Snails

Snail is a common name for gastropod molluscs that can be split into three groups, land snails, sea snails and freshwater snails. Snails can have lungs or gills depending on the species and their habitat.

In the North America, snails are better known as garden pests, not the gourmet dish escargot that is popular in France. However, snails are low-fat, protein-rich and a good source of a variety of essential vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, selenium, vitamin E and phosphorus.

They are often served as an hors d'oeuvre and consumed by the French, as well as people from Portugal, Sardinia, and Spain. They are also a typical of the cuisines of Crete, and Greece, as well as such North African countries as Algeria and Morocco. The word escargot is also sometimes applied to living examples of those species which are commonly eaten in this way.