A cockle is a small, plump, edible bivalve mollusc housed in two matched shells that are rounded and heart-shaped in profile and deeply scored with bold radiating ribs. The common European cockle, Cerastoderma edule, lives buried just under the surface of sand and mudflats, where it is dug, raked and dredged at low tide. Sweet, briny and tender, the little body is usually boiled and shelled — a famous British seaside snack eaten by the cupful with a shake of malt vinegar — and also pickled, sold canned as Spanish berberechos, and tumbled through paella, pasta and rice.