American Test Kitchens and Cook’s illustrated magazine.

The following is an excerpt from the February 2007 e-mail newsletter of American Test Kitchens and Cook_s illustrated magazine. __This summer, Adrienne and I are going to install a 67-inch coal cookstove and start making recipes from the first edition of Fannie Farmer’s 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, including Terrapin a la Baltimore, Mock Turtle Soup, and French Cream Cakes. I will let you know how it goes.__ We are grateful to the subscriber of Cook_s Illustrated who brought this to our attention and suggest that we all respond to and discourage the activity planned for making __Terrapin a la Baltimore__. The Terrapin Institute is alerting the America Test Kitchen producers, Cooks Illustrated magazine, Public Broadcasting System, and our local PBS affiliates of our concerns with the planned segment. It could be simply that these folks have no idea that a terrapin is a turtle or that they could be promoting wildlife poaching. Having seen the American Test Kitchen show I believe the producers would be sensitive to the current terrapin situation. If they are educated to the global turtle crisis, they may agree to avoid any dish requiring turtle as an ingredient and be persuaded to use the Fannie Farmer revival segment as an opportunity to promote responsible consumption of classic cuisine. By the time this segment airs the __possession__ of terrapins could be a crime and the show could be cited for poaching or aiding and abetting an illegal activity. As the subscriber pointed out to me, there are so many __extreme cuisine__ shows on the airwaves that ratings competition may be pushing the limits of gastronomic excess into the macabre. I suggest we avoid the inhumanity of dropping live terrapins into boiling water and focus more on the global concerns of bad taste, good health and conservation. In addition, since turtles are kept as pets, essentially such recipes promote the use of pets as food. I would not think __Pets for the Palate__ would go over well and neither should __terrapin a la Baltimore__. Several years ago, as a subtle way to discourage terrapin harvest, I offered an alternative terrapin recipe to the Maryland Watermen_s Gazette which was later published in the 2004 Commercial Fisheries Expo program. Obviously, subtleties don_t work, but this is what I wrote back in 2003 (actual ingredients omitted): Back in the heydays of Terrapin – that’s Terrapin with a capital T – when the State_s famous reptile was Maryland_s most coveted bay food, the main ingredient was collapsing in the wild and therefore a bit pricy or a rare find on the menu. To offset the expense and meet the demand, some less scrupulous restaurants would secretly substitute muskrat flesh in their version of Terrapin. Apparently, the taste and texture of muskrat was so similar to that of terrapin that the less discriminating palate could not tell the difference. The finer restaurants reportedly served the paw of a terrapin alongside the serving plate to authenticate the meat and to protect their reputations. Nevertheless, muskrat gained a following so much so that, according the Marty Stouffer’s Wild America series, it was referred to as Marsh Hare or Chesapeake Terrapin. Dressed and ready-to-eat muskrats are rare commodities, although they are occasionally available at such venerable establishments as Lexington Market in Baltimore City. Having never tasted muskrat or terrapin, I don_t get the gusto over wild game. However, I_m game for trying anything prepared with alcohol and excessive amounts of eggs, butter, and heavy cream. For those with a hankering for some classic tidewater tucker, but not the time or inclination to trap your own vittles, here_s a suggestion for Mock Chesapeake Terrapin/Marsh Hare. The original recipe did not include onion or garlic, but I add these to almost everything. This cream base can make just about anything appear edible or exotic, i.e. calf_s head, chicken, toad fish, ox tail, mountain oysters, shoe leather, etc. WARNING: In my pedestrian, non-epicurean way of thinking (one who eats to live) any dish with this degree of visceral unabashed cholesterol almost demands a follow up prescription of blood thinners. To avoid any potential liability, you might consider offering health warnings along side the guest placement cards. Viscous dishes such as this are not good for the physical constitution and are best left in the memory bank. MW Marguerite WhildenThe Terrapin InstituteP. O. Box 51Edgewater, MD 21037Voice 410 370 9171FAX 410 757 9268www.terrapininstitute.org “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”