The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-21

Not Pretty to Look at, for They Are
Served in the Shells, but Said by
Those Who Like Them to He De-
iiciOus When They Have Been
Dressed and stuRed-Trade Is ON
the Increase
Chicago is eating snails-thousands
upon thousands of them year. What
hve years ago was almost unknown as
an article of food in that city is just now
having run Of popularity that is a rev.
citation, even to the man who introduced
the snail and had confidence that after
the first shudder his customers would set
tie down to a realization that the snail
is not so bad as it looks.
The snail season has two months vet
to live. as 1t ends with the coming OF
spring. Already this season q Monroe
street restaurant man has imported from
France $4,000 snails, and he estimates that
this number will be doubled before the
season Is over II the demand keeps On in
creaslng proportfonately
Last season he served only 2O0Oo of the
imported delicacies, so it NAV be seen
that Chicago is really accepting the
French morsels as something fit to eat.
rive years ago, when this same restau
rant man was in business in the Masonic
Iemple, ne conceived the idea of attempt
Ing to populariZe the snail Himself q
Frenchman, the task did not seem diff
cult but he soon found that the average
American would not only "a bas'' the
SNAIL put more than once would fail to
return to the restaurant where SO aston
lshlng thing was sold. Undaunted. how
ever, he pursued in his campaign of
gastronomic education, until now he can
not import snails fast enough to sunn1v
his trade.
AT first he tried to sell the snails. He
might as well have put price on toads.
Ihen he tried giving them away. and this
met with better success. The average
American likes to get something for not h.
Ing, even If 1t Is only a snail, and soon
he had a number of converts.
Inc first year he gave away and sold
enough sna1ls to crafty his whim. The
next year there was real demand for
Stalls, an0 people paid for what they ate,
The next year the demand doubled. and
are that he will supply Chicago with
snails to the number Of 100000. This Is
only one snail to every 20 people in the
city, but the enthusiastic Frenchman as,
serts that within five years the ratio will
be reversed.
The edible snail puts it's worst side FORE
most, and that, perhaps, Is wby Chica:
goans We're slow to appreciate It's virtues.
Inc snail, when served, appears in its
shell and looks quite the same as 1t does
when mapping in the vineyards of France.
And even the fond mothers of these
comely., IA
STUFFED IN SHE'LL.
The shell, however, is only a mockerv.
as far as the snafl-op-t he-plate is con-
eerned. The dweller has unceremonious
ly been removed from It's home, cooked,
stuffed and returned to it. When it leaves
1t again 1t is on the end of fork or a
toothpick In the hand of the man who has
learned to like it in spite of its unprepos-
sessing appearance.
Hundreds of the snails are dressed and
stuffed at a time. Then as ordered thew
are taken from the ice and placed in an
oven for ten minutes, or until they are
delicate brown. Just what the course
of treatment is will not be known until
the French cooks become more com
mun1cative. Few cooks, even among the
French people,, are familiar with the
nlcet1es of properly preparing snail for
the table, and these guard their secret
jealously.
Eight snails, or what is known as
portion" is the order commonly served
The charge for portion is As cents.
Should the customer desire dozen snails
the price is go cents, or little more than
the charge for friend oysters.
The man who introduced the snails to
Chicago asserts that one snail contains
more nutriment than four oysters. Unlike
the oyster, the portions of the snail that
are served are composed of solid flesh.
In substance somewhat similar to the
breast of a quail. This same enthusiast
can talk for an hour on the flaws of a
SNAIL but 1t must be remembered that
he was born in France and learned to
like them there. Besides, he sells them.
Society, too, has taken up the snail. A
Monroe street restaurant man on Christ
mas night induced a North side theater
party to try his snails, and as a result
received an order for several dozen Of
them to be served AT a dinner next week.
There Is something insidious about the
SNAIL and, although 1t doesn't look it. it
1t bit of a beau. The man who is loud
est in his declarations that he would new
er eat such a creepy thing is generally
the one to eat the most of them, and
first to forget his prejudice Women
who would go into Mysteries at the sight
of a well-behaved mouse. take readily to
this same creepy snail.
The women, the importer says, are less
hostile to the snail than the men, because
they are more curious. The men look at
them, say "ugh! and then consider that
they must live up to their expression of
disgust. When they taste them they are
entrapped, for to eat is to become a con-
vert.
CULTIVATED IN FRANCE.
The edible snail is peculiarly a product
of France In the vineyards there 1t Is
cultivated and f1ourishes. In some parts
of the republic the snail industry Is quite
as important as the grape growing inter-
ests. and woe to the careless man who
in walking through a vineyard should
tread ON any of its shelled dwellers
The snail eats during spring and sum-
mer, and in the cold months its admirers
eat it. During the mild weather the snail
feeds on the grape leaves and satisfies its
appetite for the year. When the cold
weather approaches the snail retires to
it's shell and seals the mouth of the house
pfUVIicu Wy iidtuAO Will q Pel'eo "AAASii ~
produces from its mouth. Then. locked In
its abode in fancied security, 1T Is gath
cred I'D and bundled off for market.
The snail season, like the oyster season,
is limited to the months in the names of
which the letter 'r" appears. In the
warmer months the snail tires of the
humdrum existence 1t Is leading In the
closed shell and begins to think of it's
appetite Then It clears away the paste
covering over the mouth of its shell, and
in so doing spells itself for good. If by
any chance this covering has been broken
during the snairs trip from France, the