Turtles are representatives of one of four species of prehistoric reptiles that have survived to this day. The total habitat of turtles in the waters of the oceans is more than two hundred and twenty million years. Today, at least two hundred species of these animals are known. Their main habitat is waters of temperate as well as tropical climates. It is noteworthy that turtles are able to live not only in the aquatic environment, but also on the earth's surface. In this regard, two main species have been identified - aquatic and terrestrial turtles.

Since ancient times, humanity began to use tasty and healthy turtle meat for food purposes. Not surprisingly, in the end, these gastronomic needs led to the fact that some turtle breeds were on the verge of complete extinction. Despite the fact that there is a wide variety of species and varieties of turtles on our planet, only a very small part of them can be used for food purposes. Turtle meat, first of all, is of interest because it can be enjoyed not only in processed form, but also raw. By the way, the natives and the islanders prefer to eat only raw turtle meat.

It should be borne in mind that turtles sometimes feed on poisonous plants. In this regard, their meat can pose a serious threat to human body... At least cases of poisoning with turtle meat have already been recorded in history. At the same time, for the turtles themselves, these poisonous substances do not pose practically any harm.

For cooking gourmet soup predominantly the Green Turtle species is used. It should be noted that this pleasure is too expensive, however true gourmets, as a rule, do not spare money.

There is a curious legend about turtles. During one of Christopher Columbus's travels The Caribbean sailors noticed in the water near the shore great amount stones. On closer inspection, these stones turned out to be turtles. They were collected and taken with them. When the sailors ran out of food, they began to eat turtle meat, which was especially tender and rich. vitamin composition... By the way, the sailors called the turtle meat "live canned food".

According to true connoisseurs, turtle meat tastes something like frog legs, which are also a gourmet product. True, it should be noted that turtle meat is characterized by an even more tender and refined taste... You can fully enjoy turtle meat by tasting turtle soup, which has unique taste and aroma. However, this dish is only available in exotic restaurants. And in most supermarkets, you can easily get canned turtle meat, as well as convenience foods in a frozen state.

Turtle meat tastes very much like frog legs. However, not all species of turtles are suitable for use in cooking, in other words, not all are edible, and some species of turtles are even close to extinction.

What is interesting about turtle meat in culinary terms?

At the moment, about ten species of turtles are used in food, of which six species of freshwater and four species of sea turtles can be eaten. The turtle meat located on the fins is dark in color, and on the belly and back it is lighter in color. Turtle meat can be stewed or cooked, along with herbs, vegetables, and spices. In addition, even steaks are made from turtle meat.

In the eighteenth century, the British became quite addicted to the famous turtle soup, which is made from turtle meat. More precisely, the soup was made from the substance of the turtle, which was located under the shell, and looked like jelly. Now they even learned to fake turtle soup, using a veal head and bones instead of a turtle, and the taste of such a fake soup differs little from the real one. Europeans consider turtle meat a delicacy, but for many peoples in Africa and Asia, the turtle is a familiar dish.

Now let's talk about rabbit meat, what is interesting about rabbit meat, first of all, in culinary terms?

Rabbit meat is considered dietary meat, since it contains little cholesterol, but it contains a large number of squirrel. In order to receive tasty dish you need to choose the right rabbit.

The basic principle for choosing a fresh and edible rabbit carcass is that a young rabbit should have a pink and white carcass that is elastic enough to the touch, and a rabbit carcass should weigh no more than one kilogram. If the carcass weighs more, then it will be quite difficult to chew it. However, rabbit meat is not only available because rabbits are bred on numerous farms, but they are also hunted, where wild rabbit meat is obtained.

There are many dishes that use rabbit meat. Rabbit meat can be fried, stewed, boiled, pâté, and stews. However, before starting to make the dish, rabbit meat must be soaked in cold water about six to eight hours, and the water needs to be changed from time to time. It is better to leave the back of the rabbit carcass for frying, and the front part is either boiled or stewed, you can make pilaf or stew from it. Rabbit meat is allowed to bake whole carcasswrapping it in foil. Cutlets are made from minced rabbit.

Turtle (meat) - food productobtained from some species of freshwater and sea turtles. Differs in softness and taste reminiscent of frog legs. It is eaten cooked.

