There are hundreds of species of edible snails. The most commonly encountered species in Messinia is Dimyta snails, which have a brown slightly conical shell and are small in size. Snails are gathered after rain or early in the morning when the dew is still on the grass or the soil in forests, cultivated fields, mountains with low vegetation and gardens. Snails are very tasty and can be cooked in a variety of ways once they have been cleaned. In Messinia, once snails have been boiled in hot water, they can be cooked in tomato sauce with fennel, lettuce, onion shallots, and spinach or, after extracted from the shells, fried with flour.