Far from the Parisian bistros serving Burgundy escargots, one Japanese man has discovered how to farm the slimy snails, a feat that has long eluded the French.
Takase Toshihide, 76, says he is “the only person in the world” who grows this special delicacy, having found the right conditions through trial and error over the course of 40 years.
The French embassy and industry insiders also believe that Takase is a unique case, having invested a large amount of money into teaching himself everything he can about the creature.
Burgundy snails (Escargots de Bourgogne), baked and stuffed with butter, garlic and parsley, have been part of French cuisine since the 19th century.
However, they are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity as they cannot adapt to crowded conditions and grow slowly, usually taking two to three years to reach adult size.
The mollusc, whose scientific name is Helix pomatia, has been a protected species in France since 1979, to save it from extinction.
Most of the thousands of tonnes of snails eaten by the population each year come from forested areas in Central and Eastern Europe.
About 5 percent is grown in France, but these are a different variety, Helix aspersa, which is easier to grow and does not bear the “Burgundy” name.
“45 years ago, my sister gave me some canned escargot as a gift on her way back from a trip to France,” Takase told AFP.
“But it didn’t taste good and it smelled awful,” the retired entrepreneur said.
Despite being “made fun of by everyone at first,” Takase became obsessed with producing himself.
–Perfect Conditions–
He voraciously read books on the subject and met with a Helix aspersa breeder in France to learn more.
It’s a niche interest everywhere, but extremely rare in Japan, where sea snails are part of a rich cuisine while land snails are considered pests that damage crops.
After seven years of bureaucratic wrangling, Takase received permission to breed Helix pomatia, imported 100 specimens from France, and started the farm.
The indoor facility in Matsusaka, a city halfway between Osaka and Nagoya, is called the Mie Escargot Development Laboratory.
The wooden boxes containing live Burgundy snails are stacked three layers deep on custom-made metal racks, with carefully controlled humidity and temperature.
Next door is a working metal foundry, the first business started by Takase, who previously ran several venture businesses.
He said the farm could produce up to 600,000 snails per year, shortening the growth period to just four months.
To achieve this, he adds a calcium-rich powder made from oyster shells to the moist soil, which helps the gastropods grow faster, bigger and stronger.
“The snails love it,” says Takase, who has been developing his own nutritious snail food from soybeans and corn for 20 years.
He added that he washes the food bowls by hand every three days because “snails like cleanliness.”
– “How much?” –
Visitors to the “lab” can taste Takase’s snails, which cost 9,900 yen ($60) for a pack of 30, though prices vary for restaurants and bulk purchases.
For now the operation is small-scale and domestic, but he wants to pass on his know-how to French snail farmers and has started negotiations with the French embassy in Japan.
William Blanche, co-president of France’s national federation of heliconia growers, told AFP the species “has a reputation of being impossible to propagate”.
He said it was “ironic” that the Burgundy snails eaten in France are not found anywhere near the canton that bears the same name, which is why he’s intrigued by Takase’s project.
Still, Blanche wondered how successful it would be.
“Would our consumers, who are used to a wide variety of snails, be interested? And what would the price be?”
A French snail industry insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also made a very important point.
“They should be delicious,” he says, but he’s skeptical that farmed Burgundy snails are as tasty as wild snails, which have a “strong forest flavour”.
But “I dream of one day seeing Burgundy escargots from France,” he added. “The marketing impact would be great.”
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