How to cook grape snails quickly. Grape snails

Before delving deeper into the question of how to cook snails, it would be nice to imagine what you have to deal with. After all, these are rather unusual inhabitants of green shrubs and reservoirs. Snails differ in body structure, shell shape, as well as their gastronomic features.

This is an unusual food for the inhabitants of Russia, although many peoples have long eaten snails, enjoying their taste and beneficial properties of dietary meat. Not everyone will be able to risk trying a snail, but those who have tried it have never regretted it.

Who are snails and what is their lifestyle

A snail is a mollusk with a hard outer shell, it belongs to the class of gastropods. The body of a mollusc consists of a head, a leg, and an visceral sac. Snails move with the help of a leg, which tends to contract. The leg secretes a lot of mucus for better sliding on various surfaces. The snail shell is twisted in a spiral, it contains an internal sac.

Separately, it should be noted the beneficial properties of the mucus secreted by snails. It is a kind of antiseptic, has healing and regenerating properties. It is used to quickly heal wounds and cuts. The miraculous properties are not yet fully understood, but are an undeniable potential for the treatment of diseases in the future. Incredibly, a snail can completely repair a destroyed shell with the help of mucus.

Mollusks usually live in small groups, preferring to crawl out to feed late at night, when no one sees them and they are in relative safety. They mainly eat plants, leaves, young shoots, but do not disdain small worms, they can eat larvae and other representatives of small insects.

Snails also tie up marriage relations at night. Moreover, they do not have a division into male and female, all snails are capable of reproduction. With the help of mucus, partners attach to each other and mate. Snails reproduce quickly, laying many eggs.

Often snails become a big and intrusive problem for gardeners and gardeners. Gathering in groups, they destroy the young shoots of plants of domestic crops. For example, grape snails can eat a huge amount of grape leaves and destroy a vineyard in just a few days.

It is difficult to fight them because of their lightning-fast reproduction. There is nothing left but to cook grape snails.

The French, Spaniards and Italians use snails as the main ingredient, considering them a delicacy. But in our country, you can eat these little pests, just catch more gastropods and figure out how to properly cook snails.

Useful properties of cooked snail meat

Snail meat is saturated with protein and B vitamins, so it is an easily digestible product and suitable for dietary nutrition. No matter how you cook snails, their meat will still contain useful amino acids.

In addition, it contains trace elements: calcium, magnesium and iron.

In terms of taste sensations, the product is quite specific, but still tasty. Snail meat is soft, but at the same time elastic. It goes well with dry white wine, champagne, but it also goes well with beer.

In some countries (for example, in the Czech Republic) there are many farms that specialize in breeding snails. In a special area, conditions are created to provide mollusks with food, as well as protection from predators.

Shellfish varieties

So, what kinds of snails exist and are they all suitable for cooking? Grape snails are considered the most delicious. They have been eaten since ancient times by both the rich and the poor. They were not a delicacy, but were a natural food for all segments of the population. In order to eat snails, one did not need to have a lot of money. People simply caught them in the bushes, salted and cooked on the fire, after which they enjoyed the excellent taste of dietary, protein-rich meat.

Experienced "snail eaters" usually do not give advice on how to cook Achatina snails, because even in Africa - the country of origin of these mollusks, they are very rarely eaten. They are large, terrestrial and can reach the size of a human palm. Their meat is tough and tasteless, so Achatina are more suitable for breeding as an exotic pet than for eating.

The garden snail is also suitable for food, which differs from the grape snail in color and shape of the shell, size and habitat. The garden snail can be found in Russia mainly in forest areas in thickets of shrubs. They are quite rare in cities.

There are snails that live in rivers, they have a darker shell color. Catch them a little harder - it's How to cook them or there is no fundamental difference.

How to eat snails

This delicacy is eaten with the help of special devices: escargot tweezers - special tongs for holding the shell firmly, a thin fork with flat teeth to extract the meat. The snail is eaten whole, not cut into pieces. It is permissible to gently drink the resulting juice from the shell. After all, before cooking snails, chefs often put a mixture of butter, garlic and herbs in the sink, which gives a unique taste to the dish.

Cleansing the ventricles of snails with a diet

Before cooking garden snails, or any other, it is necessary to cleanse their stomachs by putting them on a special diet.

