For my full review, I was salty AF, but in a unique gumbo like style and flavor profile. We were trepidatious about it as even with me having an adventurous palate, I'd never had Turtle before (only reptile I'd ever eaten was Alligator). But we were happy to have the unique experience. If there is one criticism we can level, it's that Commander's Palace Garlic Cheese bread doesn't travel very well and was VERY smelly. Even Calcifer didn't want any. All in all, it was an experience, and to be honest, am glad it's no longer a "thing" anymore in general or high end cuisine. Turtles are beautiful, calm reptiles that I'd rather have as a friend than food. But you can't deny that, in the end- my Dune shirt was awesome (that's an inside joke between Phil and his Patrons), Amanda was a trooper for trying it along with me, and Calcifer is a bossy kitty. Thanks for the experience, Phil! It was a fun one!
I have eaten "real" turtle soup on Grand Cayman island where they farm green sea turtles and heavily regulate everything. It isn't that great and it certainly isn't worth killing turtles for.
@@HeathJinkins There should have been a heavily regulated harvest from the mid-2000's or so. There weren't enough large sharks around to control turtle populations and they were more common than houseflies on seagrass flats. Overgrazed and stressed the grass enough that it became more susceptible to disease. In Bermuda the grass has been gone for years now. You'll find rhizomes left if you dig about but no real growth up top. We're missing all of that critical habitat for juvenile fish, and species reliant on grass flats like sea urchins are just about completely gone. See far less turtles around now. The ones you do see are going to be bleached out and starving. Actively managing populations would have meant an intact seagrass ecosystem for turtles to graze on. People have had too much of an impact on biospheres to trust things to work themselves out. Turtles need predators to prevent them grazing their pastures to bare sand. We have to be that predator until we have enough tiger sharks cruising the inshore shallows to do it for us.
The story about the first book printed in Antarctica was cool on its own, but the covers being made from the boxes of provisions? And the transition into the topic of turtle soup??? Flawless video
So I’m watching this video after the YT algorithm decided that I should learn about turtle soup at 6:43 am on a Tuesday morning. I get to the end and see someone pop up that I absolutely swear I’ve seen before. It then hit me “That guy looks just like Heath from Defunctland?” Lo and behold 😂 What a small world.
I read once (probably on the internet, so it's gotta be true) that it took almost 300 years to get a taxonomic definition of the Galapagos Tortoise because they were so delicious, none survived the voyage back to be studied by European scientists.
I saw this from a QI episodes (A British Quiz Show). They said that the explorer who are supposed to take them to the British Museum and British Royal Academy of Science end up eating all of them hence was unable to bring them alive to be experimented and studied.
Every human who ever loved to laugh absolutely must see the QI segment where they talk about it - David Mitchell, the recently departed Sean Lock, Jo Brand, and of course, Alan and Stephen. Search for "How the Giant Tortoise Got its Name". You won't regret it. 😂😂😂
Some soft shell turtle species are also called "cooters". I remember being a young 20 something working an odd job with a friend at an older woman's house. I'm from Florida but this woman was originally from Mississippi. She yelled out her door to us around lunch time and said..."Y'all boys want some cooter ta eat?". We both looked at each and said "wtf". Never in my life had I heard it called that. I only knew that term to refer to "one" thing. But she had made some turtle *cooter* stew.
Reminds me of once at a restaurant, the server asked an older lady if she wanted him to toss her salad. Should have seen them looking at me oddly when I uncontrollably started laughing out loud.
@@Naftoor I chalk it up to young, dumb curiosity. I say "older woman" she was probably in her mid to late 40's. But thinking back, we knew she meant some kind of food but was not expecting that word.
Terrapin soup became its own popular thing in the late 19th and early 20th century here in NYC. Terrapin populations were also crashing, but unlike the eggs of the green sea turtle soup, sherry was the must have ingredient for terrapins. That meant that prohibition saved an untold number of cute little turtles.
Philadelphia's snapper soup (obviously made with snapping turtles, as is the overwhelming majority of remaining turtle soup in the USA) is also eaten with sherry--added like a condiment in the bowl. It looks different from this New Orleans version; it's chunks of turtle in a thick soup that's almost like meat in gravy. It's traditional diner fare--like scrapple-but very much unlike scrapple Philadelphians do not seem to know that it's a regional thing. And being familiar with it I was initially surprised to see turtle soup mentioned as this weird bygone fad that didn't even get close to the 20th century. I'd heard of it in old-timey sources, not realizing they were of one very particular time, and of course the mock turtle soup, but I always thought the real deal had always been basically snapper soup and it was a bit fusty and old-fashioned as of very recently but never really went away. I didn't know there was this pretty much completely different phenomenon with the green sea turtles that ended a very long time ago.
Texan here. I have family members on multiple familial lines that ate turtle soup. I know my grandmother used to eat it as a child using wild freshwater turtles you can find in North Texas. I've never eaten the soup, but we did capture some of them when I was a child and entered them into the local turtle race. My turtle didn't win sadly, but it was a fun activity for an 8 year old. We let them back into the wild after the race
I've had turtle soup while living in China. I blame it on how it was prepared because it was not really good. Also I didn't like the experience: the person who invited me out was a business man (friend of a friend) who wanted to show off his wealth. He didn't care about the actual food. We had turtle, frog, sea slug, and other non-standard Chinese dishes. A couple years later, I got invited again. And we had shark fin soup. I was not happy.
In 1968, I was horribly sick while on vacation in Germany. I was also 7. The doctor gave me a shot of penicillin in my butt and said I had to drink lots of water and clear soup. The only consomme on the menu was turtle soup. My folks were worried that I wouldn't like it. I loved it. I haven't had it in nearly 40 years because turtles are endangered.
