thought they were a legend. By the time I moved to Brixton they had certainly become one. Thanks to an animal rights campaign, Giant African Land Snails were banned from Brixton Market, as "animals with feelings, just like us". Although I do sympathise (to a degree) with the campaigners' cause, why not then go down on trade in crabs and mussels right next door? Be consistent.But today I spotted them again. They do look quite surreal, somewhat like giant overgrown bigorneaux. Ghana Tiger Snails , as they are also known, grow up to 30cm. The gastropod, or the foot muscle, is what is used for consumption. Snails being hermaphrodites, it contains both the penis and the vagina. The shells need to be cracked, the meaty part scrubbed with alum and boiled in water until it becomes dribbly. Stir-fry with chopped bell peppers, tomatoes and onions. Use palm oil and Scotch bonnet pepper (SUPER hot!) for authentic West African flavouring.
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Currently these animals are pests and threaten many of our crops and gardens. They are an invasive species and in my country we have to report to the MIn of Agriculture if you spot any.
ReplyDeletePerhaps exporting them to the UK for consumption by our African-born population could be a part of possible solution. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your page about African cooking in general. I live in Nigeria (as an expat) and I learned a thing or two!! I linked to your blog from my own recipe blog. Keep it up, intrepid explorer!
ReplyDeleteThe snails they sell in Brixton Market are Archachatina marginata (margies) and Achatina achatina (tigers). These species are becoming rarer and rarer in the wild in Africa, due to being collected, eaten and sold for food. This is one of the reasons why there has been campaigns to stop their sale. It's possible that they could become extinct in the wild if they continue to be collected en masse for food.
ReplyDeleteAchatina fulica are the snails generally considered to be pests, as they're far far more prolific breeders (and can tolerate a far wider range of conditions) than margies or tigers. In addition, they are nutritionally the same for eating. Those of us who wish to see the sale of margies and tigers stopped at Brixton don't want to take a source of livelihood away from the already hard-pressed stallholders of Brixton Market, so we'd far prefer to see fulica sold instead of margies or tigers. There is certainly no danger of fulicas becoming extinct or rare - they can lay hundreds of eggs at a time with an extremely high hatch rate!
The other issue that's generally held with the snails sold at Brixton is the rather unpleasant conditions they're sold in. Piled into buckets, covered with mud, poop, broken snail eggs, slime and the delightful fluid of rotting dead snail bodies, it's not the most hygenic of ways to keep food that's for sale.
Great point, Anonymous! Now we need to find a way to get that across to Brixton market sellers.
ReplyDeletestill for sale in dreadful conditions in rye lane- reminds me of the trade in wild caught tortoises back in the 70's the way theyre piled on top of one another in boxes. they can make an interesting and surprisingly endearing pet but can live for a decade or more in captivity and cannot be released into the wild in the UK.
ReplyDeletePlease can you tell me if you know what days they are on sale asap as wishto go this week many thanks michelle
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