Snails

Snails are eaten by humans in many areas such as Africa, Southeast Asia and Mediterranean Europe, while in other cultures, snails are seen as a taboo food. In English, edible land snails are commonly called escargot, from the French word for 'snail'. Snails as a food date back to ancient times, with numerous cultures worldwide having traditions and practices that attest to their consumption. In the modern era snails are farmed, an industry known as heliciculture. The snails are collected after the rains and are put to "purge" . In the past, the consumption of snails had a marked seasonality, from April to June. Now, snail-breeding techniques make them available all year. Heliciculture occurs mainly in Spain, France, and Italy, which are also the countries with the greatest culinary tradition of the snail. Although throughout history the snail has had little value in the kitchen because it is considered "poverty food", in recent times it can be classified as a delicacy thanks to the appreciation given to it by haute cuisine chefs. Escargot, French pronunciation: [ɛskaʁɡo] ⓘ, comes from the French term for snail. Usage of the French word "escargot" dates back to 1892. The French word, first recorded in the 14th century, derives from escaragol (Provençal) and then escargol (Old French). It ultimately traces back through Vulgar Latin coculium and Classical Latin conchylium to the Ancient Greek konchylion (κογχύλιον), which meant "edible shellfish, oyster". The Online Etymological Dictionary notes that the form of the word in Provençal and French seems to have been influenced by words related to the scarab.

Source: Wikipedia