There are other turtles on earth than the endangered one you know, a lot of older guys I know here in the USA still trap and make soup out of snapping turtles
My grandfather had a tank in his basement for live turtles to eat. He was obsessed with his turtles and it was the main thing I remember about him. Soft shells and snappers.
Great storytelling, just fantastic. I was able to have turtle soup years ago at a local place that no longer exists. I recall thinking "oh this tastes a bit like a beef soup".
Moments ago I was watching a video that inquired on whether animals grieve, now I’m jolted into viewing images of turtles being butchered. The internet is a turbulent place.
The threads that you pull to unravel a story are fascinating. I learn so much from your research and presentation, that I'm reminded of an old tv show called Connections with James Burke. Another great upload. Thank you.
Another great video In Detroit my local pet store has a warning that "these turtles are not for consumption, and only for scientific purposes" I've always been curious about turtle soup, I'm impressed at the video and the idea Another great video Phil!
In Shanghai, we eat Chinese Softshell Turtles from time to time. It's considered as an expensive dish served in celebrations and banquets. The wild variant is under protection, but the farmed variant sells tens of millions every year. It also tastes very good. From what I can tell from the video, I think it is probably a lot better than the turtle soup you bought. We sometimes eat the whole thing served on a plate or put it in congee/soup.
Just at the exact moment I was about to express my displeasure with no "Tonight I dine on turtle soup!" reference, there it was. I just found this channel with the radio station episode, but it's quickly a favorite!
I wonder, in 100 years, will honey have the same status as turtle soup due to the increasing scarcity? In which case, that piece of literature will be bookended with vintage food crates.
Phil, you find some of the most interest factoids and weird nuggets of history. Your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites and I hope you keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s AMAZING!
You've got a great thumbnail theme idea here for your channel. The duotone pairs with the smaller highlight object really works well and is pretty unique.
When I was a kid my mom made me eat turtle meat telling it was a cow. From where she come from (brazilian rainforest Region)they also make salted cookies with their eggs
I mean for baked goods like a cookie, an egg is an egg. 🤷 Doesn't really matter what animal it came from. It's more about the fundamental chemistry that makes an egg an egg than anything animal specific. Lol you could make cookies from a damn ostrich egg if you wanted to without issue.
I am thinking about this too. There's something about which animals we choose to be personable - like, turtles are personable to us in a way pigs aren't, even though pigs are intelligent and expressive in a way turtles (arguably) aren't. I'd love to know about how public perception on turtles turned around; I'd love to know if a similar process is happening today with something like foie gras maybe
I’ve actually met and fed a Galapagos Tortoise. They are really nice and sweet animals dude. And when you pet them they sort of smile. I think this also extends to turtles 🐢. Maybe thats why I can never stand turtle suffering as well
Not sure if it's because I grew up with all the ads about saving seaturtles but eating one doesn't seem to appealing. Could be because (as far as I'm aware) they're peaceful and non-violent and kinda helpless compared to other animals. Like a pig/cow could cause you harm if they felt like it but just don't get that vibe from a sea turtle, I just want to pet their head.
The writing and editing really got me on this one. So smooth and everything has a great vibe despite the morbid bits about the poor lil dudes. I feel weird about animals being used the way humans use them, but I really enjoyed the story overall. It was quite the journey, really. I didn't know I was going on it until it was already happening, but I'm glad I did! Another day, another topic I didn't know I'd care about until I had a smoke and watched a video about it 🤣❤
I recall seeing turtle soup on the menu in a local bar just outside of Pittsburgh Pa in the late 1990’s. No, I did not try it. The bar was in Millvale, not Turtle Creek.
What I want to know is how Shackleton's crew opened the cans. Before can openers, they would have used a hammer and chisel, which seems like a good way to lose half the contents.
the line from the jazz standard “at long last love” finally makes much more sense “is it an earthquake? or simply a shock is it the good turtle soup? or merely the mock”
This is a magnificent research assignment. Showing the materials they have used to print the book has made this priceless. I'm using this in my research method classes.
I had turtle soup some years ago at a very fancy restaurant, and in my head it falls under the same category as caviar and foie gras: Not my favourites, but very expensive, so people always act impressed by it.
Great video! I was really impressed by the fact that your inspiration for this video came from an old turtle soup box on a rare book in the library of Congress!
I truly loved the conclusion comparing history to travel. I think we can also extend that definition to allow for major cultural differences in the people of the past… not that we condone their behavior, but we can still honor the history without trying to erase it.
It’s really depressing to think that sea turtles are endangered primarily because one generation worth of a holes just up and decided to turn them all into soup.
@@MrMackievelli You mean to tell me that people back then did not understand the basic concept that there are a certain number of anything, and that you can’t destroy something and still have it? It’s just like today. Recently a buoy off the coast of Florida measured 100°F seawater for the first time. we know what we are doing. At least with the sea turtle hunters, they just took one species to the brink of extinction. We have already made countless species go extinct. we know what we are doing, and there is no excuse.
Sea turtles have saved many shipwrecked sailors over hundreds of years. Even in modern times, people lost at sea in lifeboats or rafts have often survived by eating sea turtles. Turtles are great, but if they went extinct nothing would get better or worse. Everything would be pretty much exactly the same as it is now.
@@BatCaveOz That's an oversimplification... For example for many turtle species jellyfish are their main source of food. If they disappear, problematic jellyfish booms would increase. They have a role, and eventually nature rebalances, but it's naive to think everything would stay the same.
@@justins8802I think people of then obviously understood that there’s a limited number. However, The sentiment may have been that they could simply venture out farther into the vast seas to get more if numbers were becoming scarce. And much like the belief of @BatCaveOz, they likely lacked the knowledge of the domino effect a single species has on the entire ecosystem. And remember, this is capitalism, just like to today, industries have the most impact on the environment but who cares,$$$$$$$$ You would think that it is common knowledge, but I’m not sure it would have been at that time, And even in 2023, I guess it’s still not common knowledge @BatCaveOz
When I was a kid (60 some years ago) my great grandfather's house had a nearby pond that had snapping turtles. His sons caught a huge snapping turtle one day and gave it to his housekeeper/caretaker, who planned on turtle soup out of it for a dinner. No idea who dressed it, her or the sons, I just remember the talk about it. Sounded yuck to me either way, lol.
