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Sunday 10 April 2011

Turn a garden pest into a gourmet meal.





 
Today the 3rd of April it is raining –yippee the snails are out in force –  if you feel like spreading your toast with a few petit gris or vineyard snails, that is fine leave the big ones to cook up a  gourmet meal.


There are odd  laws in France and one particular to this country is concerning the precious edible escargot de Bourgogne (Helix pomatia )
Collecting or picking up snails with a diameter equal to or superior of  3cm. is strictly forbidden between the 1st of April till the 30th of June, which is the reproduction period of this gastropod.  A retired Gendarme,  oblivious to this legislation was recently sent before the judge for “ saving”  31 snails from a certain execution,  it wasn’t mentioned in the local paper  whether garlic and butter the essentials for cooking up escargots was found in his kitchen.
http://www.bienpublic.com/fr/article/4807620/Un-ange-gardien-au-tribunal.html(recent article in daily news)
Perhaps he was getting ready to prepare a very special beauty product as in Spain.  There it is very popular to use the slime from snails on your skin, because it's good for your peau.   First discovered at a snail farm in Chile it was found that the handlers had beautiful smooth skin compared with other workers.  
Snail slime has a whole bunch of stuff  that benefits your skin. One property is something called allantoin*.   The main benefit is that it promotes the faster shedding of dead skin cells to improve your overall complexion and make it brighter, prevent acne from forming, and it has anti-inflammatory properties.

First, we have to make the difference between snail slime and snail secretion. The slime is the fluid the snail uses to slide and that has no healthy quality for human beings whilst the snail secretion that can help delay skin aging and repair it, among other properties. Snails produce this secretion with the mere purpose to defend themselves from environmental aggressions.
It’s proven that legitimate snail products can produce a gradual reduction of fine and deep wrinkles, improve aged skin and hydrate it.  If you want to check up on this magical product I found this on the internet but admit to not having tried it myself.
(Fitosana Snail Cream - Baba de Caracol is one of the top brands of natural products in the world, the product is made with the best Helix-Aspersa extracts and manufactured under the highest quality standards.)  

So whether it be for beauty reasons or a feast – let’s hope it rains on the 1st of July.
 Vive la France Vive les escargots.
*
Allantoin is a chemical compound naturally produced by many organisms, including animals, plants, and bacteria. It is a frequent ingredient in lotions and skin creams, as well as in oral hygiene products, cosmetics, and other toiletries. Allantoin is also used in medications for dermatological conditions including acne, impetigo, eczema, and psoriasis. It is effective at very low concentrations, usually from 0.1% to 2%.

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