To do this, they should be placed in a small container (bowl, pan), from which they could not crawl out, after pouring a little flour on the bottom. For 1 kg of snails, no more than 2 tablespoons are needed. This treat will clean the snails well from the inside, after which their meat will get rid of the specific smell and unpleasant aftertaste, and will acquire excellent taste.

On the first day, the snails are given the indicated flour, on the second day its amount is halved. On the third day, the snails are not fed. It is necessary to periodically sprinkle the clams with water so that they do not die, because for cooking they need to be alive.

After that, the snails must be thoroughly washed, and the shells cleaned with a brush (you can use an unnecessary toothbrush).

Removing excess mucus with salt

The next step, before cooking the snails at home, is to remove the mucus from them. To do this, the washed mollusks are placed in a basin, the bottom of which is sprinkled with a thin layer of salt, for two hours. The snails will start secreting mucus profusely. After that, rinse them again with cold water. Now they are ready for immediate cooking.

Many delicacies are prepared from snails: soup, caviar seasoned with spicy sauce, stuffed snails stewed in garlic sauce, baked in the oven with basil and much more. But how to cook without using complex professional techniques, which any experienced chef is accustomed to, without inventing complex recipes? It is enough just to fry or boil the clams, prepare the sauce and enjoy the delicacy.

Cooking fried snails

There is nothing complicated about how to properly cook snails. They can be fried in a regular frying pan. Sprinkle the clams first with salt and pepper. Add a little vegetable and butter, a few milliliters of dry white wine, place the snails there. Then fry under the lid for 5-7 minutes.

That's it, the fried snails are ready to eat. The meat is surprisingly soft and tender. You should not overexpose the snails on fire, they do not require long heat treatment.

Fried snails: the second way

Before cooking live grape snails, it is necessary to tamp a special oil into the shells, which will give a piquant taste and aroma. To prepare it, you need to mix soft butter, your favorite herbs (parsley, mint, basil), finely chopped garlic in arbitrary proportions.

Stuff the shells with this mixture and send them to the pan, be sure to lay them shell down.

Boiled and lightly fried snails

Another way, like at home, is to pre-cook them before frying them in a pan. After boiling water in a saucepan, lower the snails there and cook for no more than 5 minutes, and preferably 3 minutes. Fry in butter for 3-4 minutes under a closed lid.

Meat cooked in this way will also be soft, but more elastic. This is a wonderful appetizer, as well as an independent dish that goes well with dry wine.

How to cook snails on the grill or in a barbecue

The most delicious are snails cooked on the grill. Smoke gives the taste of meat some smokyness, which makes it more aromatic. To cook snails on the grill, no special preparations are needed.

Pre-salted and peppered snails are placed on the grill with holes up, after which they are fried over a fire for 7 minutes. During the frying process, you can pour lard on the snails, chopped on a skewer and melted over the coals.

Do not be afraid when the snails begin to “hiss” unpleasantly under the influence of temperature - this is normal, excess moisture just leaves.

Snail meat is especially delicious when dipped in sauce. Any herbs, garlic, mayonnaise, sour cream, soy sauce, butter, dry wine go well with it.

Whatever method is chosen for cooking snails, an important rule must be remembered: do not overexpose them on fire, because of this the meat can become tough and not so tasty. And although in our country not everyone is ready for such taste experiments, but for those who managed to appreciate snail dishes, this is the best delicacy and delicacy.

The cultivation of grape snails has a long history. According to some reports, the ancient Romans began to deal with this business for the first time. Today, these mollusks are widely used in cooking. Dishes from them are present in Italian, French and Spanish cuisine. In today's article, we will tell you how to properly prepare snails for cooking and what delicacies can be made from them.

Product pretreatment

Cooking snails is a very difficult task, especially from a moral point of view. They cannot simply be collected from plants and loaded into boiling water. Before that, they need to clean the intestines.

Those who want to figure out how to prepare grape snails for cooking should remember that live clams should first be placed in a glass aquarium, the bottom of which is covered with a small layer of flour, dill or parsley (a couple of full tablespoons per kilogram of live weight). On the second day, the amount of food is halved, and on the third day it is completely removed. During the fasting period, the snails need to be slightly moistened with a sprayer.

