Periwinkles

Periwinkles are shellfish related to Whelks but much smaller. They are part of a group of snails that are sort of an evolutionary transition between sea snails and land snails. They are very small, only 1/4 to 1/2 inch (1/2 to 1 cm) big.

Periwinkles have curled flesh inside, with a tapered tip furthest part inside. They are popular in Europe, where they are often sold already cooked. The flesh will be rubbery when cooked.

They have slightly-spiralled, cone-shaped shells. Some have black shells, which may be partly bleached to a grey by the sun; some varieties will have striped shells.

They live in intertidal zones partly out of the water, and have a foot that holds onto rocks, wharves and docks. They eat algae on rocks, and decaying vegetation. when the tides go out, they are able to retain moisture in themselves so that they don't dry out inside and die. What enables this is a hard scale called an "operculum", that will be brown or black, that protects the entrance way into the shell. When the tide goes out, the scale slides shut, trapping water inside them. As well, when you pull them off rocks, their foot will retract into the shell, and the same scale will close up the opening to protect the animal inside.

There are many different species actually, such as Small Periwinkle, Flat Winkle, Edible Periwinkle and Rough Winkle. You can eat any variety of them, at any time of year, though some aren't worth bothering with as they are so small. The "Edible Periwinkle" is called edible because it's an inch (2.5 cm) big, which makes it more worthwhile bothering with.

The Edible is in fact the largest Periwinkle. Its shell colour is more of a dull olive colour, though it can be tinged with yellow, or a much darker, almost black, green. It can have lighter coloured bands on its spirals.

When gathering your own Periwinkles, make sure they are living in an unpolluted area.

You need a lot of Periwinkles per person. And when you serve them in the shell, for people to winkle their own out, it takes a lot of time to get enough out to satisfy any appetite. Wash fresh Periwinkles in cold water. Discard any that don't have the scale closed up.

Many say cook by boiling for about 10 minutes. Others say 10 minutes is far too long because it makes them tough and chewy. Some say boil only 3 minutes, and that cooking longer makes them break apart as you try to winkle them out.

The scales are called "operculum", you don't eat these. You just use a pin to pry the scale out of the way, then use the pin to pry the meat out. You can also buy small forks with two tines on them or use a toothpick.

After boiling, they can be served with vinegar or melted butter, or you can remove the meat, and sauté it in butter or garlic to make them like Escargot.

They can be used in chowders instead of clams. Euell Gibbon's book, "Stalking The Wild Asparagus", has a recipe for Periwinkle fritters.
The Edible Periwinkle variety isn't native to North America, but started showing up around 1850, probably brought over on ships from Europe. It first appeared on Canada's maritime coast, then made its way down to New England. It now exists as far down as New Jersey. There are different species of Edible in Florida and Gulf of Mexico, whose shells are cream coloured with brown spots.

In England, Periwinkles were considered food for poor or common people.

Prying the meat of Periwinkles became the source of the phrase "to winkle something out."

The word Periwinkle came to also mean in slang a small penis.

Periwinkle comes from the Old English word "pnewincle."

There is also a plant called "periwinkle" which is, of course, unrelated.

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