Due to family inheritance, the brothers Jorge and Raúl Benito They had some agricultural land in Ciudad Rodrigo that their relatives wanted them to use..
They accepted the challenge and, although they dedicated themselves to other tasks, in 2005 They founded the company Helix Zamarro, dedicated to the snail breeding.
“We put the blanket over our heads and, since we didn't know what this little world was like, “We looked for information on the Internet and visited several farms in Spain before preparing everything and introducing the first animals in 2007.”, Jorge Benito tells SALAMANCA24HORAS.
These mollusks came from a company in Zaragoza, Well, although the ones they raise are almost similar to those that exist on the street, They needed to have some who arrived prepared for this terrain.
Himself It has two fattening areas 3.100 metros made up of corridors full of vegetation, irrigation, enclosure networks, anti-leak profiles and some panels known as shelters.
“The snails settle in these areas in spring and feed on nature and food., which causes them to grow quickly and have soft, white meat that is highly appreciated in gastronomy..
Shelters provide them with warmth or coolness when they need it.
Besides, That's where we pick them up in the summer., less than six months after birth, "Well, it would be impossible to go into the vegetation to look for them.", explains Benito.
They are immersed in this task during the month of August.. Of these plots, The animals are moved to a drying shed with fans.
Later, They are taken to a cold room whose temperature ranges between 4 and the 8 degrees.
Finally, An external company is in charge of cooking and packaging so that they are sold to restaurants or individuals anywhere in the world..
“The limits that exist are set by the culture of each country, Well, in some people they don't eat snails.", Jorge details.
Sale of fingerling snails
He and his brother Raúl also They export fingerlings to other farms and have a space for the mollusks to reproduce and provide their hatchery with new animals in order to restart a process that in autumn and winter is based on cleaning the fattening rooms and repairing damage to the irrigation network or shelters..
All of this is done with care because this farm is organic.:
“Everything must be controlled and recorded., from how much feed or seeds are added to the number of snails that enter or leave. It's a bureaucratic thing, Because before obtaining this certification we were already working without medications or herbicides.
This is just another animal farm, but unlike what happens with other types of livestock, There are thousands of snails here and you don't know how it can affect them.”.
It has been a decade since this hatchery was put into operation.
Since then, Ciudad Rodrigo has some smaller inhabitants who have increased the population of this Salamanca municipality and who have helped spread it throughout the planet quickly., even though the snails move slowly.