After that, the cleaned mollusks are carefully sorted out, throwing out dead individuals. And those that survived can be subjected to further processing. The subsequent preparation of grape snails for cooking comes down to the fact that they are thrown into a pot of salted boiling water and boiled for five minutes. Then the dishes are removed from the fire, covered with a lid and wait a little more. After about ten minutes, the clams are removed from the broth, cooled and cleaned. To do this, the meat is simply picked up with a fork and pulled out of the shell. During this procedure, it is important not to forget to remove the intestine, which looks like a black curl.

As for shells, they may be needed for stuffing. But before that, they must also undergo special treatment. They are poured with boiling water, in which a small amount of baking soda is dissolved, and boiled for a short time. Then the shells are washed in running water, dried and put away for storage.

Snails in Burgundy

Already from the name itself it becomes clear that this gourmet dish belongs to the French national cuisine. It has an unusual taste and a pleasant delicate aroma. To prepare it you will need:

• Hundreds of snails.
• A liter of good white wine.
• 3 tablespoons of flour.
• 200 milliliters of 3% vinegar.
• A couple of carrots and onions.
• Salt, thyme, bay leaf and parsley.

In addition, this recipe for making grape snails involves the use of several additional ingredients. Therefore, be sure to check if you have in your house:

• 700 grams of soft butter;
• 5 g black ground pepper;
• 25 grams of salt;
• 80 g chopped parsley;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 100 grams of onion.

All this will be needed to obtain the so-called snail oil. It is quite easy to prepare. To do this, all the necessary products are combined in one bowl and mixed well.

Now it's time to get back to cooking the snails. They are poured with clean cold water, brought to a boil and boiled for five minutes. Then they are cooled, removed from the shell and freed from the intestines. The resulting meat is washed again, put in a saucepan and poured with wine, diluted with a liter of drinking water. Chopped carrots, chopped onions, salt and aromatic herbs are also added there. All this is sent to the stove and simmered on a minimum fire for at least four hours.

Put some snail oil into the prepared sink. Cooked meat is placed on top. All this is covered with another layer of oil and briefly sent to a preheated oven.

Snails in tomato sauce

We present to your attention another very interesting version of an unusual dish. This method of cooking grape snails allows you to get a real delicacy that is appropriate on any holiday table. This time you will need:

• Medium bulb.
• 20 cleaned and washed snails.
• A couple of full tablespoons of tomato paste.
• ¼ cup vegetable oil.
• A teaspoon of soup seasoning.
• Salt and hot red pepper.

The snails are placed in a suitable pot and filled with water. All this is salted and boiled for no longer than ten minutes. Then the snails are removed from the broth, cooled and put aside.

Fry the chopped onion in a hot skillet. After a minute, add tomato paste to it and continue cooking. Then the resulting sauce is spread to the snails and boiled for five minutes. Ready-made clams are strung on skewers and decorated with slices of bell pepper.

Baked snails

This option is interesting because it involves the use of canned shellfish. This greatly facilitates and speeds up the process of preparing grape snails. To surprise everyone with a delicious and exquisite delicacy, you will need:

• 30 canned snails.
• ½ pack of butter.
• 100 grams of parmesan.
• A couple of cloves of garlic.
• Fine-grained salt, ground nutmeg, pepper and herbs.

Softened butter is combined with crushed garlic, spices and chopped parsley. Everything is mixed well and the molds are poured with the resulting sauce, at the bottom of which there are already canned snails. The future dish is sprinkled with pre-grated cheese and baked in the oven for about a quarter of an hour.

Snails stewed with mushrooms

This option of a hot dish will interest real gourmets. It is distinguished by its aesthetic appearance and exquisite taste. It is important to bear in mind that this recipe for making grape snails at home involves the use of a non-standard set of components. Therefore, see in advance whether you have at hand:

• 500 grams of snail pulp.
• Medium bulb.
• 200 grams of fresh chanterelles and porcini mushrooms.
• ½ cup natural port.
• Sour cream, butter, salt, aromatic spices and herbs.

Onions and mushrooms are washed, peeled and cut into small pieces. Then they are fried in warmed butter until half cooked and transferred to ceramic pots. Port wine, salt, spices, washed snail pulp and sour cream are also added there. Everything is gently mixed, covered with foil and baked for half an hour. The finished dish is decorated with fresh herbs and served on the table.