Great video man, HQ stuff, thanks and please keep it up. I’m sure this was suggested to me because I’ve been curious about it lately, and you answered all of my questions.
The Giant Galapagos Tortoise didn't receive it's latin name Chelonoidis Niger for almost 100 years because scientific names were only designated when a species was brought back to England to be studied and formally identified. Despite voyage after voyage collecting cargo holds full of the animals, they had all been eaten by the time the ships docked in the UK. Source: Stephen Fry, QI
When i was 13 which was 44 years ago i was lucky enough to try consomme of green turtle soup & to this day the taste of it has stuck in my mind as it's one of the nicest things I've ever had the pleasure to eat , i sure wish i could get hold of some now . Fascinating vid thankyou very much
algorithmic punch! Great tidbit of history, really enjoyed the video. Since you mentioned an interest in more topics, I might once again have a few in your wheelhouse. I have heard that there was for a time in the colonial America's a now mostly dead practice of clock making from wood, as the refined metal was to difficult to produce in the Americas and too expensive to bring over by boat, and there was a lack of ability to process the raw material's along with a lack of demand for people that could actually all those costs, but some crafts people still tried to make due with wood. Another topic in your wheel house might be the rise and fall of root beer as a homestead craft, like pickles still are. Lots of stories of exploding bottles in the root cellar from pressure of fermentation, and regional variations like sarsaparilla, birch beer, and spruce beer up in Canada. Some over lap with the history and prohibition of home brewing, and prohibition in general. A different topic you might find interesting, especially if you where taking a look at the origin of the self reliance movement, is the Foxfire Series of books, in which during the 1960's & 70's high school students collected interviews with the hill folks of Aplacia about how their and their Ancestors lives used to be. It collects stories of wooden locks, charcoal making & black smiting, and parts of local folklore. Alot of Prepper types like the books as resources for low tech skill and techniques, but it's honestly a fascinating piece of anthropology about a lesser documented part of American history. Final thought might be the USS Constitution, I believe the only tall ship still active in the US Navy, and the various campaigns to maintain it over the years. I grew up in MA where it's stationed, and I remember the penny drives for it's restoration. Also, you'd be able to visit it, I believe, and maybe be able to sneak some time into visiting Salem, MA either for some witchy story, or to visit the Satanic Temple. Anyways, hope you are well, and thanks again for the video.
in Denmark we have something called forloren skildpadde. basically means fake turtle (stew/soup). Comes in a can and from what i've heard, it's quite the acquired taste. I think you might've also accidentally explained why it's called that. Which is funny, because forloren skildppade is an infamous dish on military and radar missions in the arctic and polar area.. learn something new every day!
That is so strange. Why do I feel bad about eating turtles but not cows, pigs, or chickens? Also, I have a cousin who lost a pinky toe to a snapping turtle when we were kids. We were swimming in a lake that we had swam in a hundred times before. We saw lots of water moccasins but never turtles. We were about waist deep and he lets out this bloody murder scream and starts running to the bank, a trail of blood behind him, limping the whole way. It was scary at the time but that was 30 years ago so we raz him about it now
Having been to Brennan's Cafe in Houston a few times, it didn't occur to me that you were only likely to have turtle soup if you had access to gourmet Cajun cuisine
@@chicagotypewriter2094 it's quite expensive. You're looking at about $50 a person. It is very good food though and on the right days and times they have a live jazz band that walks around and takes requests.
@@Jkp1321 man I love jazz! Time to save ig. Also I owe u a restaurant recommendation now lol If you've never been, you should definitely try a Brazilian steakhouse (like Avenida Brazil). For either $35, u get a really nice salad bar with soup unlimited drink refills and for $62, you get 12+ cuts of all you can eat meat! Best if you don't eat for a day to make it more special, and dinner will cost more than lunch, but it's a nice once in a LONG while thing & makes u feel like a king :D
As a Philadelphian, it was surprising to me to not only have access to it (in our famous Reading Terminal Market) but to find out it’s definitely palatable!
Same. My mom has told me before that I asked about turtle soup once because of the Ninja Turtles and, when she told me that it came in cans, I started crying for the turtles. I really SHOULD be a vegetarian cause I feel disturbed about a lot of animals we eat but I just have no impulse control when it comes to my appetite for a lotta meats.
Freshwater snapping turtle is still a secret American dish. My great grandma talked highly of it and I've been hunting of one every time I go fishing. From what I see online Jersey still has restaurants that sell it.
This is fascinating! I knew next to nothing on this topic. The Library of Congress is so cool, btw. Would love to learn more about how that whole institution works. I talked to a tour guide and was mind boggled by the logistics.
Interesting how it was such a phase in the West. We still eat soft-shelled turtles in East Asia. Not everybody eats it but it is delicious & nutritious. & in Hong Kong & southern China we have turtle jelly in the summer. It cools the internal heat of your body.
Early 2000's I went on a cruise and one stop was Grand Cayman. They showed us the turtle farms, where they raise turtles in pools, like Texas raises cows on farms. They had thousands of turtles and gladly invited everyone to try turtle steaks.
