Escargots
Encyclopedia
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, usually served as an appetizer in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and in French restaurants. The word is also sometimes applied to the living snails of those species which are commonly eaten in this way.
Escargot, ɛskaʁɡo, is the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for snail. It is related to Occitan escaragol and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
cargol, which, in turn, may derive from a pre-Roman word *karakauseli. Similarly, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
use the term caracol.
Not all species of land snail are equally 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
Helix pomatia
Helix pomatia, common names the Burgundy snail, Roman snail, edible snail or escargot, is a species of large, edible, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae...
is most often eaten. The "petit-gris" Helix aspersa
Helix aspersa
Helix aspersa, known by the common name garden snail, is a species of land snail, a pulmonate gastropod that is one of the best-known of all terrestrial molluscs. The species has been placed in the genus Helix, in all sources between 1774 and 1988 and in most sources until recently...
is also eaten, as is Helix lucorum
Helix lucorum
Helix lucorum is a species of large, edible, air-breathing land snail or escargot, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae, the typical snails.- Synonyms :Numerous synonyms exist for Helix lucorum:...
. Several additional species are popular in Europe; see heliciculture
Heliciculture
Heliciculture, or snail farming is the process of farming or raising land snails specifically for human consumption, and more recently, to obtain snail slime for cosmetics use....
.
History
Snail shells have been found in archaeological excavations, an indication that 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 utilized as escargot. The Romans, in particular, are known to have considered escargot to be an elite food, as noted in the writings of PlinyPliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
. The edible species Otala lactea
Otala lactea
Otala lactea, common names, the milk snail, or Spanish snail, is a large, edible species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae. Archaeological recovery at the Volubilis illustrates prehistoric exploitation of O...
has been recovered from Volubilis
Volubilis
Volubilis is an archaeological site in Morocco situated near Meknes between Fez and Rabat along the N13 road. The nearest town is Moulay Idriss. Volubilis features the best preserved Roman ruins in this part of northern Africa...
in present day Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. This archaeological recovery is from an era of Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
occupation of this provincial capital, which site was known to embody a very highly developed ancient civilization since its days as a Phoenician and Carthaginian colony.
Preparation
Chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made by bringing to a boil and then simmering chicken parts and/or bones in water, with various vegetables and flavorings. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, often served with small pieces of chicken or vegetables, or with noodles or dumplings, or grains such...
or wine) and then placed back into the shells together with the butter and sauce for serving, often on a plate with several shell-sized depressions. 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 6 or 12 snails.
In Maltese cuisine
Maltese cuisine
Maltese cuisine refers to the dishes identified as Maltese. Reflecting Maltese history, it shows strong Sicilian and English influences as well as influences of Spanish, Maghrebin and Provençal cuisines.-History:...
snails (Maltese
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
: bebbux) of the petit gris
Helix aspersa
Helix aspersa, known by the common name garden snail, is a species of land snail, a pulmonate gastropod that is one of the best-known of all terrestrial molluscs. The species has been placed in the genus Helix, in all sources between 1774 and 1988 and in most sources until recently...
variety are simmered
Simmering
Simmering is a food preparation technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept at or just below the boiling point of water , but higher than poaching temperature...
in red wine or ale with mint, basil and marjoram. The snails are cooked, and served, in their shells.
Like most molluscs, escargot is high in protein and low in fat content (if cooked without butter). It is estimated that escargot is 15% protein, 2.4% fat and about 80% water.
Heliciculture
The snails are first prepared by purging them of the questionable 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 EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the late '80s, escargot represented a $300 million a year business in the United States. Farm-raised snails are typically fed a diet of ground cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s.
See also
- Escargot de QuimperEscargot de QuimperElona quimperiana, common name the escargot de Quimper , is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Elonidae....
- PeriwinkleCommon PeriwinkleThe common periwinkle or winkle, scientific name Littorina littorea, is a species of small edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk which has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles....
- Snails in cuisine
External links
- Escargot - nutritional value
- About Escargot Maiden
- Escargot Recipes from Gourmet Recipe