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 298 recipes in total:

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Pahua au curry (Curried Pahua)      Origin: Tahiti	Saint-Martin Whelk Soup      Origin: Saint-Martin	Stufato del Pescatore (Italian Fisherman's Stew)      Origin: Italy
Pahua Taioro      Origin: Tahiti	Salade de la mer (Seafood Salad)      Origin: France	Surf and Turf Kebabs      Origin: Britain
Panko Fried Oysters      Origin: American	Sauci Yohss (Gambian Mussel Meats in Tomato Sauce with Potatoes)      Origin: Gambia	Tanrogans and Cheese Sauce      Origin: Manx
Pasta with Daylily Flower Buds and Mushrooms      Origin: American	Saws Rhython (Cockle Sauce)      Origin: Welsh	Taro aux Fruits de Mer (Taro with Seafood)      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Pastai Cocos (Cockle Pie)      Origin: Welsh	Scallop and Mushroom Pie      Origin: Ireland	Teisen Frau Noswaith Lawen (Pan-fried Parsnips and Mushrooms with a Garlic and Parsley Crust)      Origin: Welsh
Pastai Cocos, Tatws a Chennin (Cockle, Potato and Leek Pie)      Origin: Welsh	Scallop Angels on Horseback      Origin: Britain	Teisennau Cocos (Cockle Cakes)      Origin: Welsh
Pastai Cymreig Cocos a Chennin (Welsh Cockle and Leek Pie)      Origin: Welsh	Scallop Broth with Cornish Earlies      Origin: England	Thai Crab and Sea-blite Curry      Origin: Thailand
Pastai Gocos (Cockle Pie)      Origin: Welsh	Scallop Devils on Horseback with Prunes      Origin: Britain	Thai-style Nettle and Oyster Mushroom Curry      Origin: Britain
Pastai Llygaid y Graig, Bacwn a Chenin (Limpet, Bacon and Leek Pie)      Origin: Welsh	Scallop Pie      Origin: Northern Ireland	Thiebou Kéthiakh (Rice with Dried Fish, Seafood and Vegetables)      Origin: Senegal
Patina de Piscibus, Dentice, Aurata et Mugile (A Dish of Fish Made with Dentex, Gilt-head Bream, or Grey Mullet)      Origin: Roman	Scallops with Onion Cream Sauce      Origin: Scotland	Tianmianjiang (Jiangsu Crayfish Cooked with Thirteen-Spice Powder)      Origin: China
Patinam ex Lacte (Milk Casserole)      Origin: Roman	Scottish Chinese Takeaway Chicken Curry      Origin: Scotland	Tobago Curry Conch with Dumplings      Origin: Trinidad
Penne with Mushroom Cream Sauce      Origin: Italy	Seafood Amok      Origin: Cambodia	Tom Yum Hed (Mushroom Tom Yum)      Origin: Thailand
Pice Cocos (Cockle Pikelets)      Origin: Welsh	Seafood and Bacon Kebabs      Origin: Britain	Tom Yum Het Mangsawirat (Mushroom and Lemongrass Soup)      Origin: Thailand
Pice Tatws, Cocos a Bara Lawr (Potato, Cockle and Laverbread Patties)      Origin: Welsh	Seafood Chili      Origin: American	Torta di patate e Funghi selvatici (Wild Mushroom and Potato Cake)      Origin: Italy
Pitche-Patche de Ostras (Oyster and Rice Soup)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Seafood Curry      Origin: Scotland	Trout Kedgeree      Origin: Britain
Plateau de Fruits de Mer (Seafood Platter)      Origin: France	Shellfish Forcemeats      Origin: Roman	Vermicelli with Chicken and Wood Ear Mushrooms      Origin: China
Poo Pad Pong Curry (Thai Crab Curry Recipe)      Origin: Thailand	Shellfish Seaweed Pudding      Origin: Ancient	Warm Salad of Oyster Mushrooms      Origin: Britain
Potes Cregyn Gleision Gyda Ceirch (Mussel Stew with Oat Dumplings)      Origin: Welsh	Sint Maarten Whelk Soup      Origin: Sint Maarten	White Curry      Origin: Fusion
Prawn, Scallop and Horn of Plenty Sauce      Origin: Britain	Sizzling Scallops      Origin: Britain	White Matelotte Sauce      Origin: Britain
Psarósoupa Kakavia (Cretan Seafood Stew)      Origin: Greece	Smoked, Preserved, Mussels      Origin: Britain	White Oyster Sauce      Origin: Britain
Pwdin Berw Bara Lawr (Laverbread Suet Pudding)      Origin: Welsh	Smoked, Preserved, Oysters      Origin: Britain	Wild Mushroom and Miso Broth      Origin: Britain
Ragoût de lambi (Conch stew)      Origin: Saint-Martin	Smoked, Preserved, Scallops      Origin: Britain	Wild Mushroom Compote      Origin: Britain
Rhiwbob Rhost â Iogwrt (Limpets)      Origin: Welsh	Sopa de Caracol (Honduran Conch Soup)      Origin: Honduras	Wild Mushroom Omelette      Origin: Britain
Riz Wolof (Wolof Rice)      Origin: Guinea	Soupe Kandja      Origin: Mali	Wild Mushroom Stew      Origin: Britain
Roast Cod with Sea Beans and Oyster      Origin: Canada	Spaghetti alle vongole e Salicornia (Spaghetti with Clams and Samphire)      Origin: Italy	Wild Mushroom Stuffed Potato Cakes      Origin: Britain
Rou Zao Fan (Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork)      Origin: Taiwan	Special Fried Rice with Oxeye Daisy Greens      Origin: Fusion	Wontons      Origin: China
Saban Curry Conch (Saban Curry Conchs)      Origin: Saba	Spicy Beef and Longevity Noodles      Origin: China	Xarém      Origin: Portugal
Sach Ko Nung Slirk S'krey Chomkak (Lemongrass Beef Kebab)      Origin: Cambodia	Stewed Scallops in Milk      Origin: Britain	Xiao Long Xia (Garlic-braised Crayfish)      Origin: China
Saffron Mussel Sauce      Origin: Britain	Sticky Asian-style Pork Neck Chops      Origin: Britain	Xuyi Shisanxiang Longxia (Jiangsu Crayfish Cooked with Thirteen-Spice Powder)      Origin: China
Saffron Prawn Both      Origin: Britain	Stir-fried Clams in Black Bean Sauce      Origin: Hong Kong	Yi Mein (Longevity Noodles)      Origin: China
Saint Lucia Lambi Soup with Dumplings      Origin: Saint Lucia	Stir-fried Scallops      Origin: Fusion	Zarzuela de Mariscos (Seafood Zarzuela)      Origin: Spain
Saint Vincent Curry Conch with Dumplings      Origin: Saint Vincent	Stir-fried Scallops with Asparagus      Origin: Fusion	Zupa di Pesce (Seafood Soup)      Origin: Cayman Islands
Saint-jacques au vin blanc et échalotes (Scallops with white wine and shallots)      Origin: France	Stiw Pysgotwr (Fisherman's Stew)      Origin: Welsh

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