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Escargots a l'ail For All the French RRs

Photography Food posted on Jul 24, 2009
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Description


Snails with garlic butter, an appetizer I ate in a pretty restaurant at Riviere du Loup, Quebec. An old British cliché parodies the French as a bizarre people who constantly eat frogs, snails, garlic, and truffles, a diet disgusting to the traditional English palate. These foods, however, are relatively uncommon on French menus, due to the cost in time (and money, as for truffles) involved. However, they are also eaten elsewhere in Europe, for example in Italy. What the English don’t know is that the Britons themselves once used to eat snails! I suppose that the anti-French culinary prejudice began during the propaganda war in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially during the Napoleonic period. Escargot is a dish of cooked land snails, usually served as an appetizer. 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. In ancient Rome, snails were fattened up in cochlear gardens before they were eaten. The Romans, in particular, are known to have considered escargot as an elite food, as noted in the writings of Pliny. Pliny described the snail garden of Fulvius Hirpinus 2,000 years ago as having separate sections for different species of snails. The so-called Wall fish (snails) were often eaten in Britain, but were never as popular as on the continent. There, people often ate snails during Lent, and in a few places, at Mardi Gras or Carnival. Because a typical snail diet includes decayed matter, carrion, and a wide variety of leaves, the contents of their stomachs can sometimes be toxic to humans. Therefore, before they are cooked, the snails are first prepared by purging them. The methods most often used can take several days. Farms producing Helix aspersa for sale exist in Europe and in the United States. Farm-raised snails are typically fed a diet of ground cereals. Perhaps the best known and most often cultivated land snail species is Helix pomatia,also known as the Roman snail, Burgundy snail or apple snail. According to some sources, the French imported brown garden snails to California in the 1850s, raising them as the delicacy escargot. Other sources claim that Italian immigrants were the first to bring the snail to the United States. These snails are now common throughout the U.S, and later introduced into other countries such as South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, and Argentina. It is native to the shores of the Mediterranean and up the coast of Spain and France. It is found on many British Isles, where the Romans introduced it in the first century AD. Helix pomatia is also called the Roman snail, apple snail, lunar, la vignaiola, the German Weinbergschnecke, the French escargot de Bourgogne or Burgundy snail, or gros blanc. Helix aspersa is also known as the French petit gris, small grey snail, the escargot chagrine, or la zigrinata. Many prefer H. pomatia to H. aspersa for its flavor and its larger size, as the escargot par excellence. Thank you for your kind comments and bon appetit!

Comments (32)


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flora-crassella

10:09AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

nice image..... I ate this court lastly times before approximately 30 years. Best the garlic butter tasted to me ;-)

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MagikUnicorn

10:18AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Bonne Appétit

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magnus073

10:19AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Great work on this one Mickey as I enjoyed the photo and your history on it.

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claude19

10:34AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

In France...we eat never as you have photographied the snails without shell...and we eat them with a special fourchette fork with two teeth !!! SPLENDID shot objectively !!!

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DAVER2112

10:44AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

I painted an 'S' on the side of my car so people could say "Look at that s car go. Cool Shot! :)

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lyron

11:08AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

I don't like them but in Spain we also eat 'caracoles'. Great shot!!!

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Fidelity2

11:15AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Super "great" on your part. 5+.

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virginiese

11:16AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

wow ! it was a pleasure to read all these informations about a plate from my country ! I don't often eat escargots but I do so when I go in Burgundy... They are succulent and beautifully presented in their shell or prepared in velouté or feuilletés! Great picture too !

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decie

11:40AM | Fri, 24 July 2009

hmmmm! pas de remercier je vais passer sur ce projet, j'ai perdu mon appétit, merci de le montrer et pour tous les numéros de téléphone dans l'ajoute:) hmmmm! no thank i will pass on this i just lost my appetite, thanks for showing and for all the phone numbers in the adds:)

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brycek

1:19PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Cool shot and facts!!

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pops

2:09PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Very informative and interesting

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MOSKETON

2:18PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

FELICIDADES, PO EL TEMA DE COMIDA, ME VOY A CENAR, JE JE. BUEN TRABAJO GASTRONÓMICO.

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bmac62

2:24PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Escargot is a tremendous favorite here in our family. Your history is fascinating. Wish I had been there to join you for this meal:)

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tennesseecowgirl

2:25PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

thanks but I will have to pass on this one.. :)

bebert

3:32PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

merci beaucoup pour ces informations :) very nice shot.

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mgtcs

3:40PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

It's delicious, I love escargots and the photo is superb! Excellent my friend!

lucindawind

4:10PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

mmm I bet they were good .. whenever I was in Quebec the food was always excellent and so delicious lovely shot !

MC-Jay-One

4:53PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Not my kind of taste but great shot ! :P

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Miska7

5:10PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Very nice capture! Not sure i would like it though. lol

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beatoangelico

5:11PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Super and great capture...well done..!!!!

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ShadowsNTime

5:44PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

I enjoyed the read and the image is beautiful...I will pass on the snails tho, lol!

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jeroni

5:57PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

Fantastic image. I like very much the colors

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Darkwish

6:13PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

It's look very yummy!

MrsLubner

6:34PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

A very interesting shot as I've never seen snails prepared and served as such but I'll pass on sampling it. I spend too much time "melting" these big snails in my garden every year to find them irresistible for my meal. :-)

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Radar_rad-dude

8:16PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

That is a magnificent history and a most elegant capture of your appetizer! Thank you very much for the history and scene! I don't think I will acquire a taste for snails, but I enjoyed your descriptive! 5+++++

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Richardphotos

8:48PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

the only contact I have had with snails are ones around the house outside.I have tried several unique foods but did not care for them. raw oysters are popular here, but I only like them fried.different strokes for different folks.interesting reading about the history of escargot and a fine food shot

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amota99517

11:34PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

This is a great shot! While I don't relish eating these little creatures, your shot does make it look quite appetizing.

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Minda

11:56PM | Fri, 24 July 2009

:) ...great shot sandra!!

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ragouc

7:01AM | Sat, 25 July 2009

Time for lunch......

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jocko500

6:59PM | Sat, 25 July 2009

looks wonderful but I do not eat them

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Photograph Details
F Numberf/2.8
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-LS80
Shutter Speed10/150
ISO Speed400
Focal Length6

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