Sea snails are animal organisms belonging to the Phylum dei Clams and to the Class of Gastropods; they are distinguished from Cephalopods and Bivalves or Lamellibranchs by "the" possible "presence of a" SINGLE external shell (large or small), NEVER internal (typical of some Cephalopods) or double (external and typical of Bivalves or Lamellibranchs, such as clams or mussels).
NB. The following article will NOT deepen in detail the zoological classification of sea snails and marine gastropods in general, since, being the Animal Class with the largest number of Species in nature, it would require an excessive and irrelevant effort.
The term Gastropods derives from the Greek gaster And podos, that is to say foot under the belly (which identifies the shape of sea snails); these organisms feed on a raspy tongue (similarly to edible land snails) with which they devour algae and / or other animals (some species also have a marked tendency to necrophagia and saprophagia). Sea snails have visual organs placed above pseudo-antennae (better identifiable as tentacles) and protect themselves from natural predators by retreating into the calcareous shell (which, if present, contains the internal organs) glued to the foot. The latter is the organ responsible for movement, necessary for crawling or swimming. Of course, sea snails are gill and non-pulmonate gastropods.
The sea snails that we will discuss below are the edible ones of the Mediterranean Sea and are ALL provided with an external shell.
ATTENTION! Sea snails are NOT all edible! Some of them, well present also in the Mediterranean Sea, are particularly toxic and can seriously harm human health. It is advisable to ALWAYS obtain supplies from authorized dealers and to limit the autonomous collection only to well-known species..
Sea snails
The snails they are sea snails of different Family, Genus and Species; the most common are:
- Nassarius mutabilis: also known as Lumachino Tombolino, Nassa; it is the sea snail par excellence. It is 2-3.5cm long with a smooth and brown-yellow shell
- Littorina neritoides: also known as Maruzziella; it is 1 to 1.2cm long (no more than 3cm), with a dark color sometimes tending to greenish
Sea snails
For snails of sea means the largest species of snails, therefore mainly:
- Haustellum brandaris: called Murice; it is 6-8cm long, has extensions like thorns, the shape is squat but at the end of the siphon it stretches. The surface is rough and yellow or brown in color
- Hexaplex trunculus: called truncated Murice; it is bigger than the previous one (up to 8cm), it does not have the thorns and the rear extension of the siphon. The color is light and brown or green-violet stripes
- Galeodea plauta, wrinkled etc.: it is 5-14cm long, with a streaked-wrinkled surface of a light yellowish color.
Sea ears and limpets
They are slightly different from the classic snails and snails, but still used for food purposes; the main ones are:
- Haliotis: called Ear of the Sea or Abalone; has a "unique Species. It is 2,5-3cm long, with an outer shell in the shape of an ear, wrinkled, provided with a row of holes for breathing.
- Patella caerulea: also called Patella; it has a conical, striped shell with a color that varies between brown and beige-yellowish.
Hygienic, culinary and nutritional properties
Sea snails are foods potentially at risk of viral contamination; it is strictly necessary that when purchased they are alive and that they are consumed by the TOTAL cooking of the food (absolutely NOT raw).
The cases of viral hepatitis transmitted through the intake of limpets and raw abalone are very high, which is why it is not considered a microbiologically safe mode of consumption.
The cooking of sea snails must be proportionate to the size of the specific animal and respect preparation procedures suitable for the species in question. Excessive heat treatment significantly hardens the meat making it difficult to chew.
NB. Sea snails are NOT easily digestible foods and their consumption should be limited to maximum portions of 250g SHELL INCLUDED (about 60-80g clean, depending on the species).
Sea snails, as well as abalone and limpets, are niche foods, scarcely consumed by the population of the hinterland; for this reason, the relative information is scarce and sometimes insufficient.
Broadly speaking, sea snails possess the same characteristics as bivalve molluscs and cephalopods. The energetic intake is rather limited and the most quantitatively present energetic macronutrients are proteins (with high biological value). Fats are few, limited as well as carbohydrates; there is no detailed information regarding the cholesterol intake. In the meat of sea snails, some research sources have shown an excellent content of iron, potassium and sodium.
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