Limpet

Family Patellidae

REMARKS The shell is conical and more or less symmetrical, with a pearly inside, and is normally no more than 4–5 cm long, although I have heard of giants up to 8 cm in the Corsican isle of Cavalho, with flesh as hard as leather.

CUISINE The first three months of the year are reputedly the best season for limpets, which are normally eaten raw. I am told that some Greeks make a soup with them. They may also be cooked briefly with a little butter placed in the shell. The big ones with yellow flesh are best. But the results are not such as to warrant the marketing of limpets.