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 376 recipes in total:

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Scolloped Mussels      Origin: British	Sticky Asian-style Pork Neck Chops      Origin: Britain	Tom Yum Hed (Mushroom Tom Yum)      Origin: Thailand
Scolloped Oysters      Origin: British	Stir-fried Clams in Black Bean Sauce      Origin: Hong Kong	Tom Yum Het Mangsawirat (Mushroom and Lemongrass Soup)      Origin: Thailand
Scottish Chinese Takeaway Chicken Curry      Origin: Scotland	Stir-fried Scallops      Origin: Fusion	Torta di patate e Funghi selvatici (Wild Mushroom and Potato Cake)      Origin: Italy
Seafood Amok      Origin: Cambodia	Stir-fried Scallops with Asparagus      Origin: Fusion	Trout Kedgeree      Origin: Britain
Seafood and Bacon Kebabs      Origin: Britain	Stiw Pysgotwr (Fisherman's Stew)      Origin: Welsh	Turbot à la Bechamel      Origin: British
Seafood Chili      Origin: American	Stufato del Pescatore (Italian Fisherman's Stew)      Origin: Italy	Turbot à la Normande      Origin: British
Seafood Curry      Origin: Scotland	Stuffed and Baked Carp      Origin: British	Turbot à la Parisienne      Origin: British
Setas al Horno (Baked Oyster Mushrooms)      Origin: Spain	Surf and Turf Kebabs      Origin: Britain	Vermicelli with Chicken and Wood Ear Mushrooms      Origin: China
Shellfish Forcemeats      Origin: Roman	Tanrogans and Cheese Sauce      Origin: Manx	Warm Salad of Oyster Mushrooms      Origin: Britain
Shellfish Seaweed Pudding      Origin: Ancient	Taro aux Fruits de Mer (Taro with Seafood)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	White Curry      Origin: Fusion
Sint Maarten Whelk Soup      Origin: Sint Maarten	Teisen Frau Noswaith Lawen (Pan-fried Parsnips and Mushrooms with a Garlic and Parsley Crust)      Origin: Welsh	White Matelotte Sauce      Origin: Britain
Sizzling Scallops      Origin: Britain	Teisennau Cocos (Cockle Cakes)      Origin: Welsh	White Oyster Sauce      Origin: Britain
Smoked, Preserved, Mussels      Origin: Britain	Thai Crab and Sea-blite Curry      Origin: Thailand	Wild Mushroom and Miso Broth      Origin: Britain
Smoked, Preserved, Oysters      Origin: Britain	Thai-style Nettle and Oyster Mushroom Curry      Origin: Britain	Wild Mushroom Compote      Origin: Britain
Smoked, Preserved, Scallops      Origin: Britain	Thiebou Kéthiakh (Rice with Dried Fish, Seafood and Vegetables)      Origin: Senegal	Wild Mushroom Omelette      Origin: Britain
Sole or Cod Pie      Origin: British	Tianmianjiang (Jiangsu Crayfish Cooked with Thirteen-Spice Powder)      Origin: China	Wild Mushroom Stew      Origin: Britain
Sopa de Caracol (Honduran Conch Soup)      Origin: Honduras	To boil a Capon or Hen with Oysters      Origin: British	Wild Mushroom Stuffed Potato Cakes      Origin: Britain
Soupe Kandja      Origin: Mali	To force a large fowl      Origin: British	Wontons      Origin: China
Southern Oyster Dressing      Origin: American	To force cucumbers      Origin: British	Xarém      Origin: Portugal
Spaghetti alle vongole e Salicornia (Spaghetti with Clams and Samphire)      Origin: Italy	To hash a calf's head      Origin: British	Xiao Long Xia (Garlic-braised Crayfish)      Origin: China
Special Fried Rice with Oxeye Daisy Greens      Origin: Fusion	To hash a calf's head white      Origin: British	Xuyi Shisanxiang Longxia (Jiangsu Crayfish Cooked with Thirteen-Spice Powder)      Origin: China
Spicy Beef and Longevity Noodles      Origin: China	To make a grand Sallet of minced Capon, Veal, roast Mutton, Chicken or Neats tongue.      Origin: British	Yi Mein (Longevity Noodles)      Origin: China
Spring Rolls with Pork and Shrimp      Origin: China	To make a Pie with Parsneps and Oisters very good      Origin: British	Zarzuela de Mariscos (Seafood Zarzuela)      Origin: Spain
Stewed Beef with Oysters      Origin: British	To make Shropshire pie      Origin: British	Zupa di Pesce (Seafood Soup)      Origin: Cayman Islands
Stewed Oysters      Origin: British	To ragoo a neck of veal      Origin: British
Stewed Scallops in Milk      Origin: Britain	Tobago Curry Conch with Dumplings      Origin: Trinidad

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