With the first week of September, after the summer break, the weekly appointment with “Il Gusto della Salute” returns, the online column edited by the immunologist Mauro Minelli, head of the Foundation for Personalized Medicine for Southern Italy.
To resume the journey into the world of food, the experts of “the Taste of Health” have chosen one of the oldest in human history, counted among the “wild” food products. His harmlessness combined with a proverbial slowness, properties decidedly disadvantageous for her, represented for the “hunter” man, accustomed to much more demanding undertakings, a real “invitation to lunch”.
We will talk in detail about land snails, more commonly known as land snails or monaceddhre (monacelle) in the traditional restaurant of the Salento area where they represent a living testimony of the Apulian rural and cultural heritage.
Consumed by the ancestors in large quantities, as confirmed by the findings, in prehistoric caves, of real heaps of empty and well-cleaned shells, land snails have always been part of the food tradition of our country and, although little mentioned, are of law in the schemes of the Mediterranean Diet.
Until recently, their consumption was dependent on the climatic trend, in turn linked to the habit of these molluscs to come out of their burrows immediately after the rains. It was then that they were caught with great ease; They were then purged in the bran to eliminate residues of herbs or poisonous mushrooms, and then cooked to be served in delicious courses and compatible with any diet. Now, however, it is much more difficult to find snails in the wild on the market, as they are almost all farmed.
Although not exactly easy to eat (emblematic in this sense is Vivien’s famous scene with snails à la Bourguignonne in Pretty Woman), their tender meat is considered a valuable food from a dietary point of view. But is their nutritional profile really compatible with everyone’s needs? What is it that makes them valuable from a dietary point of view? Are there any contraindications to their consumption? Is it true that in the past they were ingested alive to cure gastritis? And why are they sometimes difficult to digest?
In the next episode 2 Septemberas always shared on the ADNKronos channels, from the stands of a famous festival, unique of its kind and dedicated to the monaceddhra, the topic will be deepened in its historical, gastronomic and health details, in the context of a valuable and exclusive food experience.
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