Gastronomiquement Incorrect Snails and Frogs’ Legs

I have come across many French people who find snails and frogs’ legs distasteful but many, many more who cannot see what the fuss is about. As with other ‘taboo’ dishes such as tripe, any repulsion is subliminally linked to the fact that these are scavenged, leftover foods which were once strongly associated with poverty and starvation, as opposed to gastronomy and culinary delight.

Today, scavengers have become gatherers, as hunger appears far down the list of why one should eat such animals as frogs and snails, which are now very rarely hunted in the wild and prepared from scratch at home. They are more likely to come from farms, many of which are outside France.