LIMPETS ON THE BEACH

We know that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers cooked limpets straight from the beneath, since limpet shells are found in large middens (waste dumps) on some Scottish islands). The way to cook limpets (so Ray Mears says) is to simply put your limpets on a flat stone, build a small fire over the top for 10 minutes, then lift off the shells to expose the cooked limpet meat. 

Now, before you can eat you must remove the black, blister of a stomach (yuk) and then its down to chewing! Not as tasty as calamari, but I can see this being an easy to find and prepare food for Mesolithic tribes camping near the seashore. John Elliott was a brave limpet taster! 


- Paul Elliott