Tucked away on a property owned by the Peconic Land Trust in Cutchogue, you’ll find the country’s first USDA-certified snail farm.
Owner and chef Taylor Knapp has been raising the brown Petit gris snails since 2016 in the tiny greenhouse, where thousands of the species are contained in cages.
Inside, they happily munch on locally foraged greens like mugwort, dandelion, garlic mustard, burdock and sorrel. Their diet also consists of herbs and spent beer grains.
Filming this One Minute kind of felt like an episode of Planet Earth, getting an up-close look at these fascinating creatures.
Though the farm is not open to the public, you can find their escargot on many local and regional restaurant menus and they are available for sale at local shops including Southold Fish Market, The Village Cheese Shop in Mattituck, the Cheese and Spice Market in Wading River,. Bayview Market and Farms in Riverhead and the Eastport General Store.
Spend a minute there with us: