With only 12 days to go until the main festival of the year in Soller, Es Firo, Fira i Firo, it is now time that you should have collected your snails.
The locals in Soller are opposite to snails. They do not come out in the rain. However, you may have noticed some walking around these days in the rain with buckets or of a night time with torches in certain Olivars and mountain areas.
In Es Fira i Firo it is traditional to eat snails. A lot of snails. Each family may collect between 5 and 10 kilos, fattening them up on bread and keeping them in cages in the lead up to Es Firo.
But how do you get them to stay in the bucket whilst collecting them? Here is one of my locals tips. Simply put some lemon and salt around the rim of the bucket. This deters them from escaping.
So, if you see snails as tapas in a bar, now is a great time to try them as they are not good to eat all year round, and only readily available now.
They are cooked in a stew with ham and potatoes, and served with 'Aioli', a strong garlic mayonnaise.
Living in France since a couple of years, snails are still something I just can't do.... even tho my parents back in Canada use to eat them often. I don't mind touching them (especially to show my kids) but eating them..nope
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