On Saturday, several
of the nearby counties held “de ferme en
ferme” (from farm to farm) – a day where local producers opened their farms
for visits and tastings. Farmers who grow, or make, everything from almonds to
wine offered tours and tastings. There were vegetable farmers, honey makers,
olive oil presses, goat cheese makers, rabbit producers, candy makers and much
more. (www.defermeenferme.com)
Five of us loaded into
Jane’s car and headed north to visit some of the points listed on the map. Our
first destination: a snail farm. Les
escargots de l’enclave – that should translate to something like the snails
from the Enclave of the Pope. In the 1300s, Pope John XXII bought a region
including four villages north of here because he liked the wine they grew
there. But that is another story.
At Les Escargots de l’Enclave (http://lesescargotsdelenclave.over-blog.com/), we
got to see how they raise snails. First, they buy the small snails from another
farm in Normandy . Mr. Clavel held up a small wooden container –
like you might get when you buy a small round of Brie or Camembert – and
explained that the box held over 2,000 baby snails. (I read that snail eggs
don’t hatch. They develop and become snail shells.)
picture from lesescargotsdelenclave.over-blog.com
Mr. Clavel said that
the snails live in a fenced and protected area – the fencing is as much to keep
the snails in the farm area as to keep the predators out. Predators include a
variety of birds, fox and wild boars, but he quickly added that the greatest
predator is the summer heat of Provence . They grow two varieties of snails: le gros gris and le petit gris (the big and little grays). After about four months
of living in the grassy farm, the snails are harvested and sold. There are over
200 snail farms in France .
A tray of “Gros
Gris” snails.
I have always enjoyed
snails cooked with garlic-parsley butter (and I thank my sister Sue for
introducing us to them!) The farmer talked about grilling them and eating them
with a pepper (piquante) sauce which
I may have to try – though it is tough to top anything with garlic butter.
Bon appetit!
