Insects have gotten a bum rap! Referred to as "bugs," and "pests," and "creepy-crawlies," they are immediately associated with unpleasant experiences. Yet the fact is that insects play a vital role in the fragile ecosystem that supports human life, and they play a critical role in the development of medicine and agriculture. The O. Orkin Insect Zoo at the National Museum of Natural History hopes to change people's attitudes toward insects and insect relatives by eliminating some misconceptions about these small creatures. Visitors can learn about the global ecological importance of insects and the interdependent relationships between humans and insects. Believe it or not, insects are used as a nutritious food source, despite the American aversion to "cricket casserole." In fact, insects are considered significant food sources in parts of the world--in some societies, insects are a staple in the local diet, or are treated as a gourmet delicacy. Many cultures, both past and present, have made efficient use of insects during meal time. Following is a brief list of inscts are are commonly used as alternative food sources in different parts of the world. Bon appetit. . .but for the squeamish, BEWARE! As a whole, insects are extremely high in protein and contain all the necessary amino acids to make them nutritional and nourishing. Many insects are consumed as pupae (when they are newly hatched and wormlike). However, a great many are eaten when they are in full adult form and they look exactly as if they could fly or crawl around on the dinner plate. Some cultures do eat live termites and ants.
Ants have been eaten by tribes in the Amazon and in Africa (predominantly in Zimbabwe, Malawi, the Congo, and South Africa), as well as throughout Mexico. In Sweden, ant pupae are used to flavor gin. Ants are consumed both in egg form and as adults. They provide some protein and are rich in thiamine and riboflavin. Ant eggs are one of the most common insect products found in Mexican markets. Ant larvae are raised in Mexico, where they are canned and exported to Europe and the United States as a gourmet food item. Mexicans often cook ant eggs in butter and serve them in tacos. For dessert, many Indians in Mexico eat honeypot ants--so named because they fill their lower abdomens with honeydew from aphids. The enlarged bodies can be pressed for the honey or fermented in wine. Another sweet dish is made from live ants that have been fattened on peach nectar. Adult leaf-cutter ants are toasted like peanuts and served in movie theaters in Colombia. They taste like bacon. In parts of India, Burma, and Siam, a paste is made of the green weaver ant and served as a condiment with the curry. The same ant is mixed with rice in Borneo and is mashed in water and served as a drink in Australia and parts of Europe.
Bees are consumed by Congolese, rural Thais, Laotians, and American Indians. Some German children in Lower Saxony also eat honey bees. These insects are commonly consumed as bee brood--a mix of bee larvae and pupae. When bee brood is baked, fried, or deep-fried, it becomes dry and flaky like a breakfast cereal. Deep-fried bees can taste nutty or caramelized, and they have been compared with sunflower seeds, shrimp, walnuts, Rice Krispies, or pork cracklings. Chocolate-covered bees and bees in syrup are considered a gourmet item in Mexico. These products are canned also for export.
Adult butterflies and moths can be eaten toasted or sauteed in butter, but they are most often consumed in the caterpillar stage. These are eaten by Amazon tribes, Indonesians, and Africans in Angola, Cameroon, and Zaire. Zaireans eat more than 35 different species of caterpillar. The ancient Aztecs of Mexico preferred ears of corn ingested with caterpillars to those that were insect-free. Perhaps the most well-known "food" caterpillar is the maguey worm. The maguey worm--the caterpillar of the skipper butterfly--can be instantly recognized in its habitual resting place at the bottom of a bottle of mescal! The practice of adding the worm stems from an old custom of the Aztecs, who believed that the presence of an insect in an alcoholic beverage had spiritual significance.
A staple food in the past for Australian Aborigines, New Guineans, Siamese people, and American Indians, cicadas were also considered a special delicacy in ancient Greece and Rome. They contain a high protein content, and since cicadas eat only vegetable matter, they are a pure and wholesome food source. They are best eaten soon after they emerge from their last larval skin while they are still soft.
Grasshoppers are the most commonly consumed insect. They have been part of meals prepared by North American Plains Indians (particularly those of the Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau), Koreans, Japanese, and Indonesians. They are also sold as a novelty dish in the United States and were eaten in times of famine by European settlers. American Indians used to collect grasshoppers in large quantities by sweeping them up with brooms or driving them into pits with sticks. Roasted and ground into meal, they are eaten as mush or baked into cakes. Other Native Americans would dry and salt grasshoppers and eat them whole. Dried, they are an excellent source of protein. Native Americans often traveled with a grasshopper treat called "desert fruitcake" to sustain them on the trail.
Wasps have the highest protein content (81 percent) of all edible insects. They are widely consumed in Mexico, and the insect larva is food in rural parts of Thailand and Laos. Fried wasps, mixed with boiled rice, sugar, and soy sauce was a favorite dish of Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
6 taco shells 1 cup grasshoppers (legs and wings removed) 2 cups water 1 onion, peeled, chopped salt and pepper 1 bay leaf 1 clove garlic, crushed 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce lettuce, chopped additional onion, chopped tomato, chopped Bring grasshoppers, water, salt, pepper, 1 chopped onion, and bay leaf to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain off liquid. Add garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauces and simmer about 10 minutes. Partially fill taco shells with some of the grasshopper filling. Top with lettuce, onion, cheese, and tomato.
3/4 cup margarine or butter 3 cups sugar 2/3 cup evaporated milk 1 package (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate bits 17 ounces marshmallow creme 1 cup dry-roasted insects* 1 teaspoon vanilla Combine margarine, sugar, and evaporated milk in a heavy 2 1/2-quart saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for five minutes over medium heat. Remove pan from heat source and add chocolate pieces. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add marshmallow creme, dry-roasted insects, and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Pour into a buttered nine by twelve-inch pan. Let stand at room temperature until firm enough to cut into squares. *Dry roasted insects: Place insects on a cookie sheet and bake in a 200-degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until crispy. Suggestions for edible insects which would add "crunch" to this recipe would be ants, crickets, or grasshoppers. Recipes by Buzz McClain, staff writer for The Prince George's Journal 8/8/84. *Created by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History Check out these web sites for additional recipes: Iowa State University's Tasty Insect Recipes Bugfood II: Insects as food!?!
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