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Terrestrial snails are highly valued as food in the

Mediterranean countries. In the archaeological re-


cord, terrestrial snail shells have been found in Ibe-
rian period, stored in jars, which seems to demons-
trate that they were already used as food by the
Iberians (Oliver, 2000). The Romans considered
them as a delicacy and had special facilities for bre-
eding and maintenance (cochlearia). Ever since the
Roman Empire, specific tools have been developed
to extract the snail from its shell and facilitate con-
sumption (Mead, 1961). In the Middle Ages they
were authorized by the Church for consumption du-
ring Lent along with fish (Fontanillas, 2008) and for
this reason they are sold today in Spain at the fish
markets.

Figure 1.- Iberus alonensis, this endemic snail found in Mediterranean
shrublands is highly appreciated in Eastern Spain. For this reason, its po-
pulations are overexploited.
Land snails are a seasonal resource, linked with
spring and very traditionally valued in many regions
of Spain (Arrbola and Alvarez, 2001). Eating snails
is also linked with festive activities, as in Logroo
where it is traditional to eat snail soup on St. Johns
Day. In Cantabria they are a traditional Christmas
and New Year's Eve dish, while in Huesca and other
Aragonese towns snails are consumed with roasted
garlic and oil on the day of St. George (April 23).





In lava they are traditional on San Prudencios
Feast Day (April 28), when snails are stuffed with
mushrooms. On the island of Mallorca snails are
eaten with chicken on the feast of the Holy Cross (3
May). Finally, almost 30 years ago in Lleida the snail
festival (Aplec del cargol) was declared to be of Na-
tional Tourist Interest (Fontanillas, 2008).In Spain,
snails are consumed traditionally in all regions with
the exception of Galicia and other parts of the Can-
tabrian coast such as Asturias (San Miguel, 2004),
with nine different species being used (Navarro,
1991).
As occurs with mushrooms, snails are traditionally
not considered a food in the Spanish regions inhabi-
ted in ancient times by the Celts, e.g. NW Spain.

Gathering
Warm spring days, changing from rain to sun, are
the best weather to look for snails. In some parts of
Spain this weather is called snail weather. Some
popular sayings mark the best months to pick
snails, e.g. April ones for me, May ones for my bro-
ther, June ones for no one.
As for the antiquity of snail picking in Albacete (SE
Spain) its interesting to highlight a local Law from
the village of Peas de San Pedro dating back to
1596, which in turn is a transcription of a former
law from the XIII century from the town of Alcaraz
(Pretel, 2005):
Nobody, neighbor of this village or foreigner, can
pick pine or oak wood, firewood, charcoal, willow,
acorns, esparto grass.., snails in the land su-
rrounding the village without permission from the
town hall.
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Part of our cuisine
In Eastern Spain, there is a special esparto grass
basket, made just to pick snails. According to the
region, these baskets have different names, such as
caracolera, cachulera or cernacho.

Figure 2.- Caracolera, cachulera or cernacho is a basketry piece, made
with esparto grass and devoted traditionally to snail picking.
In the heat of summer, snails have to estivate (and
hibernate with the winter cold), closing the shell
with a insulating wall (epiphragm), thicker in spe-
cies found in Mediterranean shrublands. At this ti-
me, country folk say that snails are enchanted and
snails that have been collected can remain in this
state for several years.

Snails as a food
Snails contain a high percentage of water. They
are a good source of protein, while their content in
lipids and sugars is very poor. Their calorie content
is also low.
100 gr. of snails have:

Table 1.- Snails: nutritional facts

Figure 3.- Snail cuisine is very developed in Southern Spain. Picture, rice
with snails.
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SENBA.2008
For Helix po-
matia.
Arrbola
(2002)
Water (gr. for 100 gr.)
79 79-83
Kilocalories
77 60-80
Proteins (gr. por 100
gr.)
16 12-16
Carbohydrates (gr. for
100 gr.)
0 2
Fats (gr. for 100 gr.)
1 0.5-1
Cholesterol (gr. for 100
gr.)
0.1 -


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Figure 4.- Land snails picked in Albacete province, SE Spain (Plate: Paco
Cebrin). In Fajardo et al, 2009
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Species Common name in Spanish Ecology Way of consumption
Cepaea nemoralis serranilla Mountain meadows Sauces
Cernuella virgata caracol alfalfero, caracol
chupalandero, caracol pe-
queo, blanquillo
Grasslands, fields, road-
sids, waste lands, etc.
Sauces
Cornu aspersum caracol de huerta, caracol
sapenco, caracol negro,
caracol zampudo

Homegardens, yards Sauces, roasted
Eobania vermiculata choneta, chichoneta Homegardens, crops,
yards
Sauces
Helix pomatia caracol francs Introduced in river banks,
deciduous forests and ho-
megardens
Roasted
Iberus alonensis caracol serrano, serrana,
caracol cristiano, baqueta
Mediterranean shrublands
with rosemary, thyme,
esparto grass, etc.
(endemic in E Spain)
Rice, roasted

Iberus gualtieranus chapa Esparto grasslands and
Mediterranean shurblands
(endemic in SE Spain). In
danger of extinction.
Rice, roasted
Otala punctata barbachos, boquinegros,
cabrillas, caracol gordo de
huerta, maesa

Homegardens and crops. Sauces and rice
Otala lactea Boquinegro, maesa Homegardens and crop
fields.
Sauces and rice
.
Sphincterochila candi-
dissima and other spe-
cies of this genus
caracol judo, caracol moro,
caracol blanco
Mediterranean shrublands
with rosemary, thyme,
esparto grass, etc.
(endemic in E Spain)
Sauces, with tomato, rice
Theba pisana caracol alfalfero, chupalan-
dero, caracol pequeo, ca-
racol de boca roja
Grasslands, crop fields,
roadsides, etc. Along the-
Mediterranean coast of
Spain.
Sauces
Species of land snails picked traditionally in Spain
Table 2.- Land snails traditionally picked in Spain.



















