To boost sales, as an aperitif, whelks become sea hazelnuts.

The whelk becomes a hazelnut: it’s not information that’s going to turn the world upside down!

The fishermen of Agde and Le Grau-du-Roi have decided to give the Nassarius mutabilis or whelk a new name, the Mediterranean hazelnut, to better sell it on French markets.

This small sea snail, fished for the last five years on the Languedoc coast, is in fact a whelk, of which the Languedoc coast harbors considerable quantities, never before exploited.

But it does allow us to make a gastronomic foray that smacks of aperitifs in the sunshine:

In fact, Spaniards and Italians eat a great deal of the bug, which, when scalded with a handful of spices in a short broth, is a delight, once cooled, in aperitifs with mayonnaise, rouille or aioli.

Goes perfectly with a white wine, dry if possible; choose them small, it’s more pleasant.