Pamkhuila Shaiza
The thought of ‘French’ – either language or people – sounds sexy and adorable, and more so when people say, the French serves snail as ‘starters’ or ‘appetizers’ or ‘entrée’, it sounds sophisticated, mouth-watery, munch-able, and snail’s trail lick-able. Truly, from the Naga Tribal (Nagas) ways of preparing and having snail, there is no trail of sophistication involves in the arduous work of cleaning, cooking, cracking the shell open before cooking (in some cases), and sucking out snails to eat, that can ultimately count ‘snail consumption’ under any form of sophisticated gourmet-culture. Conditionally, there is no doubt that those who enthusiastically eat snails are also equally met with people whose invariable reaction is “eww”! Consuming snails for many therefore sounds particularly unappealing, but for those who have tried snails, they know that snails can be impressively savoury. Given such appeal, it is not surprising that many people have been consuming snails for centuries, considering snail dish as one of the main course of food. One bite into snails will tell that the taste is not similar to other type of insects or meat found; instead it has strange spongy chewy texture; subtle, slimy, and smooth features; and has earthy flavor.
Snails comes in all forms, types, and names, and for thousands of years, snails have been used as human food and its shells for making jewelleries. Men have always consumed what they can for survival, which includes the snail. The Romans in the ancient period were known to eat snails very frequently. They were harvested to meet demands of the consumers, and modern day heliculture – housing and supply of the snails continue to constitute an important part of restaurant business. However, in country like the United States, the consumption of snail is very recent, and it was apparently brought by consumers and immigrants in 1850s in California. Snails are considered a delicacy in Asian cuisine, the French popularly use the ‘Escargot’ as appetizer, the Americans and the Australians use it as main course meal, while the Africans consider it as traditional food. Popular form of snails harvested and served in the Western World is the Helix Pomatia and the Helix Aspersa. In France, the French people heavily harvest Helix Pomatia or the burgundy snail and served as the famous escargot, while some Americans harvest the garden snail Helix Aspersa or the garden snail, found popularly in many dinner table.
Among the Nagas, the most popular form of snail consumed is the Chinese Mystery Snail (Bellamya Chinensis). Heliculture, where farming and housing the Chinese Mystery snail in the field or in the wetland is involved, has rather become very popular among the Nagas. All snail species are nocturnal in nature, making the Nagas to normally harvest snails (or search for snails) right after rain; while for the Westerners who harvest garden snails, they regard the morning dew, light rain, and watering garden as bringing in productive harvest, since these features make the snails to crawl out from their hiding place. Snails can lift any object five times their weight, so after being harvested they need to be housed properly to avoid their escape. Bellamya Chinensis measures around 2 ½” from foot to tail and about 1 ¼” in diameter. Given this size, this snail species comes as one of the biggest snail species across the world. The shell is globose, and has 6-7 whorls, which are more or less covex, and have clear suture. When this snail becomes an adult, the shell becomes olive greenish, or brown greenish, or brown greenish in colour. Again the shell of this snail is a concentrically marked operculum, thereby forming a trap door that closes when the liquid water is not sufficient, or when any object or even human touches it.
There are many wild snails (black, long, conical), which are deadly by nature, and country such as the United States have regulations in selling and harvesting them for proper handling of collecting and selling snails. Wild snails are known for carrying parasites that causes meningitis. As a note of caution against parasites of snail causing meningitis, snails should be cooked properly. Keeping overnight to make the snails to digest their last eaten meal by soaking in water, and later de-sliming the snails by taking out the operculum and cutting the bottom contributes towards cleaning and purifying the snail. The Nagas normally clean the Bellamya Chinensis by housing them overnight, taking out the operculum and by cutting the end-tail with a knives or cracking out softly with a spoon. This is followed by either boiling the snail with salt for five minutes, and drenching the water as cleaning process, followed by cooking, or directly cooking the snails after cracking it open.
Bellamya Chinensis: After taking out the operculum and cutting the tail The low content of fats and high content of protein makes snail to be a good food alternative, and also a good beneficiary of health. The fats of snail are also estimated as containing unsaturated fatty acids, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and saturated fatty acids, thereby differing from high fats content in red meat. Protein helps in building and repairing muscles, and due to its higher content in protein, snails can be preferred more than other sea food. Snails are also a good source of iron, and it is known as builder of red blood cells. This makes snails to build energy for body, and for those people who lacks iron and feels extreme fatigue and suffers from anaemia, snail consumption can help. Snails also have high content of Vitamin B12, which is required for making the red blood cells, and keeping the nervous system healthy, among others. Snails are again a source of magnesium, which is required for maintaining normal blood pressure, strengthening bones, and keeping heartbeat regularly. Selenium for building healthy immune system is another ingredient of snails. Finally, Omega-3, the much feted and heart-loving fatty acids is found in snails, which is required for healthy hearts.
There are plenty of well-known recipes out there for cooking snail and many people do so at home. Such dishes are common in many types of fine restaurants as well. In country like Greece and Italy, they are known for making soup of the snail and pouring over the pasta, while Spain, Portugal, and Germany prepares snail mixed with various dishes. Many of the snail recipes found in famous restaurants across America and Europe however comes the French Escargots. The popularity of Escargots consumption makes the American to celebrate May 24th as the National Escargot Day. While several recipes of Snails as Escargots in Restaurants are cooked in the following way every day, the Nagas simply believes in boiling the snail with salt, and frying with oil and smashed potatoes with mint or tulsi as flavour; or more interestingly, cooking snail together with pork. Europeans and the Westerners normally served snails with specially shaped tongs to grasp the shells, and small two-tined forks (fondue forks). The Nagas consume snails by sucking out from the operculum side, which is more interesting and fun. TRY IT!
Pamkhuila Shaiza is a Research Analyst at Project Guru