Cretan snails

This light and very tasty dish is prepared so simply that any beginner can cope with such a task without any problems. For this you will need:

• Tablespoon of rosemary.
• 100 milliliters of olive oil.
• A couple of full tablespoons of wine vinegar.
• Salt.

Cooking grape snails according to the method described below does not take much time and does not require special culinary skills. The clams are laid out on a hot thick-bottomed frying pan filled with a layer of table salt, so that the holes are at the bottom, and they are allowed to dry. As soon as excess moisture evaporates from the snails, olive oil is added to them and cooked for five minutes. Then wine vinegar and rosemary are sent to the pan. Everything is well mixed, heated and removed from the stove.

Snails in Maltese

This unusual but very tasty dish is a great option for a family lunch or a romantic dinner. For the preparation of grape snails in the house must be:

• 200 milliliters of dry red wine.
• Half a kilo of blanched snails.
• 45 milliliters of olive oil.
• Salt, ground pepper, basil, marjoram and fresh mint.

Pre-cleaned and scalded snails are lightly fried in refined vegetable oil, and then poured with wine, salted and seasoned with aromatic herbs. All this is simmered on a minimum fire for about a quarter of an hour. Shortly before the completion of the heat treatment, chopped greens are added to the almost ready dish.

Snails in sour cream sauce

This dish has a delicate, refined taste and a pleasant light aroma. Therefore, it can be safely served on the festive table. To repeat this recipe for cooking grape snails at home, double-check in advance whether you have everything you need at hand. In this situation, you will need:

• 36 canned grape snails.
• 100 grams of Parma ham.
• Tablespoon of flour.
• Shallot.
• A couple tablespoons of soft butter.
• 30 milliliters of thick sour cream.
• 5 large spoons of brandy.
• Lemon juice, egg yolks and green onions.
• Salt, white pepper and puff pastry tartlets.

Shallots and ham are cut into not very large pieces and fried in hot butter. Then wheat flour, brandy, sour cream and pre-washed snails are added to the same pan. All mix well and cook over low heat until a thick homogeneous sauce is obtained. After that, the dishes are removed from the burner and salt, spices, lemon juice and egg yolks are sent to it. The resulting mass is filled with tartlets and served to the table.

Soup with snails

This is a classic dish of German national cuisine. This recipe for making grape snails (a photo of such treats can be found in today's publication) involves the use of a specific food set. Therefore, before starting the process, see if you have at hand:

• 24 canned or boiled snails.
• 4 shallots.
• 250 milliliters of dry white wine.
• 40 grams of butter.
• Liter of meat broth.
• 20 grams of leeks, celery and carrots.
• Yolks from two eggs.
• Salt and parsley.

In a frying pan with warmed butter spread chopped shallots and half of the chopped snails. All this is stewed for several minutes, and then poured with wine and broth and brought to a boil. The remaining snails and chopped vegetables are immersed in the seething liquid. All this is simmered over low heat until the ingredients are soft. A minute before the fire is turned off, a mixture of egg yolks and cream is poured into the soup. Before serving, the dish is decorated with chopped herbs.

Austrian snails

This dish has another name. Locals know it as Viennese snail goulash. To prepare it you will need:

• 200 grams of prepared snails.
• A couple of bulbs.
• A clove of garlic.
• 125 ml paprikamus.
• Tablespoon of tomato paste.
• 250 ml beef broth.
• A tablespoon of ground sweet paprika.
• Olive oil, salt, cumin, rosemary, thyme and marjoram.

Sequencing

Onions and garlic are chopped and lightly fried in vegetable oil. Then they are stewed together with tomato paste and paprikamus. After a few minutes, broth, salt and herbs are added to the same bowl. All this is simmered on minimum heat for a quarter of an hour, and then combined with snails and brought to a boil again.

These mollusks got their name due to the fact that they are very fond of eating grape leaves, while causing considerable harm to it. In nature, grape snails can grow up to 9 cm, and at home, with good care, they will become even larger. They began to eat these mollusks in food in ancient times - it was a healthy, tasty and cheap dish available to everyone.

Grape snails - breeding at home

Grape snails are bred for various purposes. Some keep them as undemanding pets that are interesting to watch. Others strive to grow as many shellfish as possible in order to eat them.

