Is it possible to eat garden snails if cooked?

[Nick Blair]

Not sure about any wars in particular, but I do know that a lot of the French's reputation for eating odd foods is as a result of the Siege of Paris (1870-1871) when supplies ran out they resorted to eating horses, cats, dogs, rats and flowers.
Even Paris's two elephants, Castor and Pollux, were eaten.

No idea about snails though.

I thought it was the British who were being too fussy or odd with their eating habits; the Chinese and other nations eat all sorts of exotic foods which we don't touch.

Someone told me that British did eat snails during world war 2 , but I have never heard of this before. But they were on rations.

I think a lot of people kept rabits during the war. I am not sure how common though.

[Nick Blair]

Nope- can you blame me????

I don't know. Maybe you are into eating frogs or some other exotic French food.

[binley100]

I think a lot of people kept rabits during the war. I am not sure how common though.

My uncle bred rabbits for the pot during the war .

[Nicos]

Never eaten frogs legs!

...if you call strawberry tarts exotic- then- oh yes...yummy!!!!

( and yes- they do have unusual things like sausages stuffed with intestines!!!)

[Nick Blair]

My uncle bred rabbits for the pot during the war .

What is the pot? Is it still legal to breed them now for food?

[Nicos]

..for the cooking pot.

Yes- you can breed them to eat for your own consumption.
If you intend to sell the meat then there will be a lot of regulations.
Some breeds are better than others for eating.
You'd need to do a lot of research into this.

And yes- bunny is very tasty!

[OllieMartin]

My uncle bred rabbits for the pot during the war .

What is the pot?

I thought that when I read it. I thought maybe he'd traded rabbits for marajuana!

But no, the cooking pot as Nicos says

[Nick Blair]

I thought that when I read it. I thought maybe he'd traded rabbits for marajuana!

But no, the cooking pot as Nicos says

I feel embarrased to admit this but that thought came into my mind when I read what he wrote. But I am ignorant of these sort of things; it made me think of drugs lol.

[Flummery]

Well Nick, now you know it's possible to eat garden snails, are you going to give it a try and report back?

[Nick Blair]

Well Nick, now you know it's possible to eat garden snails, are you going to give it a try and report back?

Well in spite being very curious. I think I will leave it till next year or the year after or the year after that or that.

I think there is a lot of better things for me to do with my time.

[Nicos]

Wise man!

[VJay]

There seems to be huge number of them in Britain, yet we don't eat them. Why is this? Are they poisonous or do British dislike them because they are ugly and disgusting?

We've never been that desperate in recent times Nick. We've maybe ate the odd rat during a siege or two, but even during the war years we were well prepared and didn't resort to that type of slug eating

[binley100]

I thought that when I read it. I thought maybe he'd traded rabbits for marajuana!

Don't think there was much of that about in those days.........

[BigShot]

On one of the Gordon Ramsay's Family type shows* (can't remember the title) he sent the kids into the garden to pick snails and cooked them up.
I too have heard the "feed them carrots until the poo turns orange" thing.

I had snails in a Japanese restaurant (Teppanyaki) a friend worked as chef at years ago. The texture is not unlike a cross between mussels and squid. The taste wasn't anything to write home about either way but it was edible and quite heavily seasoned.

I see no reason to view wild foods as something to turn to only when starving. There are some real delicacies about and grazing on them while out for a wander is a real pleasure. In my book, pennywort/navelwort tastes better than any lettuce I've ever had. Always a pleasure to find sticking out of a wall somewhere. That's without getting into jack by the hedge and other such delights.


* It wasn't a "family" show at all - it was The F Word - but he did bribe his kids to gather the snails (or does that count as hunting?) hence the confusion.

[Flummery]

I agree there's much to enjoy in terms of wild food. Our copy of Richard Mayby's (sp?) Food for Free is seriously well thumbed. However, I eat with caution, not because I think I'll poison myself but because I'm aware of how rare some of those edibles are these days. I gladly help myself to elderflowers and berries, crab apples and sloes, wild plums etc. But I wouldn't eat snails. Sorry. I know that it's possible for my chickens to pick up parasites from snails and slugs, so I'm darned well not going to risk it myself. I don't want a course of Flubenvet for me tea!