WEBVTT - How Does Escargot Work? 0:00:01.890 --> 0:00:07.990 Welcome to BrainStuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey BrainStuff, Lauren 0:00:08.010 --> 0:00:12.820 Vogelbaum here. Depending on where and how you grew up, 0:00:13.420 --> 0:00:18.230 you might consider land snails a lovely delicacy, a staple protein, 0:00:18.250 --> 0:00:22.509 a foreign curiosity, a garden pest, or even a pet. 0:00:24.110 --> 0:00:27.510 As a food, snails in English are often called by 0:00:27.530 --> 0:00:30.730 the French term escargot, much the same way that we 0:00:30.790 --> 0:00:34.650 call the meat from cattle beef. If you've never had 0:00:34.670 --> 0:00:38.170 the chance to try escargot, you might have questions. Is 0:00:38.229 --> 0:00:41.510 it slimy? What kind of snails count as escargot? Do 0:00:42.310 --> 0:00:48.050 snails taste good? That last one is obviously subjective, so 0:00:48.190 --> 0:00:52.190 let's start with the facts. Snails are members of the 0:00:52.330 --> 0:00:57.270 animal class Gastropoda, which are invertebrates, including both slugs, which 0:00:57.350 --> 0:01:01.710 don't grow shells, and snails, which do. The part of 0:01:01.750 --> 0:01:04.910 a snail that's commonly visible outside of the shell is 0:01:04.930 --> 0:01:08.610 the head foot, which is muscly on one end and 0:01:08.650 --> 0:01:12.780 has sensory tentacles on the other. Land snails have a 0:01:12.900 --> 0:01:16.819 mucus coat to keep their bodies from drying out. Hidden 0:01:16.940 --> 0:01:20.300 inside the shell, snails have what's called a visceral hump, 0:01:20.750 --> 0:01:23.250 which is the part of their body that contains most 0:01:23.270 --> 0:01:28.650 of their vital organs. Generally, when cooking, small to mid-sized 0:01:28.730 --> 0:01:32.440 snails are prepared whole, whereas larger ones have their organs 0:01:32.500 --> 0:01:37.400 removed and maybe sliced into bite-sized pieces. You do have 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:40.660 to de-slime the snails if you're using them fresh by 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:44.890 washing them. And so, no, prepared snails are not slimy. 0:01:46.250 --> 0:01:49.910 Land snails inhabit temperate to tropical areas around the world, 0:01:50.210 --> 0:01:53.810 and although most of them are technically edible if prepared correctly, 0:01:54.210 --> 0:01:58.600 only a handful are widely raised as food. The three 0:01:58.660 --> 0:02:04.200 common species for French-style escargot are Cornu asparum, otherwise known 0:02:04.300 --> 0:02:07.580 as the brown garden snail, the common European snail, or 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:12.280 in French, the petite gris, or little grey. Another species, 0:02:12.340 --> 0:02:15.840 called Helix licorum, also known as the Turkish snail, is 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:21.290 sometimes sold as petite gris. Then there's Helix pomatia, also 0:02:21.350 --> 0:02:25.410 called the Burgundy snail or Roman snail. At least a 0:02:25.470 --> 0:02:28.830 dozen other species of land snails are commonly eaten around 0:02:28.850 --> 0:02:33.320 the Mediterranean, west to central sub-Saharan Africa, and south to 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:37.940 southeast Asia, and beyond. Sea snails are also popular. If 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:42.750 you've ever had abalone or conch, congratulations, you've eaten snails. 0:02:43.570 --> 0:02:46.810 Those are both sea snails in the same class, gastropoda, 0:02:46.990 --> 0:02:51.089 and could be subjects of their own episodes. The classic 0:02:51.150 --> 0:02:55.250 French dish escargot à la bourgogne involves baking snails in 0:02:55.290 --> 0:02:58.959 a mixture of butter and fresh minced garlic, shallot, and parsley, 0:02:59.100 --> 0:03:02.180 along with some salt and pepper, traditionally having cooked the 0:03:02.220 --> 0:03:06.480 snails in a white wine broth first. They're eaten with 0:03:06.540 --> 0:03:09.500 small forks or toothpicks out of their shells or baking 0:03:09.540 --> 0:03:13.760 dishes and as an appetizer or small bite. Prepared this way, 0:03:13.780 --> 0:03:17.540 they'll be smooth and