Snails as food

Snails are eaten by people in many places such as Africa, Southeast Asia and Mediterranean Europe. In some cultures, snails are seen as a taboo food. In English, edible land snails are often called escargot. This comes from the French word for 'snail'. People have eaten snails since ancient times. Many cultures around the world have traditions of eating snails.

Today, snails are farmed in an industry called heliciculture. The snails are collected after rain and made to "purge" (fast). Now, snail-breeding methods let people have snails all year. Heliciculture mainly happens in Spain, France, and Italy. These countries also have the richest traditions for cooking snails. Once thought of as "poverty food", snails are now enjoyed as a delicacy by many haute cuisine chefs.

Etymology of escargot

The word "escargot" means snail in French. It was first used around 1892. The word started in Provençal as escaragol. Then it became escargol in Old French. The word has older roots in Vulgar Latin coculium and Classical Latin conchylium. It also comes from the Ancient Greek word konchylion, which meant "edible shellfish, oyster". The French and Provençal words were also shaped by words for the scarab.

History

People have eaten snails for a very long time. Archaeologists found many broken snail shells in places like the Franchthi Cave in Greece, from 10,700 BCE. These shells show that snails were an easy and common food for early humans. Similar findings have been made in the Zagros Mountains of Iraq, the Kermanshah region of Iran, and around the Mediterranean Sea.

In ancient Rome, snails were a special food for rich people. A man named Quintus Fulvius Lippinus was one of the first to farm snails. He kept many kinds of snails and made them fat before selling them in Rome. Today, snails are still popular food in many places, especially during times when people do not eat meat, like during Lent in some Christian traditions.

Species

Not all land snails are good to eat because many are too small. The taste of the meat can be different between species.

Some popular snails include:

• Helix lucorum, the European snail
• Helix pomatia, the Roman snail or Burgundy escargot, which is very popular in France
• Helix salomonica
• Lissachatina fulica (formerly Achatina fulica), the giant African snail
• Cepaea nemoralis, the grove snail, called rayado in Spain
• Cepaea hortensis, the white-lipped snail
• Otala punctata, known as cabrilla in Spain
• Otala lactea, the Spanish snail
• Pomacea canaliculata, the apple snail, eaten in Asia though it is invasive there
• Pomacea urceus, called guarura in Colombia and Venezuela
• Buccinum undatum, the common whelk
• Cantareus apertus, the garden snail
• Cornu aspersum, the common or garden snail, called petit-gris in France
• Elona quimperiana, known as Escargot de Quimper in France
• Littorina littorea, the common periwinkle
• Pachychilus spp., eaten by the Maya
• Ryssota ovum, called buko or bayuko in the Philippines
• Thetystrombus latus, known as bilolá in Fang, kolobwidjo in Yoruba and búzio cabra in Cape Verdean Portuguese

Nutrition

Snail meat is a good choice because it has fewer calories and fat than other meats. It gives you protein, with about 10 to 19% in each serving. Snails have important minerals like magnesium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium. They also have a lot of vitamin B3 (niacin), which helps your body. Snails provide selenium, which protects the body.

Snails are rich in important amino acids such as lysine, methionine, and cysteine. They contain vitamins A, E, and B12, which keep you healthy. Because snails have a lot of iron, they are good for people who need more iron. Even though snail meat has little fat, it includes helpful omega-3 fatty acids.

Culinary use

Before snails are cooked, they are cleaned very well. This is done by keeping them without food for a few days or giving them only flour. This helps clear their stomachs. After this, they are washed very well.

Snails are cooked in many tasty ways. In some places, they are eaten as a snack with toothpicks. Chefs often cook them in stews or bake them with other foods like rabbit or chicken.

By region

In many parts of the world, people enjoy eating snails. In Africa, countries like Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria eat larger African varieties of snails. In the Mediterranean area, places such as France, Spain, and Italy have long traditions of eating snails, often prepared with garlic butter and served in their shells.

Southeast Asia also has many snail-loving cultures. In Indonesia, snails are fried on skewers, while in Nepal and parts of India, snails are a common food enjoyed with rice or curries.