Roasted Pregnant Crickets?
April 21, 2007 10:16 PM Subscribe
32 Edible Insect Foods You Can Buy Online including such delicacies as Roasted Pregnant Crickets, Preserved Bamboo Worms in Salt Water Brine, and Preserved Weaver Ants Eggs. Not safe for insectophobes.
Years ago in Oaxaca I had some Mezcal from bottle with a large scorpian floating in the bottom and I assumed that it just some gimmick, but now I'm not so sure.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:39 PM on April 21, 2007
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:39 PM on April 21, 2007
i was in a cost plus store once where i saw cans of baby bees from korea. nipped in the buzz, so to speak.
i don't know if he's still there, but there used to be a uc berkeley professor who did an entomophagy (insect eating) thing every year, students would bring in sauteed grasshoppers, chocolate ants, mealworm surprises, etc., but as far as i could tell, they never did anything with houseflies. will somebody please eat a plate of housefly hash and post back what it tastes like?
posted by bruce at 10:47 PM on April 21, 2007
i don't know if he's still there, but there used to be a uc berkeley professor who did an entomophagy (insect eating) thing every year, students would bring in sauteed grasshoppers, chocolate ants, mealworm surprises, etc., but as far as i could tell, they never did anything with houseflies. will somebody please eat a plate of housefly hash and post back what it tastes like?
posted by bruce at 10:47 PM on April 21, 2007
the giant ants actually sound pretty good, anyone know a us source? (no luck searching so far...)
about 10 years ago a friend introduced me to another tasty food that seemed questionable at first -- at better sushi restaurants, when you order raw shrimp they are quite happy to deep-fry the heads and serve them to you. delicious and I highly recommend giving it a try.
funny, I believe I would try ants, grasshoppers, crickets, scorpions. worms and especially flies though, hmmmmm not so much. it must be an exoskeleton thing.
posted by dorian at 10:55 PM on April 21, 2007
about 10 years ago a friend introduced me to another tasty food that seemed questionable at first -- at better sushi restaurants, when you order raw shrimp they are quite happy to deep-fry the heads and serve them to you. delicious and I highly recommend giving it a try.
funny, I believe I would try ants, grasshoppers, crickets, scorpions. worms and especially flies though, hmmmmm not so much. it must be an exoskeleton thing.
posted by dorian at 10:55 PM on April 21, 2007
I have actually eaten fried grasshopper for a Boy Scout thing. Tasted a lot like a french fry.
posted by SansPoint at 11:13 PM on April 21, 2007
posted by SansPoint at 11:13 PM on April 21, 2007
I've tried soysauce fried grasshoppers in Japan. Tastes like woody soy sauce. It was...interesting.
Some people say seafood are the insects of the sea, and I love seafood (and can't fathom anyone that doesn't), so who knows.
posted by divabat at 12:07 AM on April 22, 2007
Some people say seafood are the insects of the sea, and I love seafood (and can't fathom anyone that doesn't), so who knows.
posted by divabat at 12:07 AM on April 22, 2007
a lobster is just a really big marine cockroach. yummm!
posted by bruce at 12:18 AM on April 22, 2007
posted by bruce at 12:18 AM on April 22, 2007
Bathe it in melted butter and I'll eat it, I don't care what it is.
posted by Dizzy at 12:28 AM on April 22, 2007
posted by Dizzy at 12:28 AM on April 22, 2007
It can't be as bad as okra, I don't care what it is.
posted by stavrogin at 12:31 AM on April 22, 2007
posted by stavrogin at 12:31 AM on April 22, 2007
at better sushi restaurants, when you order raw shrimp they are quite happy to deep-fry the heads and serve them to you
Usually known as sweet shrimp, or ama ebi.
I don't care for amaebi but I like it when chefs play with the fried heads and make them do a little dance
posted by flaterik at 1:37 AM on April 22, 2007
Usually known as sweet shrimp, or ama ebi.
I don't care for amaebi but I like it when chefs play with the fried heads and make them do a little dance
posted by flaterik at 1:37 AM on April 22, 2007
Some people say seafood are the insects of the sea, and I love seafood (and can't fathom anyone that doesn't), so who knows.
a lobster is just a really big marine cockroach.
These comments are true, but of course the key difference here is meat. Shrimp, prawns, lobsters, they all got meat on 'em. Grasshoppers, flys, bees, etc... it's like you're eating, well, wings and legs and crunchy stuff that's not meat, exactly.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:25 AM on April 22, 2007
a lobster is just a really big marine cockroach.
These comments are true, but of course the key difference here is meat. Shrimp, prawns, lobsters, they all got meat on 'em. Grasshoppers, flys, bees, etc... it's like you're eating, well, wings and legs and crunchy stuff that's not meat, exactly.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:25 AM on April 22, 2007
Well, that's precisely 32 more than I'm interested in. Blegh.
I do think the 'meat' theory of insect grossness has something to it. I find things like sardines repugnant, even though I'll eat larger fish, because I don't like cruching down an entire small animal, complete with anatomy. I don't care to eat bones, eyes, livers, brains, etc.
I think if you could find a really big insect, something you could render into little meat bits, preferably with no obvious anatomy, it might be more appetizing. Not enough for me to try it, though, unless I was starving. Even then I think I'd sooner graze the dandelions off my lawn.
posted by Mitrovarr at 2:54 AM on April 22, 2007
I do think the 'meat' theory of insect grossness has something to it. I find things like sardines repugnant, even though I'll eat larger fish, because I don't like cruching down an entire small animal, complete with anatomy. I don't care to eat bones, eyes, livers, brains, etc.