tender-chewy in texture, a bit like 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:21.490 calamari or mushroom or a springy cheese curd, and with 0:03:21.530 --> 0:03:25.429 a mild earthy or vegetal kind of flavor. Though honestly, 0:03:25.490 --> 0:03:29.720 at that point, you're mostly getting the garlicky-herbed butter. But 0:03:29.980 --> 0:03:33.180 like any protein, snails can be, and are, cooked and 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:36.800 eaten in any number of ways. Grilled or fried, boiled 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:40.050 in water or wine or broth, in the shell or out, 0:03:40.670 --> 0:03:44.190 in sweet or spicy chili sauces, in soups or curries 0:03:44.230 --> 0:03:48.250 or stews, over pasta or polenta or rice, or served 0:03:48.290 --> 0:03:52.730 alone as a snack. Snail eggs, sometimes called snail caviar, 0:03:52.870 --> 0:03:57.030 is also considered a delicacy in some places. It's hard 0:03:57.050 --> 0:04:00.270 to find fresh snails in the United States. Most are 0:04:00.350 --> 0:04:04.950 imported either canned or frozen, because snail farming, or holisticulture, 0:04:05.290 --> 0:04:08.480 hasn't really caught on here. Part of the reason for 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:11.600 that is that the familiar types of snails grown elsewhere 0:04:11.660 --> 0:04:15.920 for food can be highly invasive in non-native environments, because 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:20.370 they'll pretty much eat anything and can reproduce prolifically. We've 0:04:20.470 --> 0:04:23.409 talked before on the show about how giant land snails 0:04:23.570 --> 0:04:27.989 are invading Florida, for example. it's illegal on a federal 0:04:28.029 --> 0:04:31.289 level to take a live land snail across state lines. 0:04:32.570 --> 0:04:35.730 The first modern snail farm in the U.S. only managed 0:04:35.770 --> 0:04:38.730 to get started in 2017 or so, and it's a 0:04:38.730 --> 0:04:43.430 300-square-foot greenhouse that's about 28 square meters in Long Island, 0:04:43.529 --> 0:04:48.250 New York. The company is called Peconic Escargot. They're not 0:04:48.270 --> 0:04:52.250 a sponsor, they're just the only currently operating holisticulture company 0:04:52.310 --> 0:04:55.969 in the country. They've gone to great lengths to prevent 0:04:56.029 --> 0:04:59.830 their livestock from escaping into the surrounding countryside, because these 0:04:59.890 --> 0:05:04.789 buddies could wreak havoc on the other local farms and vineyards. So, 0:05:05.170 --> 0:05:09.570 they surround the snails' living containers with concentrated saltwater, which 0:05:09.890 --> 0:05:13.280 should kill them, but then the greenhouse also has a 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:16.820 dead perimeter at 12 feet by 12 feet, kept free 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:21.920 of vegetation just in case. They may have 100,000 snails 0:05:21.980 --> 0:05:25.770 there at any given time. The preferred feed for farmed 0:05:25.810 --> 0:05:29.400 snails is grains, greens, and soil. They've got to get 0:05:29.420 --> 0:05:32.380 a lot of minerals, including calcium, to build those shells. 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:35.520 They take about six to eight months to reach maturity. 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.859 When they're farmed or collected from the wild, they're usually 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:43.030 given a special non-dirt diet for their final week of 0:05:43.089 --> 0:05:46.370 life to purge them of any soil or other stuff 0:05:46.430 --> 0:05:48.810 that humans wouldn't want to eat that's kicking around in 0:05:48.830 --> 0:05:51.989 their digestive tract. This is similar to how oysters are treated. 0:05:53.170 --> 0:05:56.830 The snails are sometimes fed herbs like mint, tarragon, or 0:05:56.890 --> 0:06:00.070 basil during their purge to add to their final flavor. 0:06:01.730 --> 0:06:03.550 Part of the reason that snails have to be kept 0:06:03.589 --> 0:06:06.110 such a lid on is because of how they reproduce. 