When people think of snails, they usually do not think of the extravagant ancient cuisine, but rather the pesky munchers that ooze their way around the garden, destroying plants and eating dead animals. They are covered in mucus and the nasty crunch after you step on one gives most people shivers. However, most of these small edible land mollusks have found themselves on plates throughout history. The French butter the snail, the Spanish cook them in special sauces and soups and the Greek cook them within casseroles. I consumed these snails like an oyster within their shell, raw and fresh. My mom cooked these snails just like how she ate them in her childhood. By boiling the snails and adding vinegar and soy sauce, I had the opportunity to get a peek into my mother’s childhood.

The raw snail itself was not gross at all. The taste reminds you of a mis between an oyster or a mussel. The annoying part is that it takes a lot of effort to try and get the small piece of meat out of the shell. One wrong poke, and the meat retreats into the back of the shell. The meat is slightly squishy and one small disturbing part is the small black chip you find in every snail. After questioning my mom about this, she tells me that it was the snail’s foot; the area where the source of gunk is excreted. Another annoying aspect about the snail is that over a certain amount of time, the snail begins to smell bad. However, if you ignore that fact, this mollusk is quite delicious, almost like eating a small flavorful “bug.”