| OCR Text |
Show VALUE OF SNAILS AS FOOD About 100 Per Cent. More Nutritious Than Oysters, Says Medical Med-ical Authority. A dish of snails is hardly ever seen in this country, although In Spain nnd in Franco tills mollusk is a fairly common com-mon article pf food among tho poor, whllo it Is held In great esteem by tho gourmet whon It is stewed and garnished gar-nished with herbs and condiments, says tho London Lancet. Tho suggestion sugges-tion that tho snail should form a cheap article of food in tills country has been revived and there Is nothing to bo said against tho proposal from a dietetic point of vlow, for properly cooked, tho snail Is both nutritious and tasty. If, however, tho suggestion were" seriously seri-ously acted upon, we fear that tho supply In this country would provo to bo short of tho domaiul. Hut doubtless tho snail could bo cultivated as Is the oyster when It was found that It had gained a considerable patronage. Tho Bnall has Indeed been called "the poor man's oyster," though wo do not ro-membor ro-membor to havo scon it eaten raw. Wo know, however, that It makes an excellent ex-cellent fish sauce and may bo used for the samo purpose as oyster sauce. Possibly also n few snails In a steak-ond-kidnoy pudding would increase tho tastlncss of this popular food. Caro must bo exercised In tho cholco of tho snnll for food purposes, as It la well known that snails feed on poisonous poi-sonous plants, and It Is tho custom In Franco to allow a few days to olapso after they havo been taken from their feeding ground In order that any poisonous poi-sonous matter may bo eliminated. Most of tho snails In Franco usod for odlblo purposes nro collected from tho vineyards of Hurgundy, Champagno and Lorrnlno, which, wo may bo suro, afford a perfectly clean feeding ground for tho snnll considering tho caro which Is taken to protect tho vines from disease. According to analysis, very nearly 90 per cent, of tho Bolld matter of tho snail is proteld matter available, directly direct-ly for repairing tho tissues of tho body. Uesldo this, thoro are about six per rent, of fat and four per cent, of mineral min-eral matter, including phosphates. Compared with tho oyster, this would show that tho snail contains about 100 per cent, moro nutrltllons substances. Tho suggestion, therefore, that tho snail should be used for food is not merely sentimental. |
