What is peeled marsh snail?

Peeled marsh snail is marsh snail meat obtained by harvesting snails raised in the clear waters of the Donggang River in Gangwon-do, going through the process of purging and cleaning, then boiling them in water to remove the shells. The flesh of the marsh snail has a greenish tint, making it a famous color food. Since it is ready to use in cooking immediately, it can be used in a wide variety of dishes, including hangover soup, porridge, noodles, knife-cut noodles (kalguksu), hand-pulled dough soup (sujebi), soybean paste stew, spicy salads, pancakes, seaweed soup, and hot pot.

Purging (haegam) refers to the process of removing foreign matter from the bodies of organisms living in the sea or rivers. Marsh snail purging refers to the act of removing river debris from inside the snail's shell. When placed in water and kept in the dark, the nocturnal snails extend their flesh out of the shell to move, which causes the foreign substances inside the shell to be expelled.

This product is a commercial-use peeled marsh snail with a high proportion of snail meat relative to the amount of broth. The reason this product is 60-70% more expensive than regular peeled snail products is that the ratio of peeled snail to broth is 7:3. Regular products have a 1:3 ratio, containing significantly more broth. While the regular version is prepared to be suitable for making marsh snail soup, the commercial version is prepared with other purposes in mind. This product can make about 40 servings of marsh snail soup; however, if you intend to make 40 servings, you would need one additional 3kg pack of broth, as the commercial version does not have enough broth for that volume. Here is a brief introduction to the marsh snail.

Marsh Snail

The marsh snail is one of the representative seafood products of early summer in Korea and can be seen relatively commonly in streams with clear flowing water. Marsh snail meat is nutritionally excellent, being very rich in protein while also containing balanced amounts of carbohydrates, minerals, and fat. Marsh snails are rich in the amino acid taurine, which is why they are widely used today as a key ingredient in hangover soups.

The marsh snail is known by many different names depending on the region, such as olgaengi, minmul-daseulgi, freshwater snail, goding, doseulbi, godi, godong, freshwater whelk, sora, daesari, kkolpaengi, and golbaengi. Because it has long been a familiar food source for our ancestors, there are many regional dialects for the marsh snail. They inhabit most streams and brooks in Korea, excluding the far north of the Korean Peninsula.

Marsh snails are distributed in Korea, Japan (south of Hokkaido), Taiwan, and China, and are mollusks that live in rivers, lakes, streams, and ponds. The Chinese character name "wara" (蝸螺) is composed of "wa" (蝸), meaning snail, and "la" (螺), meaning conch. They are called "wara" in Korea, "senken" (川蜷) in Japan, and "duangouquan" (短溝蜷) in China.

In Korea, there are a total of 9 species across 3 genera: marsh snail, Korean marsh snail, wrinkled marsh snail, small wrinkled marsh snail, beaded marsh snail, banded beaded marsh snail, rosary marsh snail, keeled marsh snail, and pocket marsh snail. North Chungcheong Province in Korea is a region famous for marsh snails, where olgaengi hangover soup is a well-known specialty. The Yeongwol Donggang River is home to many rosary and beaded marsh snails.

Marsh Snail Farming

In December 2010, marsh snail farming was successfully achieved for the first time in the world in Yesan, Chungnam. However, it is still too early to mass-produce marsh snails through farming for the food industry. Although the National Institute of Fisheries Science in Yesan succeeded in farming them using compounded feed, industrialization is difficult due to the cost of feed.

Humans still do not fully understand the ecology of marsh snails. Currently, small-scale farming is being attempted in about 15 locations across Korea, where snails are hatched and raised to a young stage in farms before being released into streams to grow into large snails. Even this method of farming is said to be quite challenging.

Korea's annual demand for marsh snails is about 6,000–7,000 tons, consumed mainly in large cities, but domestic production is only about 2,000–3,000 tons per year, so the rest is imported. Needless to say, the imported ones are also all wild-caught, as they cannot be farmed abroad either.

Why Marsh Snails Are Famous

The reason marsh snails became famous is due to the late folk medicine scholar Kim Il-hoon (Insan), who resided in Hamyang, Gyeongsangnam-do. During his lifetime, Mr. Insan developed Insan Bamboo Salt, made by putting salt inside bamboo and roasting it nine times.

Mr. Insan was famous for helping many people by processing common plants and animals found around us using unique methods. The descendants of Mr. Insan and enthusiasts of folk medicine currently carry on his legacy by operating the Insan Korean Medicine Clinic, Insan Bamboo Salt Co., Ltd., and the Insan Philosophy Foundation.

Mr. Insan approached marsh snails based on the energy inherent in the color of things. Just as he developed bamboo salt by using the white energy (White) of salt and the red fire energy (Fire) of high heat, he created marsh snail oil using the green energy (Blue) of the snail's flesh and the red fire energy (Fire) of high heat. As the marsh snail oil developed by Mr. Insan became extremely famous, the reputation of the marsh snail itself rose significantly. Even today, over 40 years after the development of marsh snail oil, products such as snail extract, peeled marsh snails, and snail broth are commercialized and consumed nationwide. Below is the appearance of the greenish flesh of the marsh snail.

Composition of Marsh Snails

Below is the proximate composition table of marsh snail meat. "Dry matter basis" refers to the content ratio calculated excluding moisture.

Proximate Composition Table of Marsh Snail Meat (Dry Matter Basis)

The analysis above is for marsh snail meat, not marsh snail oil. However, since the oil is derived from the snail's meat, understanding the components of the meat allows us to grasp the composition of the oil. Let's take a look at the characteristics of the meat.

The characteristic of marsh snail composition is that it is high in protein and contains a balanced, rich variety of nutrients.

The producer/supplier of this product is Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd. (CEO: Jo Byeong-chan). About 25 years ago, CEO Jo engaged in the wholesale and retail business of freshwater snails while also harvesting them in the Donggang River, Yeongwol and Jecheon areas. Fascinated by the benefits of freshwater snails, CEO Jo established the private company Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail in 2009 and began producing processed snail products. In 2020, based on 25 years of experience in harvesting, processing, and selling freshwater snails, CEO Jo founded Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd., a company specializing in snail processing.

Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd. received certification as a business applying the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2022, and as of 2024, produces and sells freshwater snail oil, concentrated snail extract, raw freshwater snails, shelled freshwater snails, snails for broth, and snail broth. Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd. takes pride in being a company that produces hygienic and safe freshwater snail products. Here is a brief introduction to Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd.

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