Know2eat

Escargot

Helix pomatia

What escargot has been studied for

1 association assessed — none with dependable human evidence behind them yet. Strongest first.

  • 1 Insufficient
3 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About escargot

Farmed and wild-gathered terrestrial gastropods, purged before cooking and traditionally served in garlic and parsley butter. The USDA entry here is the raw animal, without the butter that accounts for most of the energy in the finished dish.

Also known as Land snail, Burgundy snail, Petit-gris, Escargots de Bourgogne

Muscle & Physical Performance

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Insufficient

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Muscle protein synthesis

Muscle & Physical Performance
Insufficient evidence

Evidence is limited for snails in human nutrition research. They are lean and protein-dense, but no human trial has used them and portions are small.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Escargot

Ask about Escargot

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories90 kcal5%
Protein16.1 g32%
Total fat1.4 g2%
Carbohydrate2 g1%
Fibre0 g0%
Total sugars0 g—
Water79.2 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.361 g2%
Monounsaturated fat0.259 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0.252 g—
Cholesterol50 mg17%
EPA (omega-3)0.119 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0.099 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.017 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A30 µg3%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Vitamin E5 mg33%
Vitamin K0.1 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.01 mg1%
Riboflavin (B2)0.12 mg9%
Niacin (B3)1.4 mg9%
Vitamin B60.13 mg8%
Folate6 µg2%
Vitamin B120.5 µg21%
Choline65 mg12%
Minerals
Calcium10 mg1%
Iron3.5 mg19%
Magnesium250 mg60%
Phosphorus272 mg22%
Potassium382 mg8%
Sodium70 mg3%
Zinc1 mg9%
Copper0.4 mg44%
Selenium27.4 µg50%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene0 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash1.3 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Mollusks, snail, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 167744).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • cookedReduces Angiostrongylus larvae

    Thorough cooking inactivates rat lungworm larvae. Snails are also purged for several days before cooking, a practice aimed at gut contents rather than at parasites.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Worth knowing

    Rat lungworm in raw or undercooked snails

    Land snails and slugs are intermediate hosts for Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lungworm, which causes eosinophilic meningitis in people. Outbreaks have followed eating raw or undercooked snails and, in several documented cases, swallowing a live snail on a dare. Thorough cooking inactivates the larvae; washing produce that snails have crawled over is part of the same advice in endemic regions.

  • Allergy

    Snail allergy and the dust mite connection

    Snail allergy is well described and strongly associated with house dust mite sensitisation through shared tropomyosin, so people allergic to mites can react on a first exposure to snails. Reactions have included anaphylaxis.

  • Too much

    Most of the dish is butter

    The classic preparation delivers considerably more energy, saturated fat and sodium from the garlic butter than from the snails, which are very lean.