Boubouristi snails

Bourbouristi snails or Chochli

Among the basic dishes of the Cretan cuisine, “chochli” or snails are among the most delicious. Try the boubouristi (top photo) version fried in olive oil and then adding vinegar, salt, pepper, and rosemary or boiled (bottom photo), with sourdough, rice, or red sauce and in many other variations. The scientific name for this variety of Cretan snails is Helix Aspersa Muller.

Two basic snail varieties are harvested on the island of Crete: the small white snails that are gathered during their summer slumber, and the fat snails that are large and brown in color and are harvested from February to June, when they are at the largest, as well as during their summer slumber. The fat snails are the type that is made a la Βourgignonne and are beloved by the Cretans for their cooking-pots recipes.

Recent studies have shown the meat of the snail is among the most positive nutritional factors of the Mediterranean diet.