I love how your brain works, Phil! I'm also a Phil, behind my user name, and I don't know if it comes with the name, but I feel if I would have been exposed to the same inputs as you did, I would have also made a video (or simply looked into it in my case!) Thank you for that video! 😊
My fave weird turtle soup thing is there is an English Country House where the kitchen wall is decorated with the many many skulls of turtles from the turtle soup era
I grew up in a rural part of New Mexico and as a kid, lots of the elders would regularly make and eat “caldo de tortuga”, turtle soup. As I got older, you’d hear about it less frequently and not too long ago I got to thinking if anyone from back home still makes it? Thanks for this video, I guess the RUclips algorithm knew I was thinking about turtle soup.
Growing up in MN, my grandmother made turtle soup/stew a handfull of times, out of snapping turtles. This was the late 60s and early 70s. I remember it tasting pretty much like chicken. My dad hunted one of the turtles once, (actually, he was just living his best life, and crossing the road in a wildlife area). We "caught" him by putting a broomstick in front of him, he latched on, and my dad shook him off into a burlap sack, tied it up, and put it into the trunk. After we got home, and my grandma was ready to dress it, we opened the trunk to find an extremely angry snapping turtle front and center! He would not fall for the broomstick thing again, and seemed to only want fleshy human digits. I remember the whole thing as being pretty traumatic, as I was maybe 7 or 8, and that was the last time we did that. I never particularly cared for it, anyway, and I'd not eat it, now.
You could have gone to Reading Terminal market in Philadelphia - Beck's Cajun Cafe has Snapper Soup on the menu. It's not that rare in the wider mid-atlantic region event today
As a central american myself, people would still eat turtles as a very regional and traditional thing, but mostly the eggs, which in modern views is even worse. A more traditional thing to eat that is actually reasonable to farm for is Iguana, both for meat in rice dishes and again the eggs which are fucking gross in my humble opinion. Native groups would also eat weird stuff like capybara and other smaller rodent relatives (agoutis for example). No monkeys or felines that I can tell tho…
Lol here in parts of America they are trying to convince people TO EAT iguana! 🤣 In Florida in particular iguanas are a MASSIVE invasive species problem (everytime there's a cold front they fall out of all the trees and end up all over the damn place), and one of the best ways to deal with it would be to turn them into a food supply.
A lot of New Orleans 4-5 star restaurants serve turtle soup, though fewer have it on the regular menu, more will serve it as an occasional daily special. I've only had it when working at those restaurants.
For my full review, I was salty AF, but in a unique gumbo like style and flavor profile. We were trepidatious about it as even with me having an adventurous palate, I'd never had Turtle before (only reptile I'd ever eaten was Alligator). But we were happy to have the unique experience. If there is one criticism we can level, it's that Commander's Palace Garlic Cheese bread doesn't travel very well and was VERY smelly. Even Calcifer didn't want any.
All in all, it was an experience, and to be honest, am glad it's no longer a "thing" anymore in general or high end cuisine. Turtles are beautiful, calm reptiles that I'd rather have as a friend than food.
But you can't deny that, in the end- my Dune shirt was awesome (that's an inside joke between Phil and his Patrons), Amanda was a trooper for trying it along with me, and Calcifer is a bossy kitty.
Thanks for the experience, Phil! It was a fun one!
pinned for context! and the calcifer fan community
Calcifer appreciates all your patronage, and thanks @PhilEdwardsInc for making him internet famous.
I have eaten "real" turtle soup on Grand Cayman island where they farm green sea turtles and heavily regulate everything. It isn't that great and it certainly isn't worth killing turtles for.
@@EternalGoldenBraid definitely what I was thinking too. It tasted good, but not even close to worth endangering a species over
@@HeathJinkins There should have been a heavily regulated harvest from the mid-2000's or so. There weren't enough large sharks around to control turtle populations and they were more common than houseflies on seagrass flats. Overgrazed and stressed the grass enough that it became more susceptible to disease.
In Bermuda the grass has been gone for years now. You'll find rhizomes left if you dig about but no real growth up top. We're missing all of that critical habitat for juvenile fish, and species reliant on grass flats like sea urchins are just about completely gone.
See far less turtles around now. The ones you do see are going to be bleached out and starving. Actively managing populations would have meant an intact seagrass ecosystem for turtles to graze on.
People have had too much of an impact on biospheres to trust things to work themselves out. Turtles need predators to prevent them grazing their pastures to bare sand. We have to be that predator until we have enough tiger sharks cruising the inshore shallows to do it for us.
The story about the first book printed in Antarctica was cool on its own, but the covers being made from the boxes of provisions? And the transition into the topic of turtle soup??? Flawless video
or flawless classy dinner candles
So I’m watching this video after the YT algorithm decided that I should learn about turtle soup at 6:43 am on a Tuesday morning.
I get to the end and see someone pop up that I absolutely swear I’ve seen before. It then hit me “That guy looks just like Heath from Defunctland?”
Lo and behold 😂 What a small world.
@@cheesecakeninja 🤯 no way!! It really is a small world lol, that's crazy
If they didnt want us to eat them why is the shell a bowl? Makes ya think
😂
Your skull also resembles a bowl…
if not for food why bowl shaped
@@jbanders2358 the skull is a spoon, oof jokes aside poor turtles
Can you bowl water in a turtle shell without it cracking?
I read once (probably on the internet, so it's gotta be true) that it took almost 300 years to get a taxonomic definition of the Galapagos Tortoise because they were so delicious, none survived the voyage back to be studied by European scientists.
i was running into that too!
I saw this from a QI episodes (A British Quiz Show). They said that the explorer who are supposed to take them to the British Museum and British Royal Academy of Science end up eating all of them hence was unable to bring them alive to be experimented and studied.
:(
Yep I remember Stephen Fry talking about this too
Every human who ever loved to laugh absolutely must see the QI segment where they talk about it - David Mitchell, the recently departed Sean Lock, Jo Brand, and of course, Alan and Stephen. Search for "How the Giant Tortoise Got its Name". You won't regret it. 😂😂😂
Huge "never let them know your next move" energy from Phil in this video. And I'm all here for it!
