Escargot

See also: L'Escargot (disambiguation)

Escargots with special tongs and fork

Cooking escargots.

The escargot (plural escargots, IPA: [ɛs.kaʁ.ɡo], French for snail) is a cooked land snail. Escargots are usually served as a starter in Portugal, Spain and in France, and are a typical dish in the Catalan region of Spain. The word escargot is also sometimes applied to the living snails of those species which are commonly eaten in this way.

Snail species

Not all species of land snail are edible, and many are too small to make it worthwhile to prepare and cook them. Even among the edible species, the palatability of the flesh varies from species to species.

In France, the species Helix pomatia is most often eaten. The "petit-gris" Cornu aspersa is also eaten, as is Helix lucorum. Several additional species, such as Elona quimperiana, are popular in Europe; see heliciculture.

History

Snail shells have been found in archaeological excavations, indicating snails have been eaten since prehistoric times. A number of archaeological sites around the Mediterranean have been excavated yielding physical evidence of culinary use of several species of snails.

The Romans in particular are known to have considered escargot an elite food, as noted in the writings of Pliny. The edible species Otala lactea has been recovered from the Roman-era city Volubilis in present-day Morocco. More recently, African land snails have been known to be edible.

Preparation

File:Escargot p1150449.jpg

Escargot cooked with garlic butter and parsley in a shell (with a €0.02 coin, about 19 mm across, as a scale object).

Escargot out of its shell.

In French culture, the snails are typically purged, killed, removed from their shells, and cooked (usually with garlic butter, chicken stock or wine), and then placed back into the shells with the butter and sauce for serving. Additional ingredients may be added, such as garlic, thyme, parsley and pine nuts. Special snail tongs (for holding the shell) and snail forks (for extracting the meat) are also normally provided, and they are served on indented metal trays with places for six or 12 snails.

In Maltese cuisine, snails (Maltese: bebbux) of the petit gris variety are simmered in red wine or ale with mint, basil and marjoram. The snails are cooked, and served in their shells.

Nutritional value

Like most molluscs, escargots are high in protein and low in fat content (if cooked without butter). Escargots are estimated to contain 15% protein, 2.4% fat and about 80% water.

Heliciculture

Main article: Heliciculture

The snails are first prepared by purging them of the likely undesirable contents of their digestive systems. The process used to accomplish this varies, but generally involves a combination of fasting and purging or simply feeding them on a wholesome replacement. The methods most often used can take several days. Farms producing Helix aspersa for sale exist in Europe and in the United States. In the late 1980s, escargots represented a $300 million a year business in the United States. Farm-raised snails are typically fed a diet of ground cereals.

See also

• Escargot de Quimper
• Common periwinkle
• Snail caviar
• Conch

General:

• Snails as food
• List of delicacies

External links

• Escargot - nutritional value
• Escargot Recipes from Gourmet Recipe