Jeddart snails
October 3rd 2026
The Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) succinctly define Jeddart or Jethart snails as, “a kind of toffee sold in Jedburgh”.
A more detailed description appeared in the Scotsman in April 1958: “There you will find Jeddart Snails. They tase of the sweetness of brown sugar blended with the richness of real butter and flavoured with mild peppermint. The toffees are dark brown and rounded into a curve, with one end formed into a blob for the head and the other end flattened for the tail. The shaping of these sweetie snails is a secret, as is also the recipe, and was originally given to a Jedburgh baker who took into his employment a French prisoner of war”.
Speaking of war, the Jedburgh Gazette printed a letter from a soldier in July 1916 who had taken Jethart snails to France: “[One local child] is very fond of English chocolate, but you should have seen her face when I rewarded her with a handful of Jethart Snails. At first she was rather doubtful, but after her first taste there was no question of her liking them. ‘Bon!’ she said, ‘Très bon!’ – good, very good – and held out her hand for more”.
These traditional Borders sweets are still available. In June 2023, the Dundee Courier shared the following memory that may tempt readers into tracking them down: “And there were Jethart snails from Jedburgh. They were sticky boilings – boiled sugar sweeties in the shape of snails that took ages to sook until they were all gone”.
Dictionaries of the Scots Language would like to thank Bob Dewar for illustrating our Scots Word of the Week feature.