1. It is best to use an aquarium for fish, a terrarium or a sufficiently large capacity made of Plexiglas.
2. To create conditions for snails that are relatively close to natural, soil should be put on the bottom of the house. You can use sand, ready-made soil for growing seedlings, purchased in a store, or just land taken from your site. In the latter case, it will have to be pre-disinfected by calcining it on a baking sheet in the oven, or spilling it with a solution of potassium permanganate. This is done in order not to bring various pests into the house along with the soil.
3. On the ground you can put leaves, twigs. Snails will be happy to crawl on them, and some will feast on them. From time to time, wilted leaves will have to be changed.
4. Enough large stones and stiff branches - no place in the house. If the snails crawl on them, they will leave their mucus on them, from which it will be difficult to clean them.
5. In addition, in the house you can make a "pool" for snails. It should be shallow - for example, it is good to pour some water in a saucer. Snails do not swim, but in the warm season they will be happy to use such a “pool”.

The nuances of caring for snails

Since grape snails are southern residents, with the onset of autumn they can fall asleep until spring. This will happen if the snail house is in a cold room. If you continue to keep them in a warm room, the mollusks will lead a normal life.

Grape snails are among the most spectacular and delicious delicacies of animal origin. Thanks to this, shellfish dishes can be found on the menu of most restaurants in the world, from French to Russian. In addition, a grape snail can also be cooked at home and for this it is not even necessary to buy a delicacy in a store.

A few words about grape snails

Common snails are most often found in countries of the temperate zone, so there are a lot of them in the south of Russia. You can cook both grape and garden clams.

The difference between the species is only in size, so it is preferable to collect grapes. In addition, the latter are grown on special farms for gastronomic purposes, because the meat of these animals is considered not only tasty, but also very healthy.

It has been proven that snail meat contains about 10% more protein than, for example, chicken meat. In addition, the delicacy is rich in useful elements such as magnesium, iron, calcium and even B vitamins.

Where can you get a delicacy? In nature, animals that are not very pleasant in appearance, but excellent in taste, settle in degrading forests, as well as fields. In addition, they can often be found in gardens where the soil is limestone. If you are going to look for gastropods in dry weather, most likely they will hide under stones or just in shady places.

How can you cook a grape snail at home? Of course, the Russians do not eat tons of this delicacy, like some French, but sometimes you still want to pamper your guests with some unusual goodies. And dishes from clam meat are ideal for these purposes.

However, it should be understood that before preparing an unusual dish, the meat should be processed in a certain way, otherwise the taste of the dish will turn out to be frankly useless.

How to clean?

So, we have already figured out that you can even catch clams in your own garden. At the same time, "hunting" is best done either in the early morning or after rain. It is at these moments that the chances of catching gastropods increase many times over.

After you get a live delicacy, you will have to perform a very unpleasant, but necessary procedure for cleaning animals from mucus and dirt.

For this you need:

• Take a large container and pour flour on the bottom (0.5 kg of product will require 2 tablespoons of flour);
• Put the “gastropods” there for a day;
• On the second day, the mollusks also need to be “feeded” with flour, but now it will take half as much;
• On the third day, the animals are generally satisfied with a fasting day and are not given flour at all;
• Then they are washed with running water several times to clear them of mucus;
• After that, the delicacy is poured into a container, at the bottom of which there is a small layer of salt;
• Since the "leg" is very sensitive, the animal will begin to secrete mucus profusely and die in a couple of hours;
• Next, the clams are washed again, after which you can proceed to the next stages of cooking.

Russian snail recipe

So, let's begin.

How to cook a grape snail?

Large snails can be found in mixed forests, especially near water bodies. Mollusks actively crawl early in the morning and after heavy rain. Collecting snails is somewhat similar to picking mushrooms - excitement appears and “snail” places are found, but instead of a basket, take a bucket with a lid with you so that the prey does not run away. Take individuals with a shell with a diameter of at least 5 cm, leave the smaller ones free.

grape snail cook at home

Now the task is to clean the snails from dirt both inside and out. To do this, you need to starve them for at least 3 days. You can keep them these days in the same bucket covered with a cloth. Once a day, thoroughly rinse the snails and their homes under running water. Do not forget that these snails are land snails and in a large amount of water they can drown.

snails must starve

After three days, before cooking, rinse the snails. Check and remove the dead.

starved snails are selected and washed

blanch in salted water

Throw the prepared snails into boiling slightly salty water. Blanch them without bringing to a boil for 10 minutes. The resulting foam can not be removed.