Def felt some Vsauce vibes
@@thebionictitan7380hey vsauce, michael here 😀 today i’m going to tell you about the first book ever printed in antarctica 😃 ….
or am i 🤨
Some soft shell turtle species are also called "cooters". I remember being a young 20 something working an odd job with a friend at an older woman's house. I'm from Florida but this woman was originally from Mississippi. She yelled out her door to us around lunch time and said..."Y'all boys want some cooter ta eat?". We both looked at each and said "wtf". Never in my life had I heard it called that. I only knew that term to refer to "one" thing. But she had made some turtle *cooter* stew.
Haha, that's a hilarious story! 😂 thanks for sharing.
@@applegal3058 Even after almost 30 years, I still laugh when I think of that story!
Reminds me of once at a restaurant, the server asked an older lady if she wanted him to toss her salad. Should have seen them looking at me oddly when I uncontrollably started laughing out loud.
@@Naftoor I chalk it up to young, dumb curiosity. I say "older woman" she was probably in her mid to late 40's. But thinking back, we knew she meant some kind of food but was not expecting that word.
The way you quote her I can just hear a southern woman’s voice say it so clearly lol
I wasn't really concerned about what it tastes like until I got Calcifer's take, that really opened my eyes to the possibilities of turtle soup.
he refused to eat any- says a lot
He was mainly there in a supervisory capacity.
I really love how you find these little things and put them into perspective in a way that is calm but still fun.
I don't know a better way to put it.
Terrapin soup became its own popular thing in the late 19th and early 20th century here in NYC. Terrapin populations were also crashing, but unlike the eggs of the green sea turtle soup, sherry was the must have ingredient for terrapins. That meant that prohibition saved an untold number of cute little turtles.
Yes! I think the prohibition angle was a big part of it!
Philadelphia's snapper soup (obviously made with snapping turtles, as is the overwhelming majority of remaining turtle soup in the USA) is also eaten with sherry--added like a condiment in the bowl. It looks different from this New Orleans version; it's chunks of turtle in a thick soup that's almost like meat in gravy. It's traditional diner fare--like scrapple-but very much unlike scrapple Philadelphians do not seem to know that it's a regional thing. And being familiar with it I was initially surprised to see turtle soup mentioned as this weird bygone fad that didn't even get close to the 20th century. I'd heard of it in old-timey sources, not realizing they were of one very particular time, and of course the mock turtle soup, but I always thought the real deal had always been basically snapper soup and it was a bit fusty and old-fashioned as of very recently but never really went away. I didn't know there was this pretty much completely different phenomenon with the green sea turtles that ended a very long time ago.
The thing I was most interested in is how it compares to the mock turtle soup, to see if the actual turtle is really even needed.
yeah i'm sure it's a matter of how picky one is about the taste. mock turtle campbell's was apparently one of andy warhol's favorites though!
Texan here. I have family members on multiple familial lines that ate turtle soup. I know my grandmother used to eat it as a child using wild freshwater turtles you can find in North Texas. I've never eaten the soup, but we did capture some of them when I was a child and entered them into the local turtle race.
My turtle didn't win sadly, but it was a fun activity for an 8 year old. We let them back into the wild after the race
I've had turtle soup while living in China. I blame it on how it was prepared because it was not really good. Also I didn't like the experience: the person who invited me out was a business man (friend of a friend) who wanted to show off his wealth. He didn't care about the actual food. We had turtle, frog, sea slug, and other non-standard Chinese dishes.
A couple years later, I got invited again. And we had shark fin soup. I was not happy.
In 1968, I was horribly sick while on vacation in Germany. I was also 7.
The doctor gave me a shot of penicillin in my butt and said I had to drink lots of water and clear soup. The only consomme on the menu was turtle soup.
My folks were worried that I wouldn't like it. I loved it. I haven't had it in nearly 40 years because turtles are endangered.
Haha wow what a memory.
There are other turtles on earth than the endangered one you know, a lot of older guys I know here in the USA still trap and make soup out of snapping turtles
My grandfather had a tank in his basement for live turtles to eat. He was obsessed with his turtles and it was the main thing I remember about him. Soft shells and snappers.
Great storytelling, just fantastic. I was able to have turtle soup years ago at a local place that no longer exists. I recall thinking "oh this tastes a bit like a beef soup".
If someone hasn't already mentioned it, Tortuga is turtle in Spanish
It actually translates to tortoise, as well! 😊 I have a sulcata tortoise named Tortuga, lol.
captain obvious
Moments ago I was watching a video that inquired on whether animals grieve, now I’m jolted into viewing images of turtles being butchered. The internet is a turbulent place.
The threads that you pull to unravel a story are fascinating. I learn so much from your research and presentation, that I'm reminded of an old tv show called Connections with James Burke. Another great upload. Thank you.
a great compliment - he's the best!
White, male, glasses, middle age, facial hair... Some of the volunteers could have been Phil cosplayers!
haha i did send phil costumes to everyone in the mail
3/4 of an Eastwood. This needs to become a new age reference in the public. lol
this is the dream.
Thanks for including a Ninja Turtles reference and saving me the trouble of making one down here.
all credit to jay!
Another great video
In Detroit my local pet store has a warning that "these turtles are not for consumption, and only for scientific purposes"
I've always been curious about turtle soup, I'm impressed at the video and the idea
Another great video Phil!
In Shanghai, we eat Chinese Softshell Turtles from time to time. It's considered as an expensive dish served in celebrations and banquets.
The wild variant is under protection, but the farmed variant sells tens of millions every year. It also tastes very good. From what I can tell from the video, I think it is probably a lot better than the turtle soup you bought. We sometimes eat the whole thing served on a plate or put it in congee/soup.
Just at the exact moment I was about to express my displeasure with no "Tonight I dine on turtle soup!" reference, there it was. I just found this channel with the radio station episode, but it's quickly a favorite!
