Archaeological finds have shown that humans have been making use of shellfish as a food item for hundreds of thousands of years. In the present, shellfish dishes are a feature of almost all the cuisines of the world, providing an important source of protein in many cuisines around the world, especially in the countries with coastal areas.

Molluscs used as a food source by humans include many species of clams, mussels, oysters, winkles, and scallops. In terms of gastropods, conch is particularly important in the Caribbean diet, winkles are enjoyed in the UK and periwinkles are an important flavouring (used dried) in many West African Soups and stews. Whelks are eaten in the Caribbean and Europe. Molluscs are a large phylum of invertebrate animals, many of which have shells. Edible molluscs are harvested from saltwater, freshwater, and the land, and include numerous members of the classes Gastropoda (snails), Bivalvia (clams, scallops, oysters etc.), Cephalopoda (octopus and squid) [though I am excluding cephalopods here], and Polyplacophora (chitons).

Many species of molluscs are eaten worldwide, either cooked or raw. Some mollusc species are commercially exploited and shipped as part of the international trade in shellfish; other species are harvested, sold and consumed locally. Some species are collected and eaten locally but are rarely bought and sold. A few species of molluscs are not commonly eaten now, but were eaten in historical or prehistoric times.

Some of the most commonly consumed molluscs and marine gastropod snails include: abalone (several species), true limpets, winkles (including periwinkles), conchs, several species of Calliostoma top snails, whelks, sea snails, bivalves (these have two shells and include: ark clams, true mussels, pen shells, true oysters, true cockles, scallops, venus clams, Mectridae clams, razor clams, bean clams, chitons). Note that abalone, limpets, winkles, conchs Callliostoma top snails, whelks and sea snails are all gastropods ie true snails. Some also include edible land snails such as escargot and giant African snails in this list.

The alphabetical list of all the shellfish-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 231 recipes in total:

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Shellfish Seaweed Pudding      Origin: Ancient	Stir-fried Scallops with Asparagus      Origin: Fusion	Tom Yum Het Mangsawirat (Mushroom and Lemongrass Soup)      Origin: Thailand
Sint Maarten Whelk Soup      Origin: Sint Maarten	Stiw Pysgotwr (Fisherman's Stew)      Origin: Welsh	Trout Kedgeree      Origin: Britain
Smoked, Preserved, Mussels      Origin: British	Stufato del Pescatore (Italian Fisherman's Stew)      Origin: Italy	Vermicelli with Chicken and Wood Ear Mushrooms      Origin: China
Smoked, Preserved, Oysters      Origin: British	Surf and Turf Kebabs      Origin: Britain	White Curry      Origin: Fusion
Smoked, Preserved, Scallops      Origin: British	Tanrogans and Cheese Sauce      Origin: Manx	White Oyster Sauce      Origin: British
Sopa de Caracol (Honduran Conch Soup)      Origin: Honduras	Taro aux Fruits de Mer (Taro with Seafood)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Wild Mushroom Stew      Origin: Britain
Soupe Kandja      Origin: Mali	Teisen Frau Noswaith Lawen (Pan-fried Parsnips and Mushrooms with a Garlic and Parsley Crust)      Origin: Welsh	Xarém      Origin: Portugal
Stewed Scallops in Milk      Origin: Britain	Teisennau Cocos (Cockle Cakes)      Origin: Welsh	Zarzuela de Mariscos (Seafood Zarzuela)      Origin: Spain
Sticky Asian-style Pork Neck Chops      Origin: Britain	Thai-style Nettle and Oyster Mushroom Curry      Origin: Britain	Zupa di Pesce (Seafood Soup)      Origin: Cayman Islands
Stir-fried Clams in Black Bean Sauce      Origin: Hong Kong	Tobago Curry Conch with Dumplings      Origin: Trinidad
Stir-fried Scallops      Origin: Fusion	Tom Yum Hed (Mushroom Tom Yum)      Origin: Thailand

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