Les escargots comestibles

Comestible means "edible" — good to eat. Here are the two snails that are considered edible in France. The one above is the petit-gris, the little gray snail. They are plentiful here where we live. We don't eat the wild ones, but they are available in cans or frozen at the supermarkets. We do eat those, once or twice a year.

 

The gastropod below is the most highly esteemed variety. It's called l'escargot de Bourgogne or le gros blanc. It's two or three times as big as the petit-gris. Most would say that it's two or threew times as delicious too.

I've only ever seen one gros-blanc snail here in the Saint-Aignan area. It was out in the vineyard. I didn't disturb it because it's illegal in France to do so during the Burgundy snail's reproductive season, and I'm not sure when that is. If memory serves, I saw this snail two or three times over a three-year period, always in springtime. I've never seen it again.

L'escargot des bois...

...or l'escargot des haies. Both names are used in French. In England, it's called the grove snail. I haven't read anything that leads me to think that people eat them. Like me, maybe they just admire their shell's pretty colors.

We don't see a lot of these gastropods around here, but I did see one slowly crossing the road

 out near our front gate a few days ago.

Une blanquette pour Pâques

For our Easter dinner this year, we had a blanquette de veau. That's un ragoût (a stew) of veal with carrots and mushrooms. The liquid for the stew is veal broth that you make by simmering chunks of veal for two hours in water with a little white wine, the carrots, and some onions, bay leaves, thyme and salt and pepper. It's a tasty consommé (a clear broth) with which you make a white sauce using butter, flour, and cream

Below are three photos of the veal that I bought at the supermarket for my blanquette. I cut the meat into smaller pieces before I cooked it.

Bright colors...

...dreary April days.