On the outskirts of Vienna, farmer Andreas Gugumuck sprinkles some extra grain to thousands of snails crawling over boards and lush greenery. Far from being vermin, the slow-moving mollusks have become its main product.
“It started as a joke,” said 48-year-old Gugumuck, a former computer scientist who now raises more than 300,000 snails a year in a bid to revive a lost Habsburg culinary tradition.
Twelve years ago, an article about a renowned Viennese chef who served snails piqued his interest. After some research and poring over old cookbooks, he “found that Vienna is a real snail capital”.
Back when religious holidays were strictly observed in this predominantly Catholic country, wealthy priests and monks had to forgo meat during Lent and other religious holidays — and found snails as a worthy, less sinful substitute.
In the 19th century, snails gained popularity across Vienna, with a market at the center where they were fried, sprinkled with sugar, or served with cabbage or bacon.
Although France is known for its garlic and butter snails, snails used to be so popular in Vienna that they were shipped down the Danube in barrels.
– ‘It’s a great taste’ –
At Gugumuck’s restaurant next to his farm, he now serves snails in risottos and on pizzas, stuffed in dumplings, with sausage, as “snail and chips,” and even in sweet cinnamon rolls.
It wasn’t easy making it in the snail business, he said. He recalled how chefs across the city initially wrinkled their noses, thinking diners would steer clear of intimidating invertebrates.
But Gugumuck began hosting events and tours at his snail farm to revive the tradition, and today some of those chefs eye the small budding business with envy, which Gugumuck says books up eight weeks in advance.
Greater awareness of the environmental impact of eating meat has also helped boost business, according to Gugumuck. Snails take up little space, water or food, but he said they’re packed with four times the protein of beef, making them “a real food of the future.”
Gugumuck’s customers are, for the most part, pleasantly surprised.
“It tastes great, you have to try it,” said Patrick Filzmaier, a 33-year-old bank employee who attended a wine tasting in the courtyard with electronic music.
He compared the taste to nuts, meat and baked goods.
“It’s small, but it fills you up,” he said.
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