[Geranimojess]

We very often read about the untold Damage these Slimy Creatures cause to all types of Plants and Readers asking for remedies...well in the 2 yr's I've had the Arena stocked with all types of Plants not a single one Plant including Hosta has been touched by them...even during the very wet Weather and I'm positive the reason is the Pebbles I've laid in those Areas...I don't even see any "Silver" trails anywhere near the Pebbles...am I just lucky or are Pebbles a "Guarantee" against these attacks...

I know the Snails cross the Stones on the Driveway but these are a slightly bigger Pebble and may not be as sharp...maybe my Snails have softer Bellies...

[tagwex]

You are one lucky man then. Count your blessings.
Most likely the sharp edges on the pebbles are indeed keeping them away.
I am going to send you a parcel of creatures that I don't want.

[Good guy]

You have done well, then. I've used prickly stuff like holly leaves and broken shells as a mulch with good effect. I only really bother when the hostas are young. Once they've grown they can stand a bit of damage. In one part of my garden I have a big hosta growing beside bergenia, which tends to shelter some horse-sized snails. The snails don't seem to do too much damage, though I do chuck some organic-approved pellets into the bergenia to discourage them.
On a spring-time wildflower holiday in Crete a few years ago (brilliant) I noticed locals walking about the fields after rain. I was told they were collecting edible snails which they would eat after feeding them cleansing food for a few days. The biologist leading our group said they are the same species of snail that we have here. I've enjoyed snails in restaurants. Has anyone on the forum tried DIY snail culinary experiments?

[tagwex]

The only experimenting I do is to see how much salt I have to put on them before they explode.

[Good guy]

I wondered about a quick grilling, courtesy of my weed-wand flame thrower. Could they be persuaded to eat some garlic first and then roll themselves in butter?

[tagwex]

To borrow a phrase of yours..... "After you, Sir."

[Good guy]

I think I'll leave my snail eating until next time I see them on a menu.

[tippben]

Good Guy. Definitely try them. Collect some, (Helix aspera, "Petit Gris" in French) and feed them on plain flour in a container for a week, then starve them for two days. This will purge them, and stop them being at all slimy.

There are two methods for cooking. Either drop in boiling salted water and remove from the shell with a pin, or cook them in cold salted water which is slowly brought to the boil (Spanish method). That way they will shell themselves, but I think it's a bit cruel. I stamp on them anyway, so I don't think the first method is any crueller than that.

Add to any sauce you choose. They're very meaty, and I don't like meat, but a couple of friends adore them. At least I gave it a go, as if I had liked them, I'd have found a very good cheap source of protein.

[tagwex]

Bluuuuughhhhhhhhh.

[Geranimojess]

Beginning to regret bringing up the Subject...it's put me right off my Food...

[tippben]

I once saw a dish made of saddle of rabbit, on a bed of braised gem lettuce, with snails in a white wine and mushroom sauce on the side. The chef called it "Gardener's Revenge".

[My Potatoes]

I've never heard of anyone eating slugs.
I collected about 30 snails a few years ago, put them into a plastic basin with a bunch of salad leaves for purging, then covered it with a mesh. Left it for a few days.
However, between then and when I intended to eat them, I ate a dish of snails in a restaurant in Dublin. Which caused me to break out in a ferocious rash (similar to what happens to some that eat shellfish, according to the doctor).
I'll eat snails again, but never in this country.

[shellyt]

Haha that's brilliant "gardeners revenge" though sounding spectacular still don't think I'd eat it... Yuk!

[Good guy]

I wonder why we shudder at eating snails when we happily eat winkles, cockles, mussels, etc? It's strange. As for rabbit, yum, yum!
Should I ever get around to consuming any of my garden gastropods, I'll report back.
Shellyt, you don't by any chance carry your house around on your back, do you?

[tippben]

It's simple really. The psychology of food. My wife loves mussels, prawns, scallops etc, but refuses to eat a winkle or a whelk because "it's a feckin' snail". I ate insects at a demonstration given by a professor at university. I ate locusts. His point was "Who eats prawns? Well, it's essentially the same animal, just evolved to live on land. It's a bit more chickeny". I actually liked them.

How many people would turn their noses up at a dish made from kidneys, liver, heart or lungs, yet are happy to tuck into sausages made from the scrotum scrapings of the meat factory? Plenty. I honestly cannot understand why it is somehow more disgusting to eat a pig's head than slices from its back or arse. I even know people who won't eat a fish if it still has it's head and tail attached. If I remove the head and tail before they see it, that's different. The same fish.

I don't like the taste of meat, so I avoid it, but not on some arbitrary principle.