Lissachatina fulica, a giant African snail, is sliced and canned and passed off on some consumers as escargot. "Escargot" most commonly refers to either Cornu aspersum or to Helix pomatia, although other varieties of snails are eaten. Only a few specifies are suitable for profitable farming.Įdible land snails range in size from about two millimeters long to the giant African snails, which occasionally grow up to 312 mm ( 12 + 1⁄ 4 in) in length. Their flavour varies per species and the way of cooking, and preferences may vary per culture. Most land snails are edible provided they are properly cooked. Three different species of snails for sale in a market in Turin, Italy Other sources claim that Italian immigrants were the first to bring the snail to the United States. There, people often ate snails during Lent, and in a few places, they consumed large quantities of snails at Mardi Gras or Carnival, as a foretaste of Lent.Īccording to some sources, the French exported brown garden snails to California in the 1850s, raising them as the delicacy escargot. "Wall fish" were also often eaten in Britain, but were never as popular as on the continent. Shells of the edible land snail species Otala lactea have been recovered in archaeological excavations of Volubilis in present-day Morocco. Various species were consumed by the Romans. It was a certain Fulvius Lippinus who started this practice. The Romans selected the best snails for breeding. The Romans, in particular, are known to have considered escargot as an elite food, as noted in the writings of Pliny the Elder.
People usually raised snails in pens near the house, and these pens were called " cochlea." The snails were fattened for human consumption using spelt and aromatic herbs. This snail farming method was described by Fulvius Lippinus (49 BC) and mentioned by Marcus Terentius Varro in De Re rustica III, 12. Lumaca romana, (translation: Roman snail), was an ancient method of snail farming or heliciculture in the region about Tarquinia. Roasted snail shells have been found in archaeological excavations, an indication that snails have been eaten since prehistoric times.
The meat and snail eggs can be consumed as escargot and as a type of caviar respectively. Heliciculture, commonly known as snail farming, is the process of raising edible land snails, primarily for human consumption or cosmetic use. A snail farm near Eyragues, Provence, France