Calorie content

100 grams of turtle meat contains about 89 kcal.

Composition

The chemical composition of turtle meat is characterized by a high content of proteins, vitamins (A, B4, B9, B12, E, PP), as well as minerals - zinc, selenium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium.

How to cook and serve

Turtle meat is eaten cooked, usually after heat treatment, as a result of which its taste becomes very similar to frog legs. Due to its excellent gastronomic qualities, a huge amount is prepared from this food product. different dishes... The most popular of these is turtle soup, which also includes tomato sauce, onion, celery, flour, lemon and Tabasco sauce. This uses meat with a high content of connective tissue and cartilage.

In addition, turtle meat is used in the preparation of various bakery products, where it is used as a filling, as well as in a variety of fried and stews, served both separately and with side dishes of vegetables and cereals.

What is combined with

Turtle meat goes well with potatoes, rice, mushrooms, onions, sweet (Bulgarian) and black pepper, garlic, ginger, bay leaves, celery, tomatoes.

Storage

IN fresh The turtle meat should be kept refrigerated and eaten within a few days. To keep this food for more long term it is dried or frozen. Dried turtle meat can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 weeks, and frozen - up to 6 months, subject to temperature regime (not higher than minus 18 degrees Celsius).

Beneficial features

Even after prolonged heat treatment, turtle meat contains a large number of different biologically active substances, to one degree or another, positively affecting the state of human health. In particular, its use lowers cholesterol levels, stimulates hematopoiesis processes, increases hemoglobin, and improves work gastrointestinal tract, reduces the risk of occurrence and development of infectious and oncological diseases, has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunostimulating effects.

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Mclear turtles on our table are the exception to the rule rather than the commonplace. There is no chance to buy it in an ordinary supermarket or on the market; to try it in a restaurant is a privilege for the elite, because it is a well-known fact that today turtle hunting is prohibited in most countries, and that most of the turtles are listed in the Red Book.

And yet, if you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to taste, say, turtle soup - lunch, a la gourmet, you are guaranteed. By the way, it will be said that in some countries turtle meat is valued on a par with fish (as it contains a large amount of phosphates and iodine) and costs a penny. It is prepared without any frills and seasonings.

Turtle meat strengthens the liver and kidneys, promotes concentration and development of the child's intelligence, and develops memory well.
Turtle dishes are most popular in Asian countries, especially in China, such a delicacy as turtle soup. Meat is also valued as a "tonic" that is believed to have a positive effect on sexual function. Turtles are caught with a fishing rod, spear or nets.

Turtles played an important role in Japanese mythology as well. During the Edo period, Far Eastern turtle stew, or suppon as the Japanese call it, was a very popular delicacy in Japan and was also credited with various medicinal properties... Sick people and people with weak immunity ate turtle meat. But people who abused the absorption of this dish, it was believed, could fall under the control of the outraged spirit of Suppon.
One myth tells of how three men who lived in Nagoya always ordered suppon and sake. One day they came to buy more, but the turtle meat merchant who greeted them had the face of a turtle, and instead of legs, a long ghostly tail. The men ran home, trembled with horror for three days, and after this incident they never ate the suppon again.

In the old days, ships with turtles (and transported them up to 1000 per year) were sent to England (which is considered the birthplace of turtle soup) from the Ascension Islands, which were delivered to members of royal families, lords and other nobility. The abdominal shield of each caught turtle, which is called "plastron", was signed with the name of the one to whom the reptile was intended for the table. The conditions of transportation left much to be desired, and therefore every morning the officer on duty on watch reported to the captain as follows: "We lost Lord Barrington overnight" or "The Earl of Shaftesbury is not feeling well, may die," but the king's turtle was sacred to all sailors - she had no right to feel unwell, much less to die.

