The truth of the matter is that where snails are concerned, you either love them or you hate them, but those who do love them are capable of devouring them by the ton.

Here in Spain it's true to say that they don't have the same cachet as French escargots. But don't forget that they owe their fame mainly to the Americans, not because they ate them, but because they were shocked that such a refined, cultured people as the French could actually eat them.

Nevertheless, in Spain snails are eaten in several areas and many of them have produced widely known recipes. But no area in Spain has boasted a snail the size of the renowned bourguignon, which is simply a vine snail which has been purpose reared for years and finally fattened up in order to reach its extraordinary size.

The great thing about snails here is that they can be done in so many ways: grilled, stewed, in a sauce, etc� Plus a host of recipes from other countries, too numerous to mention.

I have to admit that I like them in two ways. Fiddly or not. That is, in their shell or out. In some places they remove the little fellow from its shell to avoid customers the embarrassment of getting their hands messy or splattering sauce all over their clothes.

Most snails sold these days are farmed. And if they are wild they are sold ready purged. In the old days they didn't do this so you had to do it at home.

Of course if you go out into the country to catch them, you'll have to be very sure to purge them yourself. Why? For the simple reason that this gastropod feeds on herbs and leaves, some of which are poisonous or indigestible for us humans, which means you have to flush them out.

To do this you can either put the snails in a mesh covered bucket with some flour, or hang them in a mesh. Both processes should last nearly a week for the snails to be as clean as possible. I personally prefer the flour method since it fattens them up a little.

After that you need to remove the mucus. To do this wash the snails thoroughly before putting them in a saucepan filled with cold water. Cover and bring to boil. As soon as the water starts to boil take the pan off the heat. Pour away all the water, rinse the snails and repeat the process. This way we coax the snail out of its shell and at the same time get rid of the mucus. The operation should be repeated until the snails stop producing mucus. Normally two or three times is enough.

Finally, you just need to decide what sauce or stew you're going to cook them in. They'll need between 10 and 75 minutes cooking, depending on their size.

And don't forget that nowadays they are sold precooked, so you can skip all the previous stages and just concentrate on the sauce.