I always knew people eat snails in France but, until today, I had no idea it was possible to buy snails from a French supermarket. I presumed snails were a delicacy that was only available from restaurants.
The truth was revealed to me when I was examining the options in the frozen food section at the local Intermarche supermarket. There, sitting on top of a box of frozen prawns, was a foil tray full of Burgundy Snails (Escargots de Bourgogne).
According to the nutrition information on the front of the pack, the snails were 9% protein and 31% fat. The high fat content was probably because the pre-packed snails also contained a very generous helping of butter. I hate butter. I’m not sure I would ever want to try eating cooked snails but I’m 100% sure I won’t eat anything that contains butter.
As far as the cooking goes though, a tray of snails seems to be a quick meal. You cook them from frozen. All you need to do is pre-heat your oven to 180º, put the tray of snails inside, and they will be ready to eat in 10-12 minutes.
Frozen snails weren’t the only option I saw in the supermarket either. I saw tinned snails in the same section as the baked beans. There were also plastic jars full of snails. The tinned snails were retailing for nearly €8, but the jars were only €4.90. I have no idea how much the frozen snails cost. I’ll admit I’m curious to know what snails taste like but I couldn’t pluck up the courage to buy any from the supermarket and find out.
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