Friday 12 October 2018

Whelks.



There are not many things that either Lady Magnon, or I, won't eat. Lady M won't go near a Whelk, and I won't touch Bread and Butter pudding. Lady M also has a disgusting habit (learned in her Washington DC days) of putting both Peanut Butter and Jam onto the same piece of toast. Quite disgusting, but that's for another day

I love a plateful of Whelks. I dip them in peppered red wine vinegar, and savour their chewy, rubbery, deliciousness. I know they're not to everyone's taste, but they are to mine.

Whelks are plentiful in European waters, and should be enjoyed more than they are. They are high in protein and vitamin B12. They used to be almost a staple food in Victorian times, but these days they are mostly exported to the Far East. Britain's loss.

When Lady M is away (usually shopping in London) I treat myself to a few for lunch. Well, I can't buy a Pork Pie; can I.




35 comments:

  1. Yes to a peanut butter and 'jelly' sandwich. Apricot jam is especially good. NO to a whelk, not that I've ever tried one. I can imagine it's nasty rubberyness.
    Pork pies, yeh in my dreams. Maybe Amazon sells them in a tin.
    I go for a cocktail sausage when on my own. Salty, made of left over rubbish but the only bit of foreign stuff I can readily find, smothered in ketchup.

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    1. You'd get on well with Lady M; apart from the cocktail sausage.

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  2. I take the bread and butter pudding thanks. You don't have to share you whelks. Actually, I've never had one, but I don't like calamari or squid unless it is well disguised.

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    1. I must be weird; I love all those odd looking seafoods.

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  3. Both the peanut butter and jelly and the bread and butter pudding for me but not the whelks - sound a bit too chewy. Scallops are on the menu here at present.

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    Replies
    1. Scallops are so expensive here; otherwise I'd have some every week.

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  4. I might eat your whelks if they are covered in peanut butter and jelly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that's a thought that I'll have to consider very carefully.

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  5. Another gastronomic treat is Marmite and marmalade in the same way as peanut butter and jam.

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    Replies
    1. No, no, no, no. That should be an imprisonable offence!

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  6. Once saw a documentary about Elvis Presley's ol' cook. Turned out she didn't do much in the way of healthy cooking but stuffed the rock _n' roller with his favourite peanut butter and jam san'wiches to which he was apparently addicted. Obviously not the healthiest diet in the world as it turned out . . .
    and think of all that palm oil in the peanut butter, in fact it's in everything. Yuk!

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    Replies
    1. Didn't EP's cook then deep fry everything? All his sandwiches, burgers, etc, were given a few minutes in boiling oil before he would eat them. No wonder he got so fat.

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    2. I think you're right. Fat foods and drugs killed him. You can't credit it can you.

      He once asked Tom Jones what the best drugs were. Tom said: Beer.

      Should've listened.

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    3. Elvis ate fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. They were his favorite. His Uncle Vester worked in the guard 🏡 on the estate in Memphis. One of my besties, Susan use to swim in his pool when he was away with her girlfriends.

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  7. Think you're in the minority with whelks Cro, used to catch them in my long-ago fishing days, just a by-catch. Nobody wanted them, couldn't even give them away.

    Tried them just boiled and soaked in vinegar, a mouthful of rubbery tastelessness.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I seem to be in the minority. I remember Rick Stein despairing about how few people in England liked them. He devised a minced Whelk recipe that he treated in an Asian manner, and everyone loved it.

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  8. Sold on Norwich Market everyday, popular, eaten as a snack, in vinegar, whilst standing at the stalls.

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    1. I hope they're not too expensive. The last time I had some in Brighton they were about £5 for 6. Crazy.

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  9. Used to be sold in pub car parks on Saturday nights - cleaned up on Sunday mornings.
    You will be eating snails next!

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    Replies
    1. Wonderful. There used to be a shellfish 'barrow' outside my flat off Cambridge Circus. I was a regular client

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    2. Still sold on Sunday mornings in lay-bys.

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  10. My Dad loves Whelks...but I always thought they were rubber too

    Jo in Aucklan

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    1. You're not alone. Most think of them as nasty looking rubbery sea snails. Which of course is what they are!

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  11. Peanut butter and Marmite is good on toast.

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    Replies
    1. No, no, no; you're trying to lead me astray.

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  12. You lost me at rubbery.
    Of course you put peanut butter and jam on the same piece of toast! And the toast is still hot, not cold. Each to their own. -Jenn

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    1. Rubbery is the best bit. They have to be chewy; it brings out the flavour. As for your other comment; I shall ignore it.

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  13. You lost me at whelk; too late to approve of pb and jam together.

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    1. Lady M learnt her evil ways in the late USA 1950's, when I imagine the ghastly habit was conceived.

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  14. Peanut butter and jelly (jam) belong together and I think the whelk (snail) belongs in his shell. Do you drench it in butter or sauce, like we do with clams?

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    1. The delightful mollusc is usually dipped in fine vinegar, and sprinkled with the purest sea salt. A combination made in heaven.

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  15. The whelk is about the only sea food I can't bear - sorry.

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    1. You're not alone Weave. However, I'm very happy to be on the other side.

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  16. I have never tried a Whelks but would. No olive oil and garlic ?
    Oh please, Peanut butter and Jam just go together.
    With warm toast in the morning and soft white bread at lunch with milk.

    cheers, parsnip and badger

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Garlic would detract from the flavour. Traditionally they are sprinkled with salt and vinegar.

      No; I'm not convinced about Peanut butter and jam, best kept to your side of the pond methinks.

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