In my home town we have a beach where you can swim with turtles, so imagine the shock of me learning people used to eat them 😅
don't tell the turtles about this
I wonder, in 100 years, will honey have the same status as turtle soup due to the increasing scarcity?
In which case, that piece of literature will be bookended with vintage food crates.
Oh I hadn't even thought of that but that's a good point.
Phil, you find some of the most interest factoids and weird nuggets of history. Your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites and I hope you keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s AMAZING!
thanks!
You've got a great thumbnail theme idea here for your channel. The duotone pairs with the smaller highlight object really works well and is pretty unique.
lol i since changed it because it was flopping...haha :( panicking a bit.
When I was a kid my mom made me eat turtle meat telling it was a cow. From where she come from (brazilian rainforest Region)they also make salted cookies with their eggs
I mean for baked goods like a cookie, an egg is an egg. 🤷 Doesn't really matter what animal it came from. It's more about the fundamental chemistry that makes an egg an egg than anything animal specific. Lol you could make cookies from a damn ostrich egg if you wanted to without issue.
Sad story about the suffering turtles. Not sure why that bothers me so much more than fish. Somehow they are more relatable.
I am thinking about this too. There's something about which animals we choose to be personable - like, turtles are personable to us in a way pigs aren't, even though pigs are intelligent and expressive in a way turtles (arguably) aren't. I'd love to know about how public perception on turtles turned around; I'd love to know if a similar process is happening today with something like foie gras maybe
@@sarahwatts7152 Turtles are cool whereas nobody cares about pigs until they are on their plate
I’ve actually met and fed a Galapagos Tortoise. They are really nice and sweet animals dude. And when you pet them they sort of smile. I think this also extends to turtles 🐢. Maybe thats why I can never stand turtle suffering as well
Not sure if it's because I grew up with all the ads about saving seaturtles but eating one doesn't seem to appealing.
Could be because (as far as I'm aware) they're peaceful and non-violent and kinda helpless compared to other animals. Like a pig/cow could cause you harm if they felt like it but just don't get that vibe from a sea turtle, I just want to pet their head.
@@TheFalseShepphardIn the Cayman islands we grow them like pigs still. You can get turtle stew for 14$ with rice and beans, plantain and salad
The writing and editing really got me on this one. So smooth and everything has a great vibe despite the morbid bits about the poor lil dudes. I feel weird about animals being used the way humans use them, but I really enjoyed the story overall. It was quite the journey, really. I didn't know I was going on it until it was already happening, but I'm glad I did! Another day, another topic I didn't know I'd care about until I had a smoke and watched a video about it 🤣❤
It's so exciting when a Phil Edwards video comes out. I know it's information I'm not at all going to need, but I can't wait to learn it.
I recall seeing turtle soup on the menu in a local bar just outside of Pittsburgh Pa in the late 1990’s. No, I did not try it. The bar was in Millvale, not Turtle Creek.
How strangely delightful!
What I want to know is how Shackleton's crew opened the cans. Before can openers, they would have used a hammer and chisel, which seems like a good way to lose half the contents.
New Jersey had a few diners that served snapping turtle soup up to the 2010s, I remember my mom ordering it at once in Vincentown NJ in the early 00s.
I desperately want to know what inspired your Eastwood Age Scale!
As always, great video, information, and editing.
haha i just felt like turtles were getting a little cocky about being old - they needed to know a competitor was out there
The only turtles I like are of the mutant /ninja variety 🐢
Just discovering your videos, but I really like how you have involved your community in several of them. Very cool to see and adds to the videos.
every time i do it the video is way better!
maybe i'll try it for the next one!
Shoutout to Calcifer
We told him and he says, "MEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW."
Always wondered about turtle soup, it's the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw one. Thanks for the info Phil 👍
so fucking callous hahah "Seems he recognizes his friend. Welp, he'll soon be in the soup himself".
And that was after removing some really jaunty music in the background!
Another great video! I am waiting for the day when your channel goes viral!
I agree with Calcifer’s analysis of the situation. He took a hard stance but I respect him for saying it.
yep. he followed his convictions. all too rare.
I love that you find stories on topics I’ve not thought about in years. Wonderful work!
thanks!!
the line from the jazz standard “at long last love” finally makes much more sense
“is it an earthquake?
or simply a shock
is it the good turtle soup?
or merely the mock”
love it!
This is a magnificent research assignment. Showing the materials they have used to print the book has made this priceless. I'm using this in my research method classes.
Wonderful as ever, thank you Phil!
I had turtle soup some years ago at a very fancy restaurant, and in my head it falls under the same category as caviar and foie gras: Not my favourites, but very expensive, so people always act impressed by it.
Great video! I was really impressed by the fact that your inspiration for this video came from an old turtle soup box on a rare book in the library of Congress!
i feel a bit guilty - i did find the actual book after i'd chosen the topic and then i simply HAD to see it in person!
I truly loved the conclusion comparing history to travel. I think we can also extend that definition to allow for major cultural differences in the people of the past… not that we condone their behavior, but we can still honor the history without trying to erase it.
It’s really depressing to think that sea turtles are endangered primarily because one generation worth of a holes just up and decided to turn them all into soup.
Well they hadn't a clue back then about preserving species. If they could catch it then it was fair game.
@@MrMackievelli You mean to tell me that people back then did not understand the basic concept that there are a certain number of anything, and that you can’t destroy something and still have it?
It’s just like today. Recently a buoy off the coast of Florida measured 100°F seawater for the first time. we know what we are doing. At least with the sea turtle hunters, they just took one species to the brink of extinction. We have already made countless species go extinct. we know what we are doing, and there is no excuse.
Sea turtles have saved many shipwrecked sailors over hundreds of years.
