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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Periwinkles


I saw these periwinkles in a tide pool on the coast of Maine recently. I read that they are a small edible species of marine gastropod in the family Littorinidae, the winkles. They were introduced to the Atlantic coast, possibly by rock ballast in the mid-1800's. Unfortunately, their introduction damaged the native gastropod population. But they do add texture to this already very textural photo I took in Acadia National Park.

4 comments:

  1. On this side of Atlantic ocean, it is a famous coastal plate, cooked with peper and bay leaves. A glass of white wine from island of Ré, for a good afternoon !

    Good picture !
    ;-)

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  2. Bonjour cao! I have not seen them as food in America. Peut-etre qu'ils sont dans certains restaurants chic.
    From what you say, they seem to be a European treat!

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  3. In northern and western Europe, about 12 species of Littorina are living ...
    I do not know about the taste of each ; the one I know is Littorina littorea.
    Bigorneau, in french !

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  4. C'est interessante. I wonder what we would call the dish in my country - Winkles?

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