From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
1. a gastropod mollusk with a shell. When the ancient Romans brought grapevines to France, they also brought one of their favorite foods, the snail. Today, the large black Burgundy, or vineyard, snail is considered to be the premium food snail, and an entire ritual has developed around its consumption in the French wine country of the same name and wherever snails are available. The petit-gris snail, as its name indicates, is smaller and gray and is found in the southern part of France. 2. see butterhorn.
