L’ESCARGOTS
From page 34
eggs, with a good layer
producing about 3g of eggs a
cycle.
The eggs are laid in a
specially prepared laying
medium, in which the
pregnant layer buries herself
for the laying process.
Under commercial production conditions these eggs are
then removed and hatched
artificially, the tiny hatchlings
then being grown out for a
few weeks under careful
control before they are
placed in their growing
containers or outside beds.
The layer will not start laying
until she feels conditions are
right, so by withholding her
from the laying medium one
can to an extent regulate
one's rate of supply of eggs,
and thus hatchlings, to suit
one's production requirements.
But, there's more: Snail eggs
are a highly prized ~ and
highly priced ~ gourmet
foodstuff, dubbed “white
caviar”. In the UK, for
example, a 75g jar of snail
eggs retails for £90 (more
than R1 800 at today's
exchange rate).
Having spent more than three
years experimenting with snail
production, carefully selecting
snails that have shown
superior genetic abilities as
layers, and of quick-growing
progeny, and adjusting certain
aspects such as the snails' diet
to compensate for the effects
of the high altitude of
Gauteng, Micallef finds his
entire harvest is readily
snapped up by buyers at food
markets and by word of
mouth.
Under conventional conditions snail meat needs, of
course, to be refrigerated (it
can be frozen if required).
Given the tiny amounts
involved (an average serving is
not usually more than half a
dozen or a dozen snails)
refrigerated transport over any
distance becomes prohibitively expensive. New
packaging methods make it
feasible to transport small
quantities over long distances,
with no effect on flavour or
texture, and with long-term
storage possible.
Thus, if there was sufficient
production, it becomes
feasible to serve markets
countrywide, even
overborder, by courier or
even mail, says Micallef. This
opens up the possibility, he
believes, of serving leading
restaurants and high-end
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tourist lodges throughout the
continent, where rich
European guests are not
prepared to be fobbed off
with a tinned snail as a
substitute.
Demand far outstrips his
ability to supply and he is
thus looking for smallholders
with suitable ground, or
buildings, to increase
production.
Prospective growers will be
able to buy hatchlings from
him as well as the speciallydesigned shadenet fencing,
and specially-formulated
highveld dry feed. Micallef
will also advise growers on a
consultancy basis.
Finally, when the crop is
ready Micallef can be
approached to buy the l