Helix pomatia; Print; Helix pomatia; common names the Roman snail; Burgundy snail; edible snail or escargot; is a species of large; edible; air-breathing land snail; a pulmonate gastropod terrestrial mollusc in the family Helicidae. It is a European species. In the English language it is called by the French name escargot when used in cooking (escargot simply means 'snail'). Although this species is highly prized as a food; it is difficult to cultivate and rarely farmed commercially.