0:06:07.050 --> 0:06:10.529 The land snails that we eat are typically hermaphrodites, meaning 0:06:10.589 --> 0:06:14.060 that they each have both male and female reproductive organs. 0:06:15.140 --> 0:06:17.740 In order to reproduce, they have sex with a partner 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:21.820 in mating sequences that can last 4-12 hours. during which 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:26.520 each partner can inseminate and each can be inseminated. Involved 0:06:26.540 --> 0:06:29.600 in this process, in many land species anyway, are what's 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:34.250 called love darts. These are spears of calcium carbonate, or chitin, 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:36.730 that a snail will poke out of its body and 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:39.849 attempt to stab its partner with, coated in a hormone 0:06:39.910 --> 0:06:43.570 mucus that, if it lands correctly in its partner, will 0:06:43.690 --> 0:06:48.690 increase its partner chances of insemination. If you're interested in 0:06:48.750 --> 0:06:51.610 hearing more about all of that, Our compatriots over at 0:06:51.650 --> 0:06:53.830 the podcast Stuff to Blow Your Mind have a bunch 0:06:53.850 --> 0:06:56.479 of episodes about snails and slugs that you can look up. 0:06:57.220 --> 0:07:02.880 Really fascinating. But for our food-related purposes today, I'll say 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:06.040 that snails alone are pretty good for you to eat. 0:07:06.870 --> 0:07:09.630 A great source of protein, low in fat, and what's 0:07:09.670 --> 0:07:12.930 in there is the good fats, high in micronutrients like 0:07:12.970 --> 0:07:16.510 vitamin E, magnesium, and iron. Lots of vitamins and minerals. 0:07:17.870 --> 0:07:22.190 Snails are being investigated for more widespread use as an inexpensive, 0:07:22.350 --> 0:07:26.230 readily available, and nutritious protein, especially in places where people 0:07:26.270 --> 0:07:30.460 have a hard time affording enough protein. When farmed responsibly, 0:07:30.660 --> 0:07:33.620 they can be way more environmentally friendly than larger animals 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:38.200 like pigs and cattle, and even chickens. And humans have 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.800 been taking advantage of this source of protein for tens 0:07:40.820 --> 0:07:45.120 of thousands of years. Evidence of people eating giant land 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:49.580 snails dates back some 31,000 years in cave sites in 0:07:49.620 --> 0:07:54.170 what's now Tanzania. And archaeologists working in the Valencia region 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:57.490 of Spain in the 20-teens found a plethora of smaller 0:07:57.550 --> 0:08:00.190 snail shells in cooking pits that are almost as old, 0:08:00.590 --> 0:08:03.690 give or take a thousand years. The people cooking them 0:08:03.750 --> 0:08:07.310 there selected fully grown adult snails over a year old, 0:08:07.690 --> 0:08:10.750 which shows a size preference and probably a protection of 0:08:10.770 --> 0:08:15.020 the species' life cycle. and they slow-roasted them in pine 0:08:15.140 --> 0:08:20.010 and juniper embers. Ancient Greeks and Romans liked snails. The 0:08:20.050 --> 0:08:22.910 lower classes might have found them a convenient food source 0:08:22.950 --> 0:08:26.250 to catch and cook, and the upper classes reportedly farmed 0:08:26.270 --> 0:08:30.640 them using rich types of feed. Some cultures have prohibited 0:08:30.740 --> 0:08:34.640 eating them. For example, the Jewish Torah labels mollusks in 0:08:34.660 --> 0:08:37.720 general as non-kosher, and there have been times when the 0:08:37.780 --> 0:08:41.160 Roman Catholic Church forbid them. But there were other times 0:08:41.220 --> 0:08:44.200 when the church considered snails a good alternative to meat 0:08:44.300 --> 0:08:47.599 during Lent, and monks kept garden snails for that purpose. 0:08:48.700 --> 0:08:51.000 They've come in and out of fashion over the millennia. 