Escargot is a dish of cooked land snails, usually served as an appetizer. The word is also sometimes applied to the living snails of those species which are commonly eaten. Escargot is the French word for snail. Not all species of snail are edible, but many are. Even among the edible species, the palatability of the flesh varies from species to species. In France, the species Helix pomatia is most often eaten. The petit-gris Helix aspersa is also eaten, as is Helix lucorum. Several additional species are popular in Europe; see heliciculture. Snails have been eaten for thousands of years, beginning in the Pleistocene. The word snail is a common name that can be used for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda which have coiled shells in the adult stage.
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