Definition

Noun: A seasoned butter compound used specifically for cooking and serving snails. It is typically made by blending butter with finely chopped shallots, garlic, and parsley, and sometimes other herbs. This mixture is used to baste snails during cooking or is placed on top of them before baking, creating a rich, aromatic sauce.

Usage

"Snail butter" is a culinary term. It is used as an uncountable noun to refer to the seasoned butter mixture itself. * The classic recipe for snail butter includes garlic, shallots, and parsley. * Before baking the escargots, top each one with a generous dollop of snail butter.

Examples

• The chef prepared the snail butter in advance so the flavors could meld.
• The key to delicious escargots is a very flavorful snail butter.
• You could smell the garlic from the snail butter as the snails baked.

Advanced Usage

• Compound Butter: "Snail butter" is a specific type of compound butter (beurre composé). While compound butters can be sweet or savory and used on various foods, "snail butter" is defined by its specific herb combination and its primary association with snails.
• Cultural Context: The term is intrinsically linked to French cuisine and the dish "escargots à la bourguignonne" (snails in the Burgundy style), where this butter is a defining component.

Variants and Related Words

• Garlic Butter: A more general term for butter mixed with garlic. While "snail butter" contains garlic, not all garlic butter is "snail butter," as the latter specifically includes shallots and parsley.
• Beurre d'Escargot: The French term for "snail butter."
• Compound Butter: The general category to which snail butter belongs.

Synonyms

• Seasoned butter for snails
• Escargot butter
• Garlic-herb butter (a less specific, descriptive synonym)

Related Phrases

• To prepare snail butter: The action of making the mixture.
  • The first step is to prepare the snail butter.
• Enriched with snail butter: Describing a dish that uses it.
  • The mushrooms were enriched with snail butter.

Noun

1. for preparing snails: butter seasoned with shallots and garlic and parsley