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!