Opalienne Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Yes, snails are very popular in Belgium. At fairs you can buy a small pot of them to eat there and then, like a bag of chips. In Brussels dialect they are caled 'caracoles', a hangover from Spanish occupation, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkkent Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Snails were eaten widely in England until about the eighteenth century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mochas Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 The only time I've come across frog's legs was on a snack menu in a Belgian bar. They went down well with too much good local beer and yes, they do taste like chicken.Snails seem to be quite common in Charente both in restaurants and markets. There's one particular truck stop where there are invariably snails along with oysters and various other shellfish amongst many other things on the cold buffet. Scrumptious and very cheap!I've also got a jar of something called Escargouillette which I guess is the French answer to Marmite, being a snail spread containing butter, shallots, garlic and cognac. The idea is to spread it on toast which should then be heated in a warm oven - something of an acquired taste perhaps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owens88 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 saddie wrote the following post at 13/03/2006 22:11:I have sometimes wondered who or how certain things came to be eaten. For example whelks ,lobsters,snails, frogs. I can accept that people may have ben hungry but who might have thought that shrimps may be edible , or mussels? Or, while we are at it, decided to try Crab poo as a wound healer or invented Foie Gras ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Riff-Raff Element Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 [quote user="Owens88"]saddie wrote the following post at 13/03/2006 22:11:I have sometimes wondered who or howcertain things came to be eaten. For example whelks ,lobsters,snails,frogs. I can accept that people may have ben hungry but who might havethought that shrimps may be edible , or mussels? Or, while we are at it, decided to try Crab poo as a wound healer or invented Foie Gras ? [/quote]Foie gras, I believe, was a discovery of the Egyptians, who took anannual harvest of Nile geese that had gorged themselves beyond flighton figs. The Romans then practiced the production of foie gras ondomestic fowl - they gorged a fair number of animals on the same basis,being responsible for the eating of overgrown dormice and ortolan. Theeating of ortolan has been illegal in France for years, but my parentswere served it in a French household in the 1980s and I'm sure it stillgoes on in some corners of France.What's all this about crab poo though??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolski Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Thought this was supposed to be the land of the Great Impressionists? Have yet to find any tasteful let alone talented Artistes (on the painting variety!!)Carolyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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