HELICULTURE - Farming snails for the table
The set-up costs
arent very high
By Helen Smith
Do you engage in helicul-
ture? If you have a garden
there is a good chance that
you are an inadvertent,
probably reluctant, helicul-
tivator.
Heliculture is the name
given to the cultivation of
snails. For a number of rea-
sons it is one of the simplest
forms of farming.
First of all it takes very lit-
tle space. A suburban back-
yard could easily contain a
small snail farm, since breed-
ing stock require only one
square metre per 200 snails,
while a density of 300 snails
per square metre can be used
for fattening.
The cost of setting up does
not have to be high and the
process of breeding and
growing snails takes very lit-
tle effort. Finally, the acqui-
sition of stock can be as
simple as going into your
garden on a damp night.
Helix aspersa (the brown
garden snail) is the main
snail grown for eating in
Australia. On restaurant
menus they are given the
name escargots, the French
word for snails, since it was
the French who began the
tradition of using snails as
part of their diet. Surpris-
ingly for French cuisine, eat-
ing snails has health benefits,
some of which include the
fact that they are fat free and
high in vitamins A, C and
D, together with a large
number of essential amino
acids. However, the same
cannot be said for some of
the rich sauces in which they
are served.
There are two forms of
snail farming and both are
carried out in Australia. The
French method is to contain
the snails in specially con-
46 Small FARMS
structed crates or pens that
are often temperature con-
trolled, while the Italian
method allows the snails to
free range within an enclo-
sure open to the environ-
ment. The French method is
more intensive than the Ital-
ian with the snails needing to
be sprayed twice daily as well
as having fresh food deliv-
ered to them.
The Italian method has
problems, at least in Aus-
tralian conditions, because of
the number of predators to
be excluded from the enclo-
sure. Stories of mice, rats and
snakes devouring a growers
entire breeding stock
overnight are cautionary
tales that should not be
taken lightly. Both forms re- Snail grower Jill Campbell, Riversbend Escargot
quire the snails to be fed a pictured with brown garden snails.
particular diet for some time
before they are ready to har-
vest. This can take nine
months to one year from the
time the babies, exact repli-
cas of adult snails, hatch
from eggs that have been laid
about two weeks earlier.
Snails are hermaphrodites,
that is, they contain both
male and female parts, but
they must mate with another
snail. Thus, in one coupling,
an individual snail will re-
ceive sperm while depositing
its own sperm in its partner,
a procedure which can take
up to twelve hours. Soft
sago-like eggs are laid in
batches in the soil and can
sometimes be seen when gar-
dening.
Three centimetres and
eight grams is the minimum
size for eating and once they
reach that size they must be
purged before they are ready
for processing. There are sev-
eral schools of thought about
the best way to purge the
snails. One method requires Specially built pens are used to house the farmed
that they simply be deprived snails.
January/February 2009
 HELICULTURE - Farming snails for the table
of food for up to one week
until their digestive systems
have been cleared out. Other
methods include putting
them into boxes of bran for a
week or so, or feeding them
on milk for the same period
with the same purpose of
cleaning out their digestive
tracts. Purging is an essential
part of processing, to elimi-
nate any grittiness from the
meat.
Once this has been accom-
plished, the snails are ready
for the pot. Pre-cooking is
followed by the removal of
the flesh from the shells.
Then the flesh is ready for
final preparation. One recipe
entails threading several
snails onto a skewer before
rolling the skewer in a mix-
ture of breadcrumbs and
herbs and frying them in oil
until golden. Another recipe
uses them as the basis for a
pate.
In the Hunter Valley,
Robert and Helen Dyball
have been cultivating edible
snails since 2,000. After
much experimentation they
now grow the snails in pens
in a long igloo.
We produce about 2000
snails per week in season,
Helen says. We could easily
sell twice that number. Some
individual restaurants would
take 1,000 snails every week,
but we cant produce that
many, in spite of having out- Queensland, Victoria and Snails move more easily when the leaves and
sourced some of the snail New South Wales, Helen ground are moist. They eat more and grow faster
cultivation. explains. When the snails with the correct environmental conditions.
The Dyballs have estab- reach a suitable size and con-
lished a company, Snails Bon dition for purging, we buy
Appetite, for the purpose of them back and process
producing edible snails. In them.
an effort to increase their To be eligible for the buy-
outpu,t they have developed back, the snails must be at
a network of growers who, least three centimetres
for an annual fee, are pro- across, eight grams in weight
vided with breeding snails, and cream in colour, not
special snail food, transport black. To determine their
and any other requirements size, the Dyballs use a metal
necessary for them to estab- ring with an inside measure-
lish their own snail farm. ment of three centimetres.
We have small farmers, in- Any snails that fall through
dividuals and even primary the ring are not ready for
schools who are growing processing and do not qual- These plants play a major role in the production of
snails for us. So far we have ify for the buy-back, says snails and not only act as a rich food source but
about 20 growers based in Helen. also protection from the elements and predators.
January/February 2009 Small FARMS 47
HELICULTURE - Farming snails for the table
Processing for market in-
volves purging, cooking and
freezing the snails, after
which the flesh is soft-vac-
uum packed and they are
ready to be shipped all over
Australia. The Dyballs purge
their snails by keeping them
free of feed for one week.
In WA, Jill Campbell and
Ken Wright have a snail farm
that they established three
years ago on their property,
Riversbend Escargot, at
Nannup.
We researched the two
methods and decided that
the open enclosures of the
Italian system suited us best,
Jill explained. We had a big
setback 18 months ago,
when two dugites raided the
enclosures and ate our entire
breeding stock, so we had to
start again from scratch. For-
tunately the snails had re-
cently laid plenty of eggs, so
the farm was not totally de-
stroyed.
Since then, the couple have
modified their perimeter
For your nearest dealer in Australia or New Zealand, phone 0411 040848 or email to info@mightymate.com.au
48 Small FARMS
fencing which previously was
simply shadecloth to half a
metre in height. Now the
area is bounded by corru-
gated iron with soft bird net-
ting draped over the outside
surface.
Snakes dont like the loose-
ness of the netting, says Jill.
Jill and Ken hope to have
their first snails ready for sale
in about a year.
Every six weeks or so,
Robert Garreffa of Mondo
Carne Wholesale Butchers in
Perth buys about 150 dozen
pre-processed Australian-
produced snails ready to be
used in gourmet cooking.
We sell snails to hotels,
restaurants, caterers and a
few to customers in our re-
tail shop, Robert explains.
Unlike the imported canned
snails, they are not rubbery In this case corragated iron is added to the snail
and do not taste of brine. pen to reduce the threat of snakes entering the en-
They are very clean on the closure.
palate and have a texture may be a gourmet experience South Wales Ph: 02 4998
similar to oysters, although out there just waiting for 0030
they have their own flavour. you. Riversbend Escargo Nannup,
Check the garden. There Snails Bon Appetite, New WA. Ph: 08 9756 0918.
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just released with
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January/February 2009