Could not ignore such a delicacy and a famous French admirer, and a connoisseur of cooking, like A. Dumas. In his vocabulary, he devotes several pages to a colorful description of how to make turtle soup. First, you need to have fresh turtle meat, just caught from natural environment habitat, since if the turtle has been on land for some time, its meat takes on the smell of spoiled fish. Then the gourmet colorfully describes the moment of cutting the turtle carcass: “If it works out, then
I must cut off her head with one blow of a knife, recently sharpened. After that, you should put the turtle on its back, tilting what is left of its neck, and let the blood drain for 10-12 hours. After that, you need to take the shell and open it by inserting a knife between the upper and lower parts, but without cutting off either the front or the hind legs. When the upper part of the carapace is removed, it is necessary to remove the fat and entrails, which should be preserved, and then cut off the front and hind legs, while also cutting off the meat and bones that are associated with the legs. These portions of turtle meat are slightly similar in taste to the middle portion of veal fillets (nut) and therefore bear the same name. They should be separated from the bones, or in order to be further used for cooking meat dish or entree, or in order to use the day of the preparation of turtle soup with the bones. When the meat has been removed from both parts of the carapace, the carapace must be divided into square pieces, peeled thoroughly, boiled in plenty of water, also blanched both pairs of paws and the neck, and then thoroughly peeled and soaked in water for an hour. When the square pieces of the shell become soft to the touch, and the large bones and scales can be easily removed from them, you need to drain the water from them, clean and put the small parts in a ceramic bowl and pour the liquid in which they were cooked on top, having previously filtered it through a sieve. Next, chop up the raw turtle bones, put them in a saucepan with the meat and paws, pour the liquid in which the shell was cooked, add the usual mint broth and pour in a few bottles of white wine. Let the liquid boil and cook, skimming off the foam. After that, set the pot aside from the heat and add to it the same ingredients used to make the potofyo soup. When the paws are cooked, drain the liquid from them, remove the bones, place the meat in a ceramic bowl and cover with the liquid in which they were cooked. Remove the fat from the rest of the liquid, strain, sieve it and leave for a while at room temperature.

To cook turtle soup, proceed as follows: for 8-10 people, cook about two to three liters of turtle broth, keep it hot. Cut into pieces two medium-sized chickens, place them in a saucepan with the bones, wings, paws and well-washed stomachs cut into pieces, add 300-450 g raw ham, cut into large cubes. Fry the meat over high heat in butter until it is lightly browned. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of arorut starch from the Marenla tropical plant. After two minutes, pour in the tortoiseshell broth and a glass of white wine, stir the liquid before it boils, remove it from the heat, add a bunch spicy herbs, two onions. When the chickens are cooked, remove the fat from the liquid in which they are boiled, strain this liquid through a sieve into another pan, add some of the chicken flesh, as well as the turtle paws and in equal amounts the upper and lower parts of the shell. Both paws and carapace should be cut into small squares. Next, bring the soup to a boil and add a glass of sherry. If the soup turns out to be too thick, dilute it with turtle broth; the soup should thicken only slightly. After 25 minutes, remove the fat, add some cayenne pepper and a few chunks of turtle fat, which should be blanched and chopped small pieces... At the time of serving, a tincture is added, which is prepared from three quarters of a glass of sherry, a pinch of marjoram, a small amount of basil, a pinch of savory, thyme with the addition of a sprig of sage, but none of these herbs should dominate. The liquid should be evaporated by one third. If these herbs have recently been picked, then when they are cooked, they must be ground in a mortar and mixed with the soup. This is how I imagine turtle soup - real turtle soup! "

Turtle Soup (Cooking, 1955)

Cooking method: Cut off the head and limbs of the turtle, hang it up so that the blood is drained. Gut and rinse thoroughly many times cold water... Remove the meat from the ears, trim the pieces and cut them into neat small slices (blankets). Boil the slices in salted water for 3-4 hours. Remove the slices from the broth, and put a piece of beef, a piece of veal, chicken, veal leg and pieces of turtle left over from stripping into the broth. Add roots and onions and cook until full readiness all meat products... Strain the broth, put slices of boiled turtles in it and boil for another 30-40 minutes.
Prepare an infusion of aromatic herbs (basil, marjoram, parsley, dill, rosemary, mint, nutmeg). To do this, put these spices in a saucepan with boiling Madeira (1 glass), boil, set aside from heat and let it brew; then strain, pour the infusion into the soup and bring to a boil. Season the soup with salt, pepper and serve with a few slices of turtle in each plate. To give it the smallest thickness, turtle soup can be seasoned with a spoon potato starchdiluted with cold water.
The soup, known in Russia as "false turtle soup" is prepared in the same way, but instead of a turtle, a veal head is used.

