Snails

Buy snails that have already been purged and cleaned for cooking; live snails need careful purging and washing, so follow the supplier’s instructions. Remove them from their shells if the recipe calls for it, and rinse away any grit.

Cooking time depends on whether they are already cooked or raw and cleaned. Tinned snails are usually ready to heat through; raw prepared snails are commonly simmered gently until tender, which can take a few hours.

Mix softened butter with finely chopped garlic, parsley and a little salt. Put a snail in each shell or a small ovenproof dish, top with the butter and bake at 180 °C for about 10 minutes, until bubbling and piping hot.

Keep cooked or tinned snails in the fridge once opened, covered in their cooking liquid or sauce, and use them within two days. Store unopened tins in a cool, dry cupboard; keep live snails as directed by the seller and cook them promptly.

Garlic-butter snails are commonly served with crusty bread for soaking up the sauce. They also work in stews, with mushrooms, or stirred into a tomato and herb sauce for pasta.

No: snails should be thoroughly cooked, and wild snails should not be collected for eating because their safety and preparation are uncertain. Use snails sold and prepared as food.

Snails provide 16 g of protein per 100 g and are low in fat, with 1.4 g per 100 g. A typical portion is a small serving of several snails, depending on their size and how they are served.

Both are lean, protein-rich shellfish, but whelks contain more protein: 23.8 g per 100 g, compared with 16 g in snails. Whelks also have more carbohydrate, at 7.76 g per 100 g, compared with 2 g in snails.