We take out the boiled snails.

take snails out of the water

And wash off the curdled mucus with cold water.

wash away curdled mucus

We take out the contents of the shells. It is most convenient to do this with tweezers, grabbing the snail's leg at the base.

take the snail out of the shell

Empty shells are not thrown away, we will need them later. Cut off the leg of the snail from the insides. Once again, thoroughly rinse the snail fillet and shells from the remnants of mucus.

Cook separately for at least 30 minutes!!!

Shells in water with soda, per liter of water - 2 tablespoons of baking soda. During the cooking process, the shells will become lighter. Snail fillets are boiled in salted water with onions, bay leaves and spices.

separated from the shell

While the snails are cooking, prepare the herb butter.
Wash greens and finely chop.
We interrupt salt, herbs and butter in a blender. Squeeze the garlic into the oil and stir.

cooking oil with garlic and herbs

The snail shells boiled in soda are again thoroughly washed under running water and dried. Then we stuff them halfway with "snail" oil.

stuffed with butter

We put snail fillets into the shells.

put the snail fillet

Put the rest of the oil on top.

oil on top

We spread the stuffed shells on the grill or refractory dishes. Cover the holes with a piece of cheese.

slice of cheese on top

Bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes.

bake 15 min

We put it beautifully on a plate and invite the surprised household members to taste a new dish.

The words grape snail the modern urban dweller is more likely to associate with aquariums than with cooking. However, in many European and Asian countries, snails are a common item on restaurant menus. Grape snails are farmed and sold live or frozen and ready to eat. Even snail caviar is used for food, resembling noble mushrooms in taste.

Grape snail only in the XX century began to be considered a delicacy. For thousands of years, snails, like other shellfish, have been a common food for the inhabitants of the coastal regions of Europe. From early spring to late autumn, snails were collected on beaches, in gardens, and in vineyards. They were a salvation for the poor and a delicacy for the nobility. Today, grape snails can be found not only on the warm European shores, but also in Ukraine, Belarus, and the central regions of Russia. In the countries of the Mediterranean, helitseculture is well developed - the cultivation of edible snails on special farms. In Russia, snails are bred only in the Kaliningrad region.

If you have doubts whether it is worth eating snails at all, we will answer: everyone is free to make their choice. Someone treats these cute creatures as pets, but for someone it is a valuable protein product with an amazing taste and many useful properties.

As for the usefulness of snail meat, there can be no doubt: only 90 calories per 100 g; only 2-3% fat, and that consists of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, no cholesterol and as much as 15% protein. Snail meat is rich in magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, vitamins A, E and group B. It is not surprising that snails are considered a powerful aphrodisiac, comparable only to oysters.

Cooking Eden figured out how to cook snails and shares the best recipes with readers. There are two main directions in dealing with snails collected in the wild: you can cook snails very simply: bake or cook on a fire, or you can spend a few days on them and get a real work of culinary art - escargot.

Let's start with a simple one: how to cook snails in a quick way. This information will be especially useful for tourists who, in the event of a sudden encounter with snails, will be able to diversify their meager diet. It happens that for some reason, snails begin a mass migration and crawl out onto the roads in hundreds. With a good combination of circumstances, in half an hour you can gain several kilograms of snails, and after another 10-15 minutes you can get a delicious and hearty lunch. To do this, lay the snails in the shells with the holes up on the grate over the coals, salt, pepper, pour a little oil into the holes or put a piece of lard. Bake the snails for about 10 minutes. Pick out the finished snails with a toothpick and separate the meat from the insides.

There is a more humane, tasty and cleaner way to cook snails in the field. To do this, you need to prepare several liters of boiling water. We lower the snails into boiling water and cook for a very short time - 3-5 minutes after boiling again. The purpose of this procedure is to quickly clear the mucus from the snails and facilitate their removal from the shells. The extracted snails should be butchered, leaving only the fleshy "cephalopod". Next, we act according to the circumstances. You can continue cooking the snails in fresh salted boiling water with vegetables and get a full-fledged soup, or you can fry the snails in lard or vegetable oil along with onions and garlic - you get a delicious appetizer that tastes like mushrooms and white meat.

