White caviar? I'll pass....
Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 11:46 pm
t has taken France and Spain by storm and now suppliers are desperate to turn it into a hit with Britons.
Snails eggs could soon be lining the shelves in the UK as chefs throughout Europe rediscover the delicacy, known as 'white caviar'.
Already stocked in tiny cans by Harrods, the tiny pearl-like eggs have been used in banquets for wealthy Romans, Egyptians and Greeks for centuries.
Now farmers are trying to cash in on the new craze by cultivating the molluscs, a kilo (2lb 3oz) of which can sell for up to £1,600 (1,800 euros).
The high cost of the eggs, which are still cheaper than the finest beluga caviar at 4,000 euros a kilo but cheaper than black caviar, makes it a risky investment.
But businessman, Blas Hervias, who is pioneering the trend in Spain, said he is sure the trend will catch-on once people try the eggs.
Mr Hervias has become the first to be licensed to sell the produce and has contracted three specialist farms to provide the eggs in Spain.
'I had read lots about snails, but became curious about the eggs and spent a fortune investigating them,' he said, 'it is a highly unusual product and made in a labour-intensive way.
'At first people would dismiss the product without tasting it but once they got over their initial fear they were fascinated by the idea,' he told the Sunday Telegraph.
The eggs, which are also known as 'pearls of Aphrodite' for their aphrodisiac qualities, are best marinated in herbs and are said to have a strong earthy taste.
Painstakingly, it takes four hours to fill a 50g tin with each egg hand-selected using tweezers.
The snails, which are fed grain and green leaves, are kept in small pens, raised off the ground, and filled with small tubs of earth.
Electric wire is kept around the top to stop them from escaping.
Twice a year, in the Spring and Autumn, the snails burrow into the soil and lay between 80 and 100 (3g) of the pearls.
They are then collected, washed, purified and sterilised before being lightly salted and tinned.
President of the National Association for Cultivating and Rearing Snails, Joseph Marcelo, said that he was delighted that people were rediscovering the 'oyster of the earth' but warned there was not a not a huge demand for the delicacy.
He said that farmers should be wary and added that snail meat was currently far more profitable.
Mr Hervais said that he was in talks with British suppliers and added that he believed Britain was ready for the delicacy.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1L9DD04lJ