Even in modern times, people lost at sea in lifeboats or rafts have often survived by eating sea turtles.
Turtles are great, but if they went extinct nothing would get better or worse. Everything would be pretty much exactly the same as it is now.
@@BatCaveOz That's an oversimplification... For example for many turtle species jellyfish are their main source of food. If they disappear, problematic jellyfish booms would increase. They have a role, and eventually nature rebalances, but it's naive to think everything would stay the same.
@@justins8802I think people of then obviously understood that there’s a limited number. However,
The sentiment may have been that they could simply venture out farther into the vast seas to get more if numbers were becoming scarce.
And much like the belief of @BatCaveOz, they likely lacked the knowledge of the domino effect a single species has on the entire ecosystem.
And remember, this is capitalism, just like to today, industries have the most impact on the environment but who cares,$$$$$$$$
You would think that it is common knowledge, but I’m not sure it would have been at that time,
And even in 2023, I guess it’s still not common knowledge @BatCaveOz
When I was a kid (60 some years ago) my great grandfather's house had a nearby pond that had snapping turtles. His sons caught a huge snapping turtle one day and gave it to his housekeeper/caretaker, who planned on turtle soup out of it for a dinner. No idea who dressed it, her or the sons, I just remember the talk about it. Sounded yuck to me either way, lol.
3/4 of an Eastwood is such an underrated joke lmao
I'm sure it tastes fine but I don't think I could eat it, I like turtles too much.
i think i may be with ya
Great video man, HQ stuff, thanks and please keep it up. I’m sure this was suggested to me because I’ve been curious about it lately, and you answered all of my questions.
You went to read Shackleton's Antarctica book and came away with turtle soup...
That's a dramatic tangent if ever I saw one.
Amazing video, as always :)
Thank you. I love this episode so much.
I’m subscribed to you because one day I know I’m going to binge every one of these videos one day
6:34 “pamphlet’s” lmao
The Giant Galapagos Tortoise didn't receive it's latin name Chelonoidis Niger for almost 100 years because scientific names were only designated when a species was brought back to England to be studied and formally identified. Despite voyage after voyage collecting cargo holds full of the animals, they had all been eaten by the time the ships docked in the UK.
Source: Stephen Fry, QI
When i was 13 which was 44 years ago i was lucky enough to try consomme of green turtle soup & to this day the taste of it has stuck in my mind as it's one of the nicest things I've ever had the pleasure to eat , i sure wish i could get hold of some now . Fascinating vid thankyou very much
Turtle Soup: It's great, but it's no dolphin sandwich.
Probably similar amounts of Mercury, though.
I had turtle soup back as a child. Way yummy! Especially, the gravy, vegetables and sherry
algorithmic punch!
Great tidbit of history, really enjoyed the video.
Since you mentioned an interest in more topics, I might once again have a few in your wheelhouse.
I have heard that there was for a time in the colonial America's a now mostly dead practice of clock making from wood, as the refined metal was to difficult to produce in the Americas and too expensive to bring over by boat, and there was a lack of ability to process the raw material's along with a lack of demand for people that could actually all those costs, but some crafts people still tried to make due with wood.
Another topic in your wheel house might be the rise and fall of root beer as a homestead craft, like pickles still are. Lots of stories of exploding bottles in the root cellar from pressure of fermentation, and regional variations like sarsaparilla, birch beer, and spruce beer up in Canada. Some over lap with the history and prohibition of home brewing, and prohibition in general.
A different topic you might find interesting, especially if you where taking a look at the origin of the self reliance movement, is the Foxfire Series of books, in which during the 1960's & 70's high school students collected interviews with the hill folks of Aplacia about how their and their Ancestors lives used to be. It collects stories of wooden locks, charcoal making & black smiting, and parts of local folklore. Alot of Prepper types like the books as resources for low tech skill and techniques, but it's honestly a fascinating piece of anthropology about a lesser documented part of American history.
Final thought might be the USS Constitution, I believe the only tall ship still active in the US Navy, and the various campaigns to maintain it over the years. I grew up in MA where it's stationed, and I remember the penny drives for it's restoration. Also, you'd be able to visit it, I believe, and maybe be able to sneak some time into visiting Salem, MA either for some witchy story, or to visit the Satanic Temple.
Anyways, hope you are well, and thanks again for the video.
oh that's cool - i'll have to add these to my list!
I eat my fair share of meat, but watching turtles being slaughtered has me questioning my dietary choices.
same here - that life magazine article. oof
I loved that ending! You’re videos never fail to be just amazing.
that's nice, thank ya!
in Denmark we have something called forloren skildpadde. basically means fake turtle (stew/soup). Comes in a can and from what i've heard, it's quite the acquired taste. I think you might've also accidentally explained why it's called that. Which is funny, because forloren skildppade is an infamous dish on military and radar missions in the arctic and polar area.. learn something new every day!
Seeing a sea turtle while scuba diving is a really amazing experience
That is so strange. Why do I feel bad about eating turtles but not cows, pigs, or chickens?
Also, I have a cousin who lost a pinky toe to a snapping turtle when we were kids. We were swimming in a lake that we had swam in a hundred times before. We saw lots of water moccasins but never turtles. We were about waist deep and he lets out this bloody murder scream and starts running to the bank, a trail of blood behind him, limping the whole way. It was scary at the time but that was 30 years ago so we raz him about it now
wow good thing you didn't eat that turtle or you'd have accidentally eaten your cousins toe
@philbyiasgair133 "Fascinating. I'm getting notes of pinky, maybe a hint of toenail. Entrancing texture."
Having been to Brennan's Cafe in Houston a few times, it didn't occur to me that you were only likely to have turtle soup if you had access to gourmet Cajun cuisine
Huh I live by Houston, but never heard of it. Might visit now that u mentioned it
@@chicagotypewriter2094 it's quite expensive. You're looking at about $50 a person. It is very good food though and on the right days and times they have a live jazz band that walks around and takes requests.
