Snails
Snails are an important part in the diet of the characters in Captain Corelli’s
Mandolin. As we know, they were an important source of food when the war came.
Pelagia struggled to cook these molluscs in the right way. We can also say that snails
are an important part of the book. When Pelagia and the captain were searching for
these animals, they fell in love.
But what can we say about snails? They represent a large varied group of
shelled molluscs in the class Gastropoda. There are three kinds of snails: terrestrial,
fresh water and marine. Most of these animals’ shells are coiled to the right. The
European snails can grow from 1 to 1 ½ inches in the shell size. Snails are cold blooded
and they are very sensitive to atmospheric temperatures and humidity. When the
conditions are not right for activity they produce a mucus that seals the shell until
conditions get better.
The interesting thing about these animals is their reproduction. Snails are
hermaphroditic. This means that they have both male and female sex organs. Some of
these molluscs act as females in one season and males in another one. Snails are mature
enough for reproduction after about 9 months; they mate in late spring through late
summer. After mating, each are pregnant with an estimated 200 offspring a year.
Helix pomatia are also known as escargot. These are the snails which the French
treat as a delicacy, served in the finest French restaurants. Research has determined that
escargots contain vitamin A and C, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and iodine. The
meat alone is high in protein and quite low in calories.