英汉双语阅读36：全球有40000多种蜗牛，哪些是可食用的？

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Snails: How are They Farmed, Cooked, Eaten, and More

蜗牛：如何养殖、烹饪、食用等

What are snails?

蜗牛是什么？

Snails are featured heavily as part of the local cuisine in France (where they’re called escargot) and India. They are also part of the typical cuisines of Greece, Cyprus, Malta, and some North African countries.

蜗牛是法国（在那里它们被称为escargot）和印度当地美食的重要组成部分。它们也是希腊、塞浦路斯、马耳他和一些北非国家典型美食的一部分。

Snails are usually featured as a luxurious appetizer or entree in these countries and are an iconic dish in French cuisine. Large land snails—such as helix snails—are usually the type used in escargot dishes.

在这些国家，蜗牛通常是豪华的开胃菜或主菜，也是法国美食中的标志性菜肴。大型陆地蜗牛——如螺旋蜗牛——通常是蜗牛菜肴中使用的类型。

You can buy snails fresh from the seafood counter, buy them canned, or find snails in the frozen food section of your local grocery store.

你可以从海鲜柜台购买新鲜的蜗牛，也可以买罐头蜗牛，或者在当地杂货店的冷冻食品区找到蜗牛。

Where do snails originate from?

蜗牛是从哪里来的？

Humans have used many species of snail as food since prehistoric times, evidenced by the roasted shells of land snails found in multiple archeological excavations in the Middle East and Europe. Edible snails were considered a delicacy and an elite food by the ancient Romans.

自史前时代以来，人类就使用了许多种类的蜗牛作为食物，中东和欧洲的多次考古发掘中发现的烤蜗牛壳就是明证。食用蜗牛被古罗马人认为是一种美味佳肴。

Snails came to the U.S. in the 1850s through immigrants who were from France and trying to reproduce their native dish. Soon, snails became a featured item in luxury dining, and by the 1980s, edible snails were a $300 million business in the U.S.

19世纪50年代，蜗牛通过来自法国的移民来到美国，他们试图复制自己的本土菜肴。很快，蜗牛就成了高档饮食中的特色菜品，到20世纪80年代，食用蜗牛在美国已经成为一项价值3亿美元的生意。

How are snails harvested?

蜗牛是如何收获的？

Outside of the snail farming industry, helix aspersa, helix locurum, and helix pomatia snails are all found naturally in Europe and can be wild-caught. Whether wild-caught or farm-raised, snail production is very labor-intensive which is reflected in the high price tag of this delicacy.

在蜗牛养殖业之外，螺旋纹蜗牛、螺旋纹室蜗牛和螺旋纹波马蒂亚蜗牛都是在欧洲自然发现的，可以野生捕获。无论是野生捕获还是农场养殖，蜗牛的生产都是非常费劳力的，这一点反映在这种美食的高昂价格上已经有所反映。

How are wild-caught edible snails harvested?

野生的可食用蜗牛是如何收获的？

During the autumn and early winter seasons, in the wilderness of Eastern France, snails are collected by escargot harvesters usually after heavy rains, which is when these little creatures are more active. Each snail from this region is wild-caught, put into baskets, and taken to processing plants.

在秋季和初冬季节，在法国东部的荒野中，蜗牛通常在大雨后被蜗牛收割机采集，而这正是这些小生物更活跃的时候。这一地区的每只蜗牛都是野生捕捉后，放入篮子，然后送往加工厂。

At the processing plants, the snails are species separated, then starved and refrigerated until they fall into hibernation. They are then inspected, washed, scalded, and pulled out of their shells, and the meat is flash-boiled.

在加工厂，蜗牛被分为不同的物种，然后被饿着并冷藏，直到它们进入冬眠状态。之后对它们进行检查、清洗、焯水，并将其从壳中取出，然后将肉快速煮熟。

The snails are then sized according to which escargot products they will be used for. Some snails go into pâtés, hors d’oeuvre or preserves. The large and extra-large snail meats are cooked and canned in broth, and the smaller snail meats are re-shelled usually with a garlic butter paste.