@@Jkp1321 man I love jazz! Time to save ig. Also I owe u a restaurant recommendation now lol
If you've never been, you should definitely try a Brazilian steakhouse (like Avenida Brazil). For either $35, u get a really nice salad bar with soup unlimited drink refills and for $62, you get 12+ cuts of all you can eat meat!
Best if you don't eat for a day to make it more special, and dinner will cost more than lunch, but it's a nice once in a LONG while thing & makes u feel like a king :D
Phil, you are the United States’ Tom Scott.
need red t shirt
this was so fun to watch
As a Philadelphian, it was surprising to me to not only have access to it (in our famous Reading Terminal Market) but to find out it’s definitely palatable!
one of the books i ran into was all about that market. i'm seeking out those turtles next time i visit
You have a way of surfacing obscure topics that I feel I MUST know more about 😂
Great video. I have been horrified by the idea of turtles being eaten since I was a kid.
Same. My mom has told me before that I asked about turtle soup once because of the Ninja Turtles and, when she told me that it came in cans, I started crying for the turtles.
I really SHOULD be a vegetarian cause I feel disturbed about a lot of animals we eat but I just have no impulse control when it comes to my appetite for a lotta meats.
I like Heath's presentation. Well done friend
What a weird but ultimately interesting journey that book took you on-I like it, though, as that's why I subscribed in the first place.
I'm psychic. I just had a dream about shark fin and turtle soup? Thats a wild coincidence
Freshwater snapping turtle is still a secret American dish. My great grandma talked highly of it and I've been hunting of one every time I go fishing. From what I see online Jersey still has restaurants that sell it.
This is fascinating! I knew next to nothing on this topic. The Library of Congress is so cool, btw. Would love to learn more about how that whole institution works. I talked to a tour guide and was mind boggled by the logistics.
it's pretty awesome - and everybody was very helpful. would love to explore it and national archives more
Am i not turtley enough for the turtle club?
I wonder if we can farm turtles so we can bring back the soup?
they do some aquaculture in asia, but that one book in the description says it's super hard (because of the time frame)
Animals that live as long as humans are basically impossible to effectively farm.
The intro was so good I immediately liked the video
Interesting how it was such a phase in the West. We still eat soft-shelled turtles in East Asia. Not everybody eats it but it is delicious & nutritious. & in Hong Kong & southern China we have turtle jelly in the summer. It cools the internal heat of your body.
Early 2000's I went on a cruise and one stop was Grand Cayman. They showed us the turtle farms, where they raise turtles in pools, like Texas raises cows on farms. They had thousands of turtles and gladly invited everyone to try turtle steaks.
I love how your brain works, Phil! I'm also a Phil, behind my user name, and I don't know if it comes with the name, but I feel if I would have been exposed to the same inputs as you did, I would have also made a video (or simply looked into it in my case!) Thank you for that video! 😊
Cheers, Phil.
Would love to see a story about the American wars of the war 1800s in North Africa, a lot of conflicting stories there
I’m from Philadelphia, and I have had snapper soup several times when I was young, it was a dinner delicacy, and it was pretty good.
My fave weird turtle soup thing is there is an English Country House where the kitchen wall is decorated with the many many skulls of turtles from the turtle soup era
whoa!!
oh phil this had nothing to do with childhood. you got me. thanks for tying in that libarry too
I grew up in a rural part of New Mexico and as a kid, lots of the elders would regularly make and eat “caldo de tortuga”, turtle soup. As I got older, you’d hear about it less frequently and not too long ago I got to thinking if anyone from back home still makes it? Thanks for this video, I guess the RUclips algorithm knew I was thinking about turtle soup.
Growing up in MN, my grandmother made turtle soup/stew a handfull of times, out of snapping turtles.
This was the late 60s and early 70s. I remember it tasting pretty much like chicken.
My dad hunted one of the turtles once, (actually, he was just living his best life, and crossing the road in a wildlife area). We "caught" him by putting a broomstick in front of him, he latched on, and my dad shook him off into a burlap sack, tied it up, and put it into the trunk.
After we got home, and my grandma was ready to dress it, we opened the trunk to find an extremely angry snapping turtle front and center! He would not fall for the broomstick thing again, and seemed to only want fleshy human digits.
I remember the whole thing as being pretty traumatic, as I was maybe 7 or 8, and that was the last time we did that.
I never particularly cared for it, anyway, and I'd not eat it, now.
Wow. I can see how that'd be a vivid...memory.
You could have gone to Reading Terminal market in Philadelphia - Beck's Cajun Cafe has Snapper Soup on the menu. It's not that rare in the wider mid-atlantic region event today
As a central american myself, people would still eat turtles as a very regional and traditional thing, but mostly the eggs, which in modern views is even worse. A more traditional thing to eat that is actually reasonable to farm for is Iguana, both for meat in rice dishes and again the eggs which are fucking gross in my humble opinion. Native groups would also eat weird stuff like capybara and other smaller rodent relatives (agoutis for example). No monkeys or felines that I can tell tho…
Lol here in parts of America they are trying to convince people TO EAT iguana! 🤣 In Florida in particular iguanas are a MASSIVE invasive species problem (everytime there's a cold front they fall out of all the trees and end up all over the damn place), and one of the best ways to deal with it would be to turn them into a food supply.
Snapper Soup is still a big thing in Philadelphia.
A lot of New Orleans 4-5 star restaurants serve turtle soup, though fewer have it on the regular menu, more will serve it as an occasional daily special. I've only had it when working at those restaurants.
I had no idea this was a thing 😧
sorry mr tortoise
@@PhilEdwardsInc all love 💞
We used to have turtle soup when I was little. It had a clear broth with bits of turtle meat in it. It was delicious!