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A Simple Mock-turtle Soup

A historical recipe from Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving A Treatise Containing Practical Instructions in Cooking, by Henderson, Mary F. (Mary Foote) (1877).

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A historical recipe

Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving A Treatise Containing Practical Instructions in Cooking; in the Combination and Serving of Dishes; and in the Fashionable Modes of Entertaining at Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, by Henderson, Mary F. (Mary Foote) (1877). Project Gutenberg eBook #59713.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards. Its words name: raw egg. Check current food-safety guidance before following this.

  • Raw egg. Raw or lightly cooked egg carries a risk, above all for children, older people, anyone pregnant or unwell.

Ingredients 2 ingredients

  1. one pound of veal
  2. four quarts of cold water

Possible health benefits

General information, not medical advice.

  1. Veal High in niacin · High in vitamin B6 · High in vitamin B12 · +7

    High in niacin · 5.5 mg per 100 g, 35% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Niacin contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Niacin contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    • Niacin contributes to normal psychological function.
    3 more authorised claims
    • Niacin contributes to the maintenance of normal mucous membranes.
    • Niacin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin.
    • Niacin contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

    Niacin (also called vitamin B3) helps turn the food you eat into the energy you need. Niacin is important for the development and function of the cells in your body. NIH fact sheet

    High in vitamin B6 · 0.4 mg per 100 g, 32% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Vitamin B6 contributes to normal cysteine synthesis.
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    7 more authorised claims
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism.
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to normal protein and glycogen metabolism.
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to normal psychological function.
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to normal red blood cell formation.
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
    • Vitamin B6 contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity.

    Vitamin B6 is a vitamin that is naturally present in many foods. The body needs vitamin B6 for more than 100 enzyme reactions involved in metabolism. NIH fact sheet

    High in vitamin B12 · 2.3 µg per 100 g, 91% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism.
    5 more authorised claims
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal psychological function.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal red blood cell formation.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
    • Vitamin B12 has a role in the process of cell division.

    Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body’s blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. NIH fact sheet

    High in protein · 19 g per 100 g, 38% of the energy from protein

    • Protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass.
    • Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass.
    • Protein contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.

    Source of vitamin D · 1.3 µg per 100 g, 26% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Vitamin D contributes to normal absorption/utilisation of calcium and phosphorus.
    • Vitamin D contributes to normal blood calcium levels.
    • Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    4 more authorised claims
    • Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal muscle function.
    • Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal teeth.
    • Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Vitamin D has a role in the process of cell division.

    Vitamin D is a nutrient you need for good health. It helps your body absorb calcium, one of the main building blocks for strong bones. NIH fact sheet

    Source of riboflavin · 0.3 mg per 100 g, 20% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Riboflavin contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Riboflavin contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    • Riboflavin contributes to the maintenance of normal mucous membranes.
    6 more authorised claims
    • Riboflavin contributes to the maintenance of normal red blood cells.
    • Riboflavin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin.
    • Riboflavin contributes to the maintenance of normal vision.
    • Riboflavin contributes to the normal metabolism of iron.
    • Riboflavin contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
    • Riboflavin contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

    Riboflavin (also called vitamin B2) is important for the growth, development, and function of the cells in your body. It also helps turn the food you eat into the energy you need. NIH fact sheet

    Source of phosphorus · 197 mg per 100 g, 28% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Phosphorus contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Phosphorus contributes to normal function of cell membranes.
    • Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    1 more authorised claims
    • Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal teeth.

    Phosphorus is a mineral contained in each cell in our body. Most phosphorus is in the bones and teeth, and some is in your genes. NIH fact sheet

    Source of zinc · 2.5 mg per 100 g, 25% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Zinc contributes to normal DNA synthesis.
    • Zinc contributes to normal acid-base metabolism.
    • Zinc contributes to normal carbohydrate metabolism.
    15 more authorised claims
    • Zinc contributes to normal cognitive function.
    • Zinc contributes to normal fertility and reproduction.
    • Zinc contributes to normal macronutrient metabolism.
    • Zinc contributes to normal metabolism of fatty acids.
    • Zinc contributes to normal metabolism of vitamin A.
    • Zinc contributes to normal protein synthesis.
    • Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    • Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal hair.
    • Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal nails.
    • Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal skin.
    • Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood.
    • Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal vision.
    • Zinc contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Zinc contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
    • Zinc has a role in the process of cell division.

    Zinc is a nutrient that people need to stay healthy. Zinc is found in cells throughout the body. NIH fact sheet

    Source of selenium · 13 µg per 100 g, 24% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Selenium contributes to normal spermatogenesis.
    • Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal hair.
    • Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal nails.
    3 more authorised claims
    • Selenium contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Selenium contributes to the normal thyroid function.
    • Selenium contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Selenium is a nutrient that the body needs to stay healthy. Your thyroid gland needs selenium to produce hormones and function properly. NIH fact sheet

    Contains choline · 97 mg per 100 g, at least 82.5 mg per 100 g

    • Choline contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism.
    • Choline contributes to normal lipid metabolism.
    • Choline contributes to the maintenance of normal liver function.

    Choline is a nutrient that is found in many foods. Your brain and nervous system need it to regulate memory, mood, muscle control, and other functions. NIH fact sheet

    Nutrients per 100 g of “Veal, ground, raw”, USDA FoodData Central.

Claims: EU Register of health claims (Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, © European Union, CC BY 4.0), shown only where the ingredient meets the claim's conditions (Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006). Nutrients: USDA FoodData Central (CC0). Facts: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (public domain).

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Hot oil. Never put water on an oil fire: turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or a damp tea towel. Pat food dry before it goes into hot oil, and lower it in gently, away from you.
  • Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. Put four pig’s feet, or calf’s feet, and one pound of veal into four quarts of cold water, and let it simmer for five hours, reducing it to two quarts.
  2. Strain it, and let it remain overnight.
  3. The next day skim off the fat from the top, and remove the settlings from the bottom.
  4. About half an hour before dinner put the soup on the fire, and season it with half a tea-spoonful of powdered thyme, a salt-spoonful of mace, a salt-spoonful of ground cloves.
  5. Simmer it for ten minutes.
  6. Now make a roux in a saucepan, viz.: put in one ounce of butter (size of a walnut), and, when it bubbles, sprinkle in one and a half ounces of flour (one table-spoonful).
  7. Stir it until the flour assumes a light-brown color;
  8. add the soup, and stir all together with the egg-whisk.
  9. Make force-meat balls as follows: Chop some of the veal (used to make the soup), and about a quarter as much suet, very fine;
  10. season it with salt and pepper, and a few drops of lemon-juice;
  11. bind all together with some raw yolks of eggs and some cracker or bread crumbs;
  12. mold them into little balls about the size of a pigeon’s egg, or smaller, if preferred.
  13. Fry them in boiling lard, or boil them two or three minutes in water.
  14. Cut up also some of the meat, or rather skin and cartilaginous substance, from the cold feet, which resembles turtle meat.
  15. Now put into the soup-tureen these meat-balls, pieces of calf’s feet, and some yolks entire, or slices of hard-boiled eggs.
  16. Season the soup the last minute with a little lemon-juice and one or two table-spoonfuls of sherry.
  17. For a small family, this will make soup enough for two dinners.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Frying pan
  • Saucepan
  • Whisk
  • Chef's knife
  • Cutting board
  • Wooden spoon
  • Slotted spoon
  • Sieve
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving A Treatise Containing Practical Instructions in Cooking, by Henderson, Mary F. (Mary Foote) (1877). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #59713 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59713). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.