that doubt if one prominent
hotel or restaurant in twenty supplies its
customers with the expensive Chesa-
peake diamond-back. OF course those
from Long Island sound and Delaware bay
can be made into a very delicious dish,
which can be enjoyed to the very utmost by
those who do not know the taste of the
royal reptile in its most perfect condition.
remember that Robert Ogden, who was
speaker of the Louisiana house of represen-
tatives, sent me from Bay st. Louis two
barrels of terrapin caught in that locality
DE informed me that they were as fine as
any this country had ever seen and that
could obtain them for SIS dozen instad of
paying nearly three times that
sum for the creatures from the
Chesapeake. They were very fine looking.
and, after having picked out several of the
best, ex-Congressnlan Charles Mitchell of
Connecticut and myself put them to the
test of the palate. They were really very
good, but their bones were very large and
their meat lacked the peculiar delicate
flavor of the terrapin ] had been accus-
toned to. A very prominent Washington
hotel keeper was very glad to get the con-
Segment at SIS per dozen, and now many
restaurateurs in Washington are receiving
chesapeake diamond-backsn from Louisi-
ana at that figure
BOGUS MARYLAND TERRAPIN.
Inc olhSloilC0 III udNOF dLu III pTlC0 De-
tween terrapin from various localities and
the general ignorance of the public upon
the subject has led to many tricks of the
trade. The terrapin dealers of Delaware
bay and Long Island sound consgn por-
tons of their catches to Maryland and
Washington and from thence they are sold
throughout the country as the true Mary
land article / have even known
Philadelphia dealers to send Della
ware terrapin down to Baltimore
and from thence have them sold back
to Philadelphia. Why. only last week a
Washington dealer brought several barrels
OF what he claimed to be the finest Chesa-
peake diamond backs to my establishment.
ordered the entire lot dumped in the
YARD and after l had examined them told
the dealer that would give him $25 for each
Maryland turtle he found in the lot. There
was not one in the entire consignment
Ihls difficulty of detection need not dis
courage the housewife or the club man, for
9lter all, neither the Delaware bay moi
Long Island sounds terrapin is to bt
ueSplsed, even by the most discriminating
n palate.
THE CAPTURE OF THE TERRAPIN
differs in different local tiles, and this also
70 some extent affects the flavor of its flesh
II by lar the greater number of the turtle come
from the western shores of the Delaware
bay, and l will therefore speak first of
I'll that locality Taka for iustanca tho small