12. Nature - Close Up

Snails are more intelligent than people realize; thought they don't seem to have a good stigma in many cultures due to the fact they are slow and not a lovely animal either. The fact that they aren't mystical or beautiful has lead to more stories and cultures viewing them as something bad or evil, in fact, many early cultures often marked people with a snail as a sign of punishement. Yet you will find some great early writings about snails, for example:

• Greeks believed that when the snails could be seen climbing the stalks, it was time for the harvest to begin
• Aztecs believed that the snail was the moon god and that the shell was his protection, they felt that the appearing of the snail at times and then not at others had to do with the meaning of the rebirth of the moon.

Sometimes you will notice snails in books or movies with characteristics that are quite charming helping people to enjoy these animals more, but still, when was the last time you saw a business using a snail as their logo?

Now moving to a more appetizing subject, how about some culinary information on snails.

Snails have been eaten since the eraly man all over the world, they ate whatever they could find to suvive, yes snails included. In some parts of the world snails where even harvested to meet the demand.

This delicatessen is called "Escargot", and millions of pounds are consumed around the world annually; there is even a day to celebrate it, May 24th is the National Escargot Day.

Most people don't realize that the common garden snail is more than a pest, it's a gourmet food item. Legend says that in the 1850's a Frenchman imported them into California in an effort to raise them as a gourmet crop; some of them escaped though and it didn't take long for them to be all over the place.

All should be harvested at an adult age, when they are bigger than an inch long and have a lip at the front end of the shell, where it curves over the neck.

Two weeks of cleaning and feeding, result in clean flavored fat snails, much tastier than the canned varieties available.

How to Prepare Garden Snails

1. Start by placing two of your bricks in a sheltered area of your garden where snails hang out. Place the board across them.

2. Check in the early morning and you should have snails clinging to the underside of your board. Decide how many snails you will need, generally about a dozen per person. Gather them carefully to avoid damaging them or their shells. Keep gathering until you have enough.

3. Place your two bricks in the tank, then put the board on top of the bricks. Place the saucers on top of the board. Fill one saucer with clean water, the other with a mixture of your grains. Place shredded lettuce in the bottom of the cage. Supplement the lettuce with fresh herbs to add additional flavor. You can also use wine for part of the water. Mist all very lightly with water, then place your snails inside. Place the cover on top and weight it down with the third brick.

4. Change the water, grains and lettuce daily. Mist the inside of the cage lightly every day. The snails will "excrete" a lot every day, and you want them living in a clean cage. Continue this process for two weeks. Remove any dead snails as soon as you find them.

5. Remove the lettuce and grain, but keep the water clean. CAREFULLY remove the snails and wash them gently in clean water. Replace in the cleaned cage. Leave the snails with water only for two days.

6. Bring two gallons of water to a boil. Put your snails into the boiling water and stir them very gently for five minutes. Drain them, then remove the snails from their shells. Wash the snail meats several times in vinegar and water (one cup of vinegar to two gallons of water) to eliminate remaining mucus. Drain, then cook for a half hour in water with garlic and your choice of herbs, salt and pepper.

7. If saving the shells, cook them for an hour in one gallon of water and a cup of baking soda. Allow to drain and dry overnight.

8. Proceed with any recipe, either chopping the meats or leaving them whole. The French usually retain the shells for presentation, but other cultures serve them sauced in small baking dishes. They are a popular Spanish tapas dish.Make sure you serve with plenty of good bread for sopping up the butter and juices.

Tips & Warnings

• American snails typically have delicate shells. Sprinkle a bit of crushed oyster shell calcium over the bottom of their cage. You can find it at feed stores where it's sold to strengthen chicken egg shells.
• You can purchase empty shells to use if you don't want to bother. The purchased shells are generally much stronger.
• If using larger purchased shells, put two snails in each shell.
• Preparation is fairly simple. Face it, anything with garlic, butter and herbs is bound to be good!
• Don't use any cardboard or paper. Snails will chew right through it.
• Make sure your cage is well aerated at all times. Keep in a cool, shady location.
• Keep the cage clean daily.
• Don't salt the snails before killing and cooking, it's cruel.

As a note of caution it is important to mention that you need to properly cook snails before you consume them. The failure to do so can result in parasites entering the body which have been linked to the development of meningitis. The failure to cook them properly can result in people becoming very ill with a type of food poisoning as well. 

And if you prefer to watch how they are prepared here is how Gordon Ramsey prepares British Garden Snails:

Ingredients:

• Smoked Pancetta (1-2 strips)
• Fresh Sage (nice handful)
• Fresh Parsley (small handful)
• Fresh Lemon Juice (as in squeezed out of a lemon)
• Olive Oil (1-2 tbsp)
• Snails
• a nice spring mix salad (lightly dressed)

Cooking this dish is a snap.

Boil enough water to cover your snails and dump them in to give them a bath. Let the snails boil for a couple of minutes and then take them off the range and strain them.

Use Escargot tongs or any other small kitchen device (tweesers anyone?) to remove the snails from their shells.

Dice the Pancetta and fry until nice and crispy.

Add fresh sage and snails and toss a bit, then add some fresh parsley and olive oil, then toss a little more.

Success!

You Have Finished cooking your fresh, organic, free range snails!

Add snail mixture to a bed of fresh, lightly dressed salad and enjoy.