How Periwinkles look naturally before cutting and washing.
The curvy mouth of periwinkle.
Properly cut periwinkles.
Completely washed and trimmed periwinkles.
The periwinkle snail can be found in coastal areas of Nigeria. The scientific name for it is Littorina littorea. Most Nigerians, especially those in the coastal area know this type of seafood as Isam. In AkwaIbom state we call it Mfi. The Yoruba people call it Isawuru.
Periwinkles are generally found on rocky shores and are often dispersed into water. They also are observed in small tide swimming pools as well as muddy habitats inclusive of estuaries. They are omnivorous as they feed on both flowers and animals i.e. algae and invertebrates inclusive of barnacle larvae.
The periwinkles are of many species. However, the ones discovered inside the riverine regions of AkwaIbom, Cross River states as I'm aware of have black and cone-shaped tough shells just as seen in the pictures.
Though this particular specie of seafood is safe for eating, a lot of people do not like to eat it because it naturally comes dirty and filled with mud. Not many people like to spend time washing the hard shell till it gets very clean. Others feel irritated by the smell of it.
The Major Use of Periwinkles
Periwinkle snails are majorly eaten as food in African homes. It is the little creature that matters a lot when we're preparing local delicacies especially in AkwaIbom state and Cross River state.
A typical indigene of these two states will know that without periwinkle snails, Ekpang Nkukwo and Efere Afang – Our special local delicacies cannot be complete. Other meals we add the periwinkle to include fisherman soup, Oto mbooro (banana porridge), ofe nsala, okra soup etc.
It's noteworthy that the periwinkle snails can be cooked and eaten in different ways. It is either cooked with the shell and sucked with the mouth to extract the meat or the flesh is picked out using a needle, pin or toothpick before it is being cooked.
Personal Observations
The periwinkle snails are not washed and cooked as they come. The down part of the shells are usually cut out leaving about 2-3cm and the mouth is trimmed as well.
Over here in AkwaIbom state, in our local market where we buy periwinkle from, I have observed that the sellers do not take time to cut the long, curvy mouth of the shell properly before selling. So each time I buy them, I take my time to cut the periwinkles all over again.
Also, some of the periwinkles also die while in the shell. You wouldn't know when buying. It is always very irritating to cook them and when you suck, you immediately spit out the dead ones because of the foul smell and sour taste and there'll likely be maggots as well.
For this reason, I take my time to smell the periwinkles one after the other after washing. That way I can always spot the dead ones. One may wonder why I'll smell them after washing rather than before. This is because before washing, the periwinkles just naturally have the smell they come with because they're dirty. You spot dead ones better after you wash them knowing that they're now clean and there's no cause of a foul smell so anyone that smells badly after you've washed them is bad.
Periwinkle snails are very rich in protein and very much safe for consumption. I love periwinkles. Thank you for reading. Looking forward to sharing more amazing pictures and contents with you all.
All images are mine and were taken with my phone.
