Snails or escargots are little creatures that have captured our imagination ever since childhood. We find these creatures abundantly in the country side, especially after the rain, but as the culinary demand for snails rises, snail farms are multiplying. About 200 snail farms exist in France, while they also constitute a booming industry in the Balkans; the price for a kilogram of snails is almost four euros and rising. Although owning and taking care of a snail farm requires the maintenance of certain standards, the snail industry is considered a rather safe investment.

French restaurants consume escargots like “snailniacs”, although they usually use them in meat sauce, with garlic and mushrooms. In Greece, snails are mainly gathered from the wild and we usually find them in red sauce. Another way to cook snails, as people do in Crete, is to fry them; I have tried this dish, and it is delicious! Next time you find yourselves in front of a plate full of snails, be brave and try them!

Grandma’s recipe for fried snails:
Place the snails in water in order to seperate the meat from the shells, and clean them well. Throw them in hot, boiling water and let them boil for half a minute. Place the snails in a preheated frying pan containing olive oil, five spoons of vinegar, a spoon of flour and a bit of rosemary. Mix and stir for approximately 20 minutes.

3 Snail facts:

• Snails are hermaphrodites, but it still takes them 12 hours to mate

• Their sexual organs are found where common sense would place their ears

• It takes them another 12 long hours to place their eggs deep in the ground, by sticking their heads in, ostrich-style