"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

Hello Friends!

Friends, Romans, countrymen...y'all. Foodies, gardeners, artists and collectors - let's gather together to share and possibly learn a thing or two in the mix.

Donna Baker

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Mmmmm Snails

Just pretend there is a snail pie in there somewhere. In jolly old England, the hodmandod was a shell snail: I guess as opposed to a slug. Popular with aristocrats and paupers alike, the snail in a shell was a popular foodstuff. In Cornwall, there was a popular dance called the Snail's Creep and Cornish miners considered snails lucky - wished upon them. Recipes included "ragout of fatted snail" and I guess it tastes like chicken since one was called "chickens not two hours from the shell." Here is one recipe from the 1600's:

With our sharp weapons we shal thee fray
And take the castill that thou liest in;
And in a dish, with onyons and peper,
We shall thee dresse with strong vynegars.

P S ~ I'm sure I would love them if I had eaten them growing up. I do love seafood even though reared a landlubber, but I won't be eating any sea urchin eggs, or whale or dolphin, or swordfish, nor sharkfin soup.....Just don't want to insult any of my dear tens of followers. The part I love the best is the olde recipe which actually sounds like a snail salad. Crrrunch!

4 comments:

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Hmmm, Id's rather have a custard tart, snails are rather slimey ;)

Simply Shelley said...

Your table of pies looks so good but,me thinks I shall pass on the snail pie...smile...have a blessed week....

Anita said...

Thanks for visiting my blog...we seem to have some very things in common- the pictures of canned food on your sidebar made me smile...I love canning and the satisfaction of seeing those jars all lined up. As for my sheets- yep, they were pretty much dry...I have them hung out again today as it has been a taxing day already and I'll need the good sleep :)

A Wild Thing said...

Sippin' a bit o the wine again...it would take me jugs of it to eat a snail...GROSSSSS...now rooster testicles, that's a different story...OK...so winter has been a little long and I been in the cabin wayyyyy toooooo long!!!

Love the rooster...I miss them so much and the fresh eggs...will you adopt me...I'll be there in time for lunch!

sharon