Turn of the Century Soups

Quick, what would you say are the seven most popular soups for sale at Kroger? Dusty D would guess chicken noodle, cream of chicken, beef and veggies, tomato, chicken and rice, beef barley, and that grand old lynchpin of Midwestern "cooking," cream of mushroom.

Well, according to a November 27, 1896 ad for Kief and Meanwell's grocers on North Huron, these preferences were very different--if we assume that the soups advertised were the popular ones that would appeal to readers.

The seven soups here are "Tomato, Chicken, Ox Tail, Mock Turtle, Consomme, Julienne, French Bouillon."

Dusty D is proud to say that with my usual penchant for anachronism, I have oxtails in my freezer at this very moment! Yesirree.

Then the Queen left off, quite out of breath, and said to Alice, "Have you seen the Mock Turtle yet?"
"No," said Alice. "I don't even know what a Mock Turtle is."
"It's the thing Mock Turtle Soup is made from," said the Queen. --Alice in Wonderland, 1865