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Recipe Snail species Other ingredients Preparation
Snail rice Iberus alonensis
Otala spp.
Sphincterochila spp.
Garlic cloves, olive oil, rice,
saffron, salt, tomato, water.
After sauting the ingredients, add the
snails, leaving them to boil. Finally, add
rice.
Roast snails Cornu aspersum
Helix pomatia
Iberus spp.
Olive oil, rosemary, salt. Snails are roasted in a pan with a drop of
olive oil and then seasoned with rosemary
and salt.
Snails with
scrambled eggs
Iberus alonensis Chilli pepper, eggs, olive oil,
salt.
Place the snails in a frying pan and wait
until they are tricked. Fry with olive oil,
tomato and salt.
Snails with
tomato
All Olive oil, tomato, salt. Place the snails in a frying pan and wait
until they are tricked. Fry with olive oil,
tomato and salt.
Snails in sauce All except Iberus spp. Bay leaves, chili pepper,
flour, garlic, mint, olive oil,
onions, paprika, rosemary,
thyme, tomato, salt, wine.
Sauce is prepared with all the ingredients,
adding the snails last. Then the sauce is
cooked until thick and tasty.
Snails with
beans
All except Iberus spp. Beans, garlic, olive oil, pork
ear, tomato, salt, water.
Beans, after soaking, are added to the sau-
ce. Snails are added when the beans are
half cooked.
Gazpacho man-
chego with
snails
Cornu aspersum
Helix pomatia
Iberus spp., Otala spp.. y Eoba-
nia vermiculata
Garlic, gazpacho bread, olive
oil, pepper, rosemary, saf-
fron, salt, tomato, water.
First, we prepare a sauce with tomato and
pepper. Add the trickd snails, rosemary
and saffron, leaving it to boil some minu-
tes. Add the gazpacho bread until it is co-
oked.
Spanish snail recipes (synthesis)
Table 3.- Recipes. Source: Serrano (1998) and own data
Preparation and recipes
After gathering, snails must fast or be placed in flour in order to empty their digestive system, thus
avoiding the presence of bitter substances and flavours. After some days, the next step is to trick
the snails, putting them in a pot with some warm water. When all the bodies are outside their she-
lls, the water must be boiled suddenly in order to kill them before they enter their shells.
Nowadays, after being tricked, snails can be frozen.
Other traditional uses of snails
AIn addition to their use as a food, snails have other
traditional uses in Spain:
In folk medicine, snail slime is rubbed on warts to
make them disappear (Verde et al, 2008). Also, a
snail poultice has been used to reduce inflammation.
Snails picked in home gardens are fed to domestic
ducks.

Land snails are part of tradi-
tional knowledge about natu-
re for Mediterranean cultu-
res, being a appreciated
seasonal food.


Figure 5.- Chapa (Iberus gualtieranus) is an endemic snail in SE Spain,
with only four locations. This wonderful snail, unique in the world, is in
danger of extinction, due, among other reasons, to overharvesting (Moreno
-Rueda, 2011).
References:
Arrbola, J. R. y lvarez, R. 2001. La explotacin de los caracoles
terrestres en Espaa: Aspectos ecolgicos y culturales. Temas de
Antropologa Aragonesa 11: 139-172.
Arrbola, J. R. 2002. Caracoles terrestres de Andaluca. Manuales
de Conservacin de la Naturaleza n 1. Consejera de Medio Am-
biente. Junta de Andaluca.
Fajardo, J., Verde, A., Obn, C., Rivera, D. y Valds, A. 2009. La
recoleccin y consumo tradicional de caracoles terrestres en Al-
bacete. Una perspectiva etnobiolgica. Revista de estudios alba-
cetenses Sabuco 7: 235-264
Fontanillas, J. C. 2008. Helicicultura moderna en Espaa. Confe-
rencia en la RACVE (Real Academia de Ciencias Veterinarias). En
http://www.racve.es/actividades/helicicultura%20fontanillas.htm
Mead, A. R. 1961. The Giant African Snail: a problem in economic
malacology. The University of Chicago Press.
Moreno-Rueda, G. 2011. Revisin del estatus de conservacin del
caracol amenazado Iberus gualtieranus gualtieranus. Zool. baeti-
ca, 22: 69-85
Navarro, J. 1991. Los caracoles terrestres ibricos de inters gas-
tronmico. Quercus 61: 18-25.
Oliver, A. 2000. La cultura de la alimentacin en el mundo ibri-
co. Ed. Diputaci de Castell.
Pretel, A. 2005. El castillo de Peas de San Pedro. Del encastilla-
miento al villazgo (siglos X-XVI). Instituto de Estudios Albaceten-
ses Don Juan Manuel. Albacete.
San Miguel, E. 2004. Etnobotnica de Piloa (Asturias). Tesis
Doctoral. Universidad Autnoma de Madrid.
SENBA (Sociedad Espaola de Nutricin Bsica y Aplicada). 2008.
Tablas de composicin de alimentos. En http://www.senba.es/
recursos/pdf/tablas_comp_alim/1.2.%20Macronutrientes%20y%
20Minerales.pdf
Serrano, C. 1998. El Recetario de Madrigueras. Ed. Caridad Se-
rrano. Albacete.
Verde, A., Rivera, D., Fajardo, J., Obn, C. y Cebrin, F. 2008.
Gua de las plantas medicinales de Castilla-La Mancha. Ed. Alta-
bn. Albacete.

Texts: Alonso Verde y Jos Fajardo
Pictures: Jos Fajardo y Paco Cebrin
Design: Miguel R. Brotons
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