Snails are neither pests nor pets to Sharon Friere.
The Hunter Valley resident keeps thousands of garden-variety gastropods on her tiny snail farm – destined for kitchens around the country.
“I would describe the taste as an earthy taste, much like the texture of chicken thigh and mushroom,” she says.
Ms Friere and her husband Matt took over a snail farming business from a local grower several years ago.
“I would say they're a little bit like an oyster -- the oyster of the earth."
Keeping snails doesn't take up a lot of land, and they multiply quickly, she says, and although they might move slowly while alive, they fly out the door as produce.
“We sell out of all of our product that we produce here,” she says.
Commonly linked to French cuisine, snails are also eaten right across the Mediterranean.
“A lot of the countries like Greece and Italy, who are the main producers of snails in Europe, eat them as an everyday food,” she says.
“It’s not just the French.”
There's evidence Romans kept snails for cooking more than 2,000 years ago.
And in Spain scientists believe consumption began even earlier, with roasted snail shells uncovered at archaeological sites dating back 10,000 years.
At Bistro 32, a French restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Caringbah, head chef Tod Laurence likens them to eating oysters.
“I think it’s an acquired taste, without a doubt,” he says.
“The person that's going to eat them is probably going to be quite a bit different, has a good palate.
“I would say they're a little bit like an oyster -- the oyster of the earth."
Restaurant owner Chris Carroll says buying them from a local grower also puts them in the same price bracket as oysters.
“They’re not cheap, they’re about the same price as an oyster at the end of the day,” he says.
“But they’re a fabulous product and we’re selling lots of them”
The self-confessed Francophile admits he's not a big fan of eating snails, and had to be convinced to put them on the menu.
“I was never intending to put them on the menu,” he says.
“When we said we were doing French [cuisine], people started saying, ‘oh, are you going to have snails?
“And so many people said that that I thought, well maybe I’d better get some snails.”
Snail farmer Sharon Friere says there's also a large market for snails in Asia and she hopes one day to export them.
In the meantime she'd like more Australians to give them a try.
“It’s an emerging industry, and something that Australians still need to be educated about,” she says.
“Once they realise they don’t all come from France and you can get something fresh from Australia, why not try it?”
Share