If you have the time, kitchen and a full set of utensils, there are several ways to prepare a delicacy from wild grape snails.

First, the snails should be aged to clean their innards and then not mess with butchering. Someone recommends keeping snails in the refrigerator in an empty pan without food for 3 to 14 days and rinsing periodically. Other chefs advise planting snails for several days on flour, bran and aromatic herbs - thyme, fennel. With this method, already on the 3rd day, the snails will be cleaned and acquire a natural aromatization. By the way, in the Mediterranean countries, snails are especially tasty, as they feed on aromatic herbs in natural conditions. Live snails bought in the markets of Crete, Cyprus, Greece and other European countries do not need to be cleaned - they have already been prepared for use on farms. Unfortunately, the meat of snails collected in the Crimea and Russia, without prior cleaning, greatly loses its taste.

Having completed the cleaning of the snails (or having bought live prepared ones), you need to make sure that there are no dead ones among them. To do this, place the snails in water and remove those that show no signs of life. Next, boil the snails in boiling water along with the shells, rinse - and they are ready for culinary experiments.

Ingredients:

1 glass of dry red wine
fresh mint, basil, marjoram,
salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking:
Snails in shells quickly fry in olive oil, pour wine, salt, pepper and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Shortly before readiness, add chopped greens. Serve the snails in their shells, drizzling with the remaining sauce. Ale can be used instead of wine.

Ingredients:
500 g prepared blanched snails,
100 ml olive oil,
2 tbsp wine vinegar,
1 tbsp rosemary,
salt to taste.

Cooking:
Heat a frying pan, sprinkle a thin layer of salt on it and place the snails on it with the hole down. When the snails are dry, pour the oil into the pan, stir and leave the pan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add rosemary, vinegar, stir and remove from heat. Serve the snails in their shells, drizzling with the oil they were fried in. Pull the flesh of the snails with a toothpick and remove the dark tip. The rest of the insides can not be removed.

The most exquisite dish of grape snails is escargot. For its preparation and serving, they even came up with special devices: an escargot (a metal tray with recesses for shells), tongs to hold the shell, and a fork with two long prongs to take out the contents. In France, escargot is usually served as an appetizer before dinner, while in the US and Australia, this dish is considered the main dish and does not need additions.

Ingredients:
1 kg prepared snails
300 g butter,
1 large head of garlic,
lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper to taste
hard cheese optional.

Cooking:
Blanch the snails for 2 minutes, remove from the shells, remove the insides. Snail meat lightly salt and fry (or boil in new water with onions and herbs). Prepare flavored oil: mix finely chopped garlic and chopped parsley with softened butter, add lemon juice, salt and pepper. In empty dried shells, put a piece of snail meat and fill to the top with oil. Top with grated cheese. (The escargots can be frozen at this stage and stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. In France, these are the prepared frozen escargots sold in supermarkets.)

If you don't want to use the shells, put the flavored butter in a baking dish and top with the snail meat. Place the container with the snails in the preheated oven for 10 minutes (or in the microwave for 2-3 minutes) and serve immediately. Escargots in shells are eaten with special forks or toothpicks. Dry white, red or rose wine is served with this dish.

If cooking live snails does not fit into your picture of the world, but you want a French delicacy, try to find frozen snails. They are sold in many large supermarkets already peeled and boiled. You can also use canned snails, but their taste will be noticeably worse.

With frozen snails in shells, you can do very simply: put on a baking sheet, sprinkled with salt for stability, season with your favorite spices and bake for 5-10 minutes at a temperature of 200-230ºС. And you can conjure a little, for example, like this:

Ingredients:
20-30 pcs. frozen or canned snails without shells,
100 g butter,
50 g parmesan,
2-3 garlic cloves,
Parsley, nutmeg, salt to taste.

Cooking:
Mix softened butter with chopped parsley, garlic, nutmeg and salt. Spread the snails in an escargot dish (you can use small baking tins), put a little butter on top, sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake snails for 10 minutes at 230ºС. Serve with baguettes and dry wine.

With skillful handling, the grape snail willingly turns into a delicious dish. Experiment more boldly!