Eating snails forms part of the gastronomic tradition of our island but until today, there had never been a project that involved breeding and selling them. The bover snail (hélix aspersa muller by its scientific name) has always been greatly appreciated culinarily in the Mediterranean, well stewed with crab, grilled or a la llauna, in a tin.
Since the end of last year, Lola Suñé and Rodrigo Romero have set up the first fresh snail farm on an estate on the island, in which they have installed a breeding area of 200 square metres. Slowly but surely, they have been able to start supplying prestigious restaurants and they are planning the production of tinned snails, cosmetic products and experiences such as a project associated with the slow-food movement.
In an interview for the Discovery Menorca Blog they explain to us that in the commercialisation process, they select the adult snails of 10 grams that are dried for two weeks so that they empty their viscera. Then they make them hibernate for a week at more or less 4 degrees and end up supplying them live to restaurants and individuals, in mesh bags. The really nice part of all this is that process is done in some old installations which before were used to mature cheese but was in disuse.
We predict a great future for these lads from Es Caragol of Menorca, as they call their company and we hope that their good practices can be consolidated. They are not without talent or initiative.
