White caviar? I'll pass....

[Gob]

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

[@meric@nwom@n]

Gah. I actually like caviar. Once or twice a year I pick some up. But this turned my stomach.

[MajGenl.Meade]

the tiny pearl-like eggs have been used in banquets for wealthy Romans, Egyptians and Greeks for centuries

...yes and looked what happened to them eh.

http://www.spain-food-wine.culturespain ... s-hervias/

Snails mate once a year, and 80% of them die on the job, allegedly from stress. This has probably got something to do with the fact that they are hermaphrodites, so possibly the act of deciding whether it will be Mr/Mrs Snail or Mr/Mrs Snail that has to act out one or other of the roles – takes its toll....... the developer of the process, Blas Hervías, a gynaecologist’s son(!!) claims to have spent €200,000 getting the product to market. Mind you, Blas Hervías will soon get his money back – providing he sells enough jars at €90 for 50 gms

I guess in France they can just harvest the ones that die right away and serve them up as a kind of parental appetizer num num num

Meade

[loCAtek]

While mind you, I have no interest what-so-ever, in ingesting garden variety snails found in my garden, so why would I be enticed into eating the eggs of a French garden gastropod?

[Daisy]

Snails are yummy... I would try the "caviar" if someone offered it me for free, but not paying €90 a tin for them.

[Gob]

Oh ick., you'll swallow anything Dais...

[The Hen]

It could end up being thet new truffle.

I would have some if it was prepared for me. I do not feel like buying a tin only to find that I don't like it. If I ate it in a restaurant I would have a chance of finishing it without the wastage. If I liked it, well ... there you go.

[Daisy]

Oh ick., you'll swallow anything Dais...

Haaaaaaa!

[Jay Tea]

I've had snails eggs, about 5 years ago when they were all the rage in France. I didn't like the texture (they have a micro thin shell) and was underwhelmed by the flavour (chewed ice-lolly stick?) - I would far sooner have sevruga

[oldr_n_wsr]

I'll try anything once.

[The Hen]

Me too. Apart from monkey. I have no desire to eat monkey.

Or any endangered animal.