然后根据蜗牛将用于哪种蜗牛产品对蜗牛进行大小分类。一些蜗牛会被放入馅饼、开胃菜或蜜饯中。大的和特大的蜗牛肉都是在肉汤中烹饪并罐装的，较小的蜗牛肉通常用大蒜黄油酱处理后重新装入壳里。

How are farmed edible snails harvested?

养殖食用蜗牛是如何收获的？

Snail farms grow and raise their snails in artificial ecosystems. A snail farmer needs enough space to keep 20 snails per square inch. They need to be fed well, have calcium added to their feed, and kept in a moist and humid environment. The right equipment is also needed to regulate feed and water, control the climate, and measure temperature and humidity.

蜗牛养殖场在人工生态系统中养殖蜗牛。蜗牛养殖户需要足够的空间来饲养每平方英寸20只蜗牛。它们需要得到良好的喂养，在饲料中添加钙，并保持在潮湿的环境中。还需要合适的设备来调节饲料和水，控制气候，测量温度和湿度。

Growth is measured by shell size since a snail’s weight fluctuates a lot. Snail farmers then pick out and keep the largest snails that mature the fastest for their breeding stock.

由于蜗牛的体重波动很大，所以其生长过程是通过外壳大小来衡量的。蜗牛养殖户然后挑选并保存成熟最快且最大的蜗牛作为繁殖种群。

Before preparing snails for eating, farmers feed them to clear out grit, then starve them, so their digestive systems are empty – this is known as purging. Then they are removed from their shells and cooked in either broth, wine, or garlic butter.

在准备吃蜗牛之前，农民们先喂它们以清除砂砾，然后让它们饿着，使它们的消化系统排空——这就是所谓的清肠。之后将它们从壳中取出，放入肉汤、葡萄酒或大蒜黄油中烹饪。

The snails are then either placed back in the shells with the butter paste or placed in special, indented snail bowls for individual snail servings.

接着，将蜗牛与黄油酱一起放回壳中，或者放在特殊的锯齿状蜗牛碗中，以供单独食用。

What are the different varieties of snails?

蜗牛有哪些不同的品种？

There are over 40,000 different species of land, sea, and freshwater snails categorized. Of these, only a few are actually eaten.

陆地、海洋和淡水蜗牛共有40000多种。在这些品种中，只有少数被食用。

The most popular snail is the Burgundy snail (Helix pomatia) which is often known as “the land lobster” for its superior flavor and texture. It is also the most commonly used edible snail.

最受欢迎的蜗牛是勃艮第蜗牛（波马蒂亚螺纹蜗牛，即罗马蜗牛），它因其卓越的风味和质地而被称为“陆地龙虾”。它也是最常用的食用蜗牛。

There are 3 main species of helix snails that are edible or used in most snail dishes and products:

螺旋蜗牛主要有三种，可供食用或用于大多数蜗牛菜肴和产品：

• Roman or Burgandy snail (Helix pomatia) 罗马或勃艮第蜗牛
• Garden snail (Helix aspersa) 花园蜗牛
• European snail (Helix lucorum) 欧洲蜗牛

How are fresh snails served or eaten?

新鲜蜗牛是如何烹饪或食用的？

Snails feature widely in European cuisine and are especially common in France. They are usually an entree or served as an appetizer, and your best chance of finding somewhere that serves snails is trying a high-end or specialty French restaurant.

蜗牛在欧洲美食中较为普及，在法国尤为常见。它们通常是主菜或开胃菜，你找到供应蜗牛的地方的最佳机会是去高档或特色法国餐厅。

Traditionally, snails cooked French-style, will be baked in the shell and cooked in parsley and garlic butter. The taste and texture of snails are similar to eating mussels but chewier. The snails will also take on the flavor of whatever they’re cooked in, which is why fresh snails in garlic butter are such a highly regarded cuisine amongst foodies.