Turtle soup from A. Dumas

Cooking method: For turtle soup, put the pieces lean meat turtles in a large pot, add 10 kg beef slices, 2 veal legs, 3 old chicken. Pour in 3 large spoons of broth and let your gravy semi-solidify over high heat. After that, fill a saucepan with strong meat broth, put 4 onions into which, stick cloves in, add a bunch of basil and rosemary and leave to simmer for six hours. When everything is done, as we have just said, take the skin removed from the abdominal and dorsal part of our shri, cut into 3 cm2 pieces; cut the legs in the same way if you have no intention of making a hot second course out of them. Place the resulting pieces in a saucepan with the slices on the bottom lard, pour in a bottle of old madeira and sturdy meat broth, prepared in advance and filtered through a sieve. Cook everything together from time to time, tasting the meat's doneness. The pot should retain a calf head-like enzyme that does not take long to cook.

This soup is served in two varieties: clear or thick. At the end of cooking, mint, basil, rosemary and thyme are added to it, which are pre-poured with a good glass of Madeira, insisted and evaporated to a quarter of the volume. Add some cayenne pepper as well and finish off the soup. Before serving, taste the soup: it should be extraordinarily pleasant.
In England, this soup has a special quality due to the fact that our overseas neighbors have fresh plants at all times, from which they prepare the puree used at the end of the preparation of this soup.

Regency turtle paws

Cooking method: Place a layer of lard slices, a few slices of smoked Bayonne ham, four onions with a few cloves stuck in them, Indian aromatic spices and turtle paws on the bottom of the roasting pan. Sprinkle with a pinch of spice powder, cover with slices of lard and a few slices of veal, scarlet a bottle of old Madeira and strong meat broth. Cover with paper and on top of it with a sealed lid, placing hot coals on top of it. Cook over low heat, from time to time checking the readiness: in order for the meat to cook well, the gravy should decrease in volume by 3/4. At the time of serving, drain the liquid from the paws, put them on a dish, on top of a thick layer of toasted bread lying in the middle of the dish. Garnish the hot dish with a rich side dish of croutons, truffles, scallops and cocks, meatballs, etc. Then strain the gravy through a sieve, let stand and remove the fat. Share on great dish, add four large spoons of Spanish sauce, stir over high heat with a pinch of cayenne pepper, and place in water bath... Make sure that the sauce is very tasty, thick and slightly raised.

Turtle soup

Ingredients: turtle meat 1 kg, vegetable oil 100 g, flour 1 cup, onion 1 pc., ham 100 g, tomatoes 400 g, Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp. l., juice of 3 lemons, cognac 150 g, garlic, thyme, lavrushka, salt, pepper to taste

Cooking method: Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and fry until golden brown. Dilute the passivation with 4 liters of water, or vegetable broth... In another skillet, fry finely chopped onion, add finely chopped ham, put in finely diced tomatoes and fry all together for about 10 minutes. Cut the turtle meat into portioned pieces, add to vegetables, keep on fire for another 5 minutes and remove. Put the contents of the pan into the broth, mix gently, add herbs and spices, pour in the Worcestershire sauce, bring the soup to a boil and cook until the meat is tender. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, add lemon juice and cognac to the soup.

Turtle

Ingredients:1 turtle, 1 carrot, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of potato starch, butter, sugar, lemon, salt.

