An eight armed mollusk found in tropical and warm water seas all around the world. Octopus is valued by countries such as China, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. It has not been accepted as strongly by the Americans. The flesh of the octopus is very flavorful and tender as long as it is not overcooked and if the size of the octopus is not over 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. Squid can be substituted in most recipes if octopus is not available.