传统上，蜗牛是法式烹饪的，会在壳里烤，然后用欧芹和大蒜黄油烹饪。蜗牛的味道和质地与吃贻贝相似，但更耐嚼。蜗牛也会吸收任何烹饪调料的风味，这就是为什么新鲜的大蒜黄油蜗牛在美食家中备受推崇的原因。

Other snail products include snail broth or snail soup and dried snail crackers or noodles.

其他蜗牛产品包括蜗牛肉炖汤或蜗牛汤以及干蜗牛脆饼或面条。

Outside of Europe, other cuisines have their own way of serving this delicious mollusk as a dish:

在欧洲以外，其他美食也有自己的方式将这种美味的软体动物作为菜肴：

• In Indonesia, snails are fried as satay, which is a dish known as “satay kakul”.

在印度尼西亚，蜗牛被炒成沙爹，这是一道被称为“沙爹kakul”的菜。

• In Greece, when cooking Cretan cuisine, snails are boiled in white wine with bay leaves, celery, and shallots. Then the snails are coated with flour and fried in rosemary and vinegar.

在希腊，烹饪克里特岛美食时，蜗牛是在白葡萄酒中与月桂叶、芹菜和小葱一起煮的。 然后把蜗牛裹上面粉，放入迷迭香和醋中油炸。

• In Nagaland, India, freshwater snails are prepared with axone (soybean) and pork meat, then cooked in broth with herbs. Locally this dish is called “hamok.”

在印度那加兰，淡水蜗牛是用轴突（大豆）和猪肉制成的，然后在肉汤中用香草烹饪。 在当地，这道菜被称为“hamok”。

• In Moroccan cuisine, snails are cooked in hot water in a jar together with spices and herbs. This dish is a popular street food called “Ghlal”.

在摩洛哥菜中，蜗牛与香料和香草一起在罐子里的热水中烹饪。这道菜是一种很受欢迎 的街头美食，叫做“Ghlal”。

What should I look for when buying snails at the grocery store?

在杂货店买蜗牛时，我应该找什么？

You’ll find fresh snails in the seafood section of your grocery store.

你会在杂货店的海鲜区找到新鲜的蜗牛。

When shopping for fresh snails, ask at your fresh seafood counter for snails that have already been cultivated for sale, i.e. snails that are at least a week from the water.

在购买新鲜蜗牛时，请在您的新鲜海鲜柜台询问已经培养待售的蜗牛，即离水至少一周的蜗牛。

Snails can also be bought pre-cooked and canned for convenience, or you can also buy them frozen.

为了方便，蜗牛也可以买预制的和罐装的，或者你也可以买冷冻的。

How to store snails

如何储存蜗牛

Once you have bought them, keep fresh snails refrigerated between 2°C to 6°C for around 2 days. Generally, it is recommended to use fresh snails as soon as you can. As snails can carry parasites and other pathogens, it is best to keep snails separate from other food items.

购买后，将新鲜蜗牛冷藏在2°C至6°C之间约2天。一般来说，建议尽快使用新鲜的蜗牛。由于蜗牛会携带寄生虫和其他病原体，最好将蜗牛与其他食物分开。

Although snails can be frozen, freezing any kind of shelled fish or mollusk can lead to a deterioration in flavor.

虽然蜗牛可以冷冻，但冷冻任何一种有壳的鱼或软体动物都会导致味道变差。

Canned, pre-cooked snails are sold in a preserve or broth, so it is best to follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions.

预先煮熟的蜗牛罐头装在保鲜膜或肉汤中出售，因此最好遵循制造商的储存说明。

【Source】www.instacart.com

【Translated by】Spark Liao (廖怀宝)

【Illustration】From Bing

请点击Snails: How are They Farmed, Cooked, Eaten, & More – Instacart，查看更多原文信息。