0:08:52.420 --> 0:08:55.220 For the article this episode is based on, HowStuffWorks spoke 0:08:55.240 --> 0:09:00.120 with chef Brandon Krstowski. He said, you had aristocrats, even 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:04.270 kings or masters of fiefdoms, enjoying snail, and they became 0:09:04.309 --> 0:09:07.630 a living for the peasants in working class. There's a 0:09:07.650 --> 0:09:11.530 certain cachet that comes with people of higher stature consuming something. 0:09:12.370 --> 0:09:15.460 In the fields or in people's homes, it was like crawfish, 0:09:15.550 --> 0:09:18.800 something you eat to survive. But it was made fancy 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:25.160 by popular elites, and therefore it became highbrow. The European 0:09:25.220 --> 0:09:28.829 brown garden snail was brought to the U.S. around the 1850s, 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:33.770 specifically to kickstart an escargot industry. They never caught on 0:09:33.830 --> 0:09:37.440 widely as a food here, But these imports are why 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:41.220 brown garden snails are now invasive across both coasts and 0:09:41.340 --> 0:09:45.160 much of the American southeast. We do eat our share 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:48.800 of snails. American restaurants serve over a billion snails every year, 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:53.010 mostly imported from France and Vietnam. And, as we said earlier, 0:09:53.429 --> 0:09:57.369 mostly not fresh. Around the world, over 73,000 tons of 0:09:57.410 --> 0:10:02.130 land snails are consumed annually. every year. France and Spain 0:10:02.270 --> 0:10:06.190 consume the most. In Europe, chefs are more likely to 0:10:06.309 --> 0:10:09.750 opt for snails sold fresh by local farms or harvesters, 0:10:10.270 --> 0:10:13.600 though in some places, the wild populations of snails have 0:10:13.630 --> 0:10:18.890 been majorly depleted by human development and over-harvesting. For example, 0:10:19.170 --> 0:10:22.370 most or all of the snails enjoyed in Burgundy, France, 0:10:22.670 --> 0:10:26.090 no longer come from Burgundy. More likely, they're from Hungary 0:10:26.450 --> 0:10:30.610 or elsewhere in Europe. Snails are also very sensitive to 0:10:30.770 --> 0:10:34.790 wider environmental issues like climate change, pollution, and the use 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:39.400 of some pesticides and herbicides. So maybe don't go out 0:10:39.460 --> 0:10:42.460 and harvest snails for eating yourself unless you know what 0:10:42.540 --> 0:10:45.900 species you're looking for, what they've been eating, and any 0:10:45.980 --> 0:10:50.450 ecological concerns in your area. But if you're interested, you 0:10:50.470 --> 0:10:54.010 can probably get them online, fresh or processed, and delivered 0:10:54.050 --> 0:10:58.310 to you, sometimes with herbed butter. I don't think I've 0:10:58.370 --> 0:11:01.390 ever had them fresh, and I'm very curious about the 0:11:01.410 --> 0:11:05.040 difference now. I'm thinking about the differences between, say, fresh 0:11:05.100 --> 0:11:10.040 and canned oysters or fresh and canned tuna. Chef Krustowski 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:14.979 adores the snail's unique flavor. He said, It's of the earth. 0:11:15.700 --> 0:11:18.839 The way the snail consumes clovers, grains, and lives in 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:22.040 the garden, it takes on this terroir of the area, 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:25.660 so it really tastes like the earth. It has this 0:11:25.800 --> 0:11:29.870 almost gelatinous property, like a gelatinous firm texture with a 0:11:29.929 --> 0:11:37.449 burst of earth. Today's episode is based on the article, 0:11:37.610 --> 0:11:41.179 How Escargot Evolved from Snail Snack to Treat for the Elite, 0:11:41.460 --> 0:11:45.589 on HowStuffWorks.com, written by Stephanie Vermillion. BrainStuff is a production 0:11:45.610 --> 0:11:48.970 of iHeart Podcasts in partnership with HowStuffWorks.com and is produced 0:11:49.010 --> 0:11:52.550 by Tyler Klang. For more shows from iHeart Podcasts, visit 0:11:52.590 --> 0:11:55.900 the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:57.000 to your favorite shows.