Snails for quick food

milius2

Maker
Jun 8, 2009
989
7
Lithuania
I was just wondering. There are tons of snails in woods i visit, loads of Helix pomatia. Are they any good for quick food? Like cooking them in embers..? Has anyone tried this?
 

Melonfish

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 8, 2009
2,460
2
Warrington, UK
i was going to say, be careful where you pick your snails, if they're eating poisonous plants or mushrooms then your technically eating a small poison bomb.
hence the clensing.
 

xylaria

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I heard some were they empty their elimentary canal before going into stasis for the winter, so you can creep up on them when they are sleeping. It is the part they play in the life cycle of brain eating parasites puts me off trying them.
 

andybysea

Full Member
Oct 15, 2008
2,609
0
South east Scotland.
Its the fact they are snails that puts me off eating them,why oh why when foods a plenty would anyone eat a snail! the nearest ive got to eating one was to try limpet,never again.
 

BunnyMazonas

Member
Sep 13, 2010
41
0
40
Kent
I can't comment on personal experience, but over in the village my parents live in in Spain, a hard rain is generally followed by large groups of locals out hunting for the baby snails, which they pop whole into paellas etc.

To be fair, I can't vouch for this being for taste, or if it is just an economical way to deal with a pest that managed to devour my mum's entire veg patch in a single post-rainy afternoon!
 

milius2

Maker
Jun 8, 2009
989
7
Lithuania
Too late in the year now, they're hiding. Well. Need to research more on the brain eating parasites before anything else.
 

Evilgoblin

Member
Nov 15, 2010
12
2
UK/London
I was just wondering. There are tons of snails in woods i visit, loads of Helix pomatia. Are they any good for quick food? Like cooking them in embers..? Has anyone tried this?

From the Wiki Entry on distribution

# Great Britain: in the west and south England[2] southern areas on chalk. Its common name in the UK is Roman snail as was introduced to the by the Romans during the Roman period (AD 43-410). In England only (not the rest of the UK) the Roman snail is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it illegal to kill, injure, collect or sell them.[4]

Full article here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_pomatia
 

BarryG

Nomad
Oct 30, 2007
322
0
NorthWest England
I heard some were they empty their elimentary canal before going into stasis for the winter, so you can creep up on them when they are sleeping. It is the part they play in the life cycle of brain eating parasites puts me off trying them.

sigh...go on then, whats this brain eating parasite?
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
27
70
south wales
Snails are OK but have no real 'food' value unless you smother them in a nice garlic butter to up the fat/food content so really not great as a wild food. As with things like cockles you would need to eat a couple of kilo a day to get any food value from them.
 

woodspirits

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 24, 2009
4,260
954
West Midlands UK
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