[HPFGU-OTChatter] Slugs

[Michela Ecks]

naama_gat at hotmail.com wrote:
> 
> I've done a little search on the net to find whether slugs are
> edible. The only information I found was indirect:
> "The edible gastropods include the abalone and other marine snails,
> such as the conch and the periwinkle, and land snails of various
> types." (from http://www.geocities.com/hibiscusred/bug/other2.htm)
> >From this I gather that slugs are not edible (the essay writer
> differentiates between snails and slugs. Gastropods is the term that
> covers both).

"It is possible that some kinds of slug are edible. Unverified
information was received that some native tribes in the northeast of
North America considered a particular slug to be a delicacy."
http://www.powerup.com.au/~swimskins/slug_snail_FAQ.html


The hardest part is holding it
A joy to drop the curl into steam,
Parboil it, quickly, vengefully. 

You drain the melted snot
Away from creek or brake.
And thrust a thumb
Into the half-congealed guts. 

What's left is firm, white,
And altogether mild.
Garlic, butter, and you've escargot
You've earned your appetite. 
http://members.aol.com/frajm/slug.htm



These, usually yellow-colored, creatures can be found in moist areas
on Alcatraz. They can reach up to 15-20 cm in length. The slime
produced by the slugs assists them in their movements, water
retention and defense. Their diet is varied, consisting of vegetation,
fungi and dead animals. 

Despite their apparently unsavory and slimey nature, the slugs are
edible. Numerous "slug festivals" and "slug races" are held yearly.
Part of these festivities often include slug recipe/cooking contests. 
http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz/nature3.html


http://www.growinglifestyle.com/hand323/pest/slug/index.html indicates
Pear Slugs are edible.
-- 
Michela Ecks - mecks at prodigy.net - Textual Poacher - Spastic Hale Girl
"Babylon 5 was last of the Babylon stations. There would never be
another. It changed the future and it changed us. It taught us that we
have to create the future or others will do it for us. It taught us
that we have to care for one other, because if we don't, who will? And
that true strength sometimes comes from the most unlikely of places.
Mostly though, I think it gave us hope that there can always be new
beginnings, even for people like us." - Susan Ivanova