Learn about how the Nomad Helix Aspersa is raised, grown and prepared for your enjoyment

Reproduction

When the escargots are collected at the end of the fattening period, between July and September, the best escargots are selected for reproduction and sorted. They are dried, then stored at 4°c until mid-January of the following year, when the reproductive process begins again.
Reproduction and hatching take place between January and April. Levels of humidity and temperature in the reproduction room are maintained to recreate the natural environment; each escargot lays 80 eggs on average.
Eggs are checked and placed in peat soil on aluminium plates, then taken to the hatching pen.

Hatching

The eggs are incubated for 18 to 25 days.
Once hatched, the baby escargots are collected and placed in wooden boxes to be taken to the nurseries to grow and gain weight.

In the nurseries

Again, temperature and humidity is closely controlled with heating and a sprinkler system to ensure optimum natural growing conditions for our Helix escargots.
No more than 4000 baby escargots per square metre flourish and grow, with grass and brassicas to eat and planks under which to shelter.

The young escargots are then released into grassy outdoor pens (planted with brassicas and grasses) in early May. Fed and hydrated, they grow and mature under our expert care, reaching full maturity after 20 to 30 weeks.

At this point the next generation of reproducers is selected.

At the end of the fattening period, late September, the soiled pens are ploughed and covered in lime, then left unused for 7 months to create optimal hygiene conditions. This rotation ensures a healthy environment for our gastropods and limits mortality.