Cooking method: Wash the turtle, clean the shell, boil for 30 minutes. Then remove the turtle from the broth, remove the meat, chop finely. Wash the carrots, peel, cut into slices, boil until tender with salt, butter and sugar. Add the turtle meat and some strained broth in which it was cooked. Add starch, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Ready soup season lemon juice... Turtle soup (option 2) 1 turtle, 200 g of beef, 200 g of veal, 200 g chicken meat, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 parsley root, herbal infusion, 1 teaspoon of potato starch, salt. For herbal infusion: 1 glass of Madeira, basil, marjoram, parsley, dill, rosemary, mint, nutmeg. Butcher the turtle: chop off the head and legs and hang them to drain the blood. After that, gut the carcass and rinse thoroughly in several waters. Remove the meat, cut into small equal slices. Boil the slices in salted water for 3-4 hours. After that, remove the slices from the broth and put beef, veal, chicken meat and pieces of turtle meat remaining after cutting into it. Add chopped onions and roots. Cook until the meat is cooked, then strain the broth, dip the boiled turtle slices into it and cook for another 30-40 minutes. Prepare herbal infusion. To do this, bring Madeira 3 0 to a boil, dip a few leaves of basil, marjoram, parsley, dill, rosemary, mint and a little nutmeg into it, bring to a boil again, remove from heat and let it brew. After that strain the infusion, pour into the soup and bring to a boil. Add salt to the soup to taste, season with starch diluted in water. You can slightly pepper.

In Moscow, you can try turtle and chicken soup in the restaurant "Ancient China", which is located at Kamergersky per. d. 5/6.

In the diaries of sailors, in adventure novels, in old cookbooks, they praise culinary qualities green sea turtle, which was found in abundance in the Atlantic until the beginning of the 20th century.

Turtle meat on our own taste superior to beef, it is rich in proteins, it has a little fat and cholesterol. Only 10 out of 230 species of turtles are used for food, and all these species are waterfowl. Cooking recipes from turtle meat there are a great many, incl. taken to be considered exotic.

Calorie content of turtle meat

The calorie content of turtle meat depends largely on the way it is cooked and the sauce with which it is served. On average, it does not exceed 100 kilocalories per 100 grams. According to his nutritional value turtle meat can be compared to fish fillets, due to the specific nutrition of turtles, it contains a large amount of iodine and various minerals.

A bit of history

When, at the very beginning of the 17th century, Columbus crossed the Caribbean Sea, huge herds of turtles in some places literally prevented the ships from moving forward. At first, the sailors decided that the sea was full of stones, and only upon closer examination did they realize that these were giant turtles (the length of an adult turtle is up to 140 centimeters, weight is up to 300 kilograms).

In the XVII - XIX centuries ship captains put the turtles belly up on the deck and used them as a reserve fresh meat for the team. The turtles remained alive for a very long time. At the end of the nineteenth century, British ships made regular voyages to Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean, taking up to 300 live turtles to London. “The turtle meat was sweet and tender, some of it resembled chicken, some veal,” wrote one of the gourmets. On the way, the turtles were kept in reservoirs with salt water, fed with grass: during the flight, which lasted 40-50 days, less than 50 turtles died. Since then, green sea turtle soup has become an indispensable dish. english cuisine... Hunting for reptiles and their eggs became an important trade, but by the middle of the 20th century, the green sea turtle was almost extinct.

In the late 1960s, a specially founded American company, Marikalcha Limited, established the world's first turtle farm on Grand Cayman Island. At first, the company's activities were limited to collecting turtle eggs in nature and raising turtles from these eggs, but in 1973 they succeeded in breeding turtles in captivity, in large pools. 12 thousand eggs were obtained from 14 females.

But the firm believes that the collection of eggs in nature will take another 5-10 years. Eggs are collected from the shores of Suriname, Costa Rica and Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Turtle farm workers collect only those eggs that are laid in bad locations and are likely to die. So, on Ascension Island, they are taken only from those beaches where there is a lot of volcanic ash, which has a poisonous effect on the emerging turtles. On the shores of Costa Rica and Suriname, they are collected only in those places where, due to the large crowding of turtle nests, digging holes for their eggs, they destroy eggs previously laid by other females. The percentage of hatching juveniles in captivity was brought to 95. In the wild, only two eggs out of every 500 laid give turtles, which manage to survive to adulthood and, in turn, lay eggs. In its first four years of operation, the farm released 3,500 turtles, which is 5 percent of the farm's population.

For many Pacific Islander peoples, turtle meat dishes are as common as fish and seafood dishes. On many holidays, turtle soup is one of the main dishes prepared.

The popularity of turtle meat due to its "exoticism" has put some species of turtles under a real threat of extinction. Poachers do not pay enough attention to the species of turtles they kill in pursuit of profit, so before buying turtle meat, it is better to make sure that it was obtained legally or grown on a farm.

Sep 13, 2012 Marina

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