3 January 2016 Helix Aspersa Maxima

Helix aspersa Maxima farming snail is a representative of the Helicidae family. It is known as the African snail, or large grey snail – Gros-Gris. It was brought to France from North Africa. It is distinguished from the Polish Helix Promatia snail by a much shorter farming cycle, as it reaches reproduction maturity within 5-7 months. This means that one season, i.e. the period between spring and autumn is enough to reach the size adequate for commercial and consumption purposes. An adult Helix Maxima snail weighs 15-40 grams and lays 120-180 eggs.

Both the Helix aspersa Maxima and Helix aspersa Müller varieties have undisputed nutritional benefits. They contain high quantities of protein, magnesium, calcium, copper, zinc and iodine in its meat. It also produces large quantities of secretion which contains glycolic acid, collagen, vitamins, natural antibiotics, elastin and alnatoin. This mixture of natural ingredients is an excellent cure for skin diseases. Snail secretion also provides the basis for production of medicines for asthma and tuberculosis. The moderate Polish climate is particularly favourable for farming of this species and thanks to its flavour, it is more and more often encountered on our tables.