French Country · Encyclopedia · Pottery and Earthenware
Snail pot
A rustic terracotta pot, once common in the Centre of France, used to keep snails fasting before they were cooked. Similar wide-based pots come from the Indre; in Provence they are taller and glazed.
French: escargotière · Centre of France · terracotta
At a glance
- Region: Centre of France, Indre
- Material: plain terracotta
- Use: purging snails before cooking
- Provençal variant: taller and glazed
What it is
Gathered snails had to fast for several days before cooking, to empty their digestive systems of anything they had eaten. The escargotière held them, with a cover that let air in but kept them from escaping.
Regional forms
The book shows a rare plain terracotta example from the Centre and notes that pots with a wide base were also made in the Indre, while Provençal snail pots are taller and glazed.
Collecting and using one today
Plain unglazed pots are fragile and few survive intact. Check the rim and base for chips.
A snail pot makes an unusual planter or kitchen utensil holder, with a conversation-starting story.
Source: Les Trésors de France: vieux métiers et objets d'autrefois (Éditions Rustica, Détours en France collection, 1995), pp. 130–135, with general background on the object. The book was published in 1995, so workshops, people and figures are described as they were then. Regional names and dates are given as the book records them; a style or a region of origin does not by itself date an individual piece.