Single Shells

I acknowledge that at least one in the list, the limpet, is not normally thought of as a delicacy. But it presents a stimulating challenge to the cook, and some of the ways in which it has traditionally been prepared in Britain and France are of interest. The traditions are very old. Visiting the beautifully kept Stone Age settlement at Skara Brae in Orkney, I was surprised to hear how important limpets had been in the diet of the inhabitants. Their middens still provide mute evidence of countless meals in which limpets must have been a main ingredient.