I think if you could find a really big insect, something you could render into little meat bits, preferably with no obvious anatomy, it might be more appetizing. Not enough for me to try it, though, unless I was starving. Even then I think I'd sooner graze the dandelions off my lawn.
posted by Mitrovarr at 2:54 AM on April 22, 2007
I perused the trays of giant, roasted roaches (or some kinda beetle) in the Thai street. But I only found enough inner explorativeness to approach the roasted grasshoppers. I designated the day, then got myself a packet of fresh. Much thinking before I gingerly bit that first crunchy leg. By the end of the day, I was popping not only legs, but torso's (with heads) and enjoying the tasty, greasy crunch. Like potato chips with more...body! Never did get around to the huge, roasted beetles, however.
posted by telstar at 4:25 AM on April 22, 2007
posted by telstar at 4:25 AM on April 22, 2007
I ate grasshoppers in Oaxaca. They are very salty. The tequila numbed any disgust.
One thing I didn't realize until that trip... the mezcal tequila with the worm in it? I always thought that was just what mezcal was, but in Oaxaca they sell all sorts of flavors. Turns out that the tequila with the worm is actually WORM FLAVORED.
Side note... looks like the Mexican government wanted to outlaw worms in mezcal 'cuz they release fat...?
posted by miss lynnster at 7:29 AM on April 22, 2007
One thing I didn't realize until that trip... the mezcal tequila with the worm in it? I always thought that was just what mezcal was, but in Oaxaca they sell all sorts of flavors. Turns out that the tequila with the worm is actually WORM FLAVORED.
Side note... looks like the Mexican government wanted to outlaw worms in mezcal 'cuz they release fat...?
posted by miss lynnster at 7:29 AM on April 22, 2007
i also had grasshoppers in Oaxaca, and Ill admit that they didn't taste gross - sort of bland actually. But the concept was just too much for me to continue. My friend suggested LOTS of chili powder and some lime, but at that point you're just trying to fool your tastebuds.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:49 AM on April 22, 2007
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:49 AM on April 22, 2007
Mitrovarr: this feller has some meat on his bones. Plus you get a free mouse with your meal!
posted by jewzilla at 9:32 AM on April 22, 2007
posted by jewzilla at 9:32 AM on April 22, 2007
Just to note, although in the article it's shown in Thailand, in Korea, you can get this at almost any streetcorner. I'm not saying it's great, but it's probably healthier than, say, a Big Mac.
posted by greasepig at 9:46 AM on April 22, 2007
posted by greasepig at 9:46 AM on April 22, 2007
jewzilla: and if the mouse had eaten a beetle, it would be centratbeetle.
I don't want to think about what the beetle's been eating
posted by lysdexic at 10:08 AM on April 22, 2007
I don't want to think about what the beetle's been eating
posted by lysdexic at 10:08 AM on April 22, 2007
Oh bruce, "nipped in the buzz, so to speak," just really gave me a giggle.
I lived in Zimbabwe for a while and there everyone was always really excited for flying termite season. They swarm out of those giant mounds that you see in the nature programs. All you need to do is grab a bag and stick it over the escape hatch on the mound and you get a ton of the things. Sometime the air would be so thick with them you had to pull over if you were driving because of the bug splats. But I digress. They were tremendously popular deep fried with salt. In that part of Africa bugs are a big part of the protein component of their diet. Another popular bug treat was mpani worms, which are catapilars that live on the mpani tree. At the markets you would see women with bags of the wiggly things. The women would take them and squish their guts into a pot to make a relish to serve along side a meal. They also dried them. I tried the termites, they tasted like super cruncy peanuts, the mpani worms I could not get myself to try.
The bug meal that makes me shudder is the giant turantulas that are evidently a big hit in the amazon. Blerg, eating spiders, the idea is just so, gah!
The travel channel has a great show where this guy travels all over the world eating the things that are delicasies, or just normalcies, that western folks turn green at. He had a great point on one of the shows saying, every culture has a food that others would find just horrifying. Limburger (or any number of cheeses) anyone? I love that stinky stuff.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 10:54 AM on April 22, 2007
I lived in Zimbabwe for a while and there everyone was always really excited for flying termite season. They swarm out of those giant mounds that you see in the nature programs. All you need to do is grab a bag and stick it over the escape hatch on the mound and you get a ton of the things. Sometime the air would be so thick with them you had to pull over if you were driving because of the bug splats. But I digress. They were tremendously popular deep fried with salt. In that part of Africa bugs are a big part of the protein component of their diet. Another popular bug treat was mpani worms, which are catapilars that live on the mpani tree. At the markets you would see women with bags of the wiggly things. The women would take them and squish their guts into a pot to make a relish to serve along side a meal. They also dried them. I tried the termites, they tasted like super cruncy peanuts, the mpani worms I could not get myself to try.
The bug meal that makes me shudder is the giant turantulas that are evidently a big hit in the amazon. Blerg, eating spiders, the idea is just so, gah!
The travel channel has a great show where this guy travels all over the world eating the things that are delicasies, or just normalcies, that western folks turn green at. He had a great point on one of the shows saying, every culture has a food that others would find just horrifying. Limburger (or any number of cheeses) anyone? I love that stinky stuff.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 10:54 AM on April 22, 2007
Belle O'Cosity: He had a great point on one of the shows saying, every culture has a food that others would find just horrifying.
I wonder what ours in the US is? The deep-fried twinkie?
posted by Mitrovarr at 11:38 AM on April 22, 2007
I wonder what ours in the US is? The deep-fried twinkie?
posted by Mitrovarr at 11:38 AM on April 22, 2007
Mitrovarr: As someone who's been a tourist to the US a few times, I'd say it's the rows of "food" you have that are essentially processed stuff, without any natural element whatsoever.
posted by divabat at 3:02 PM on April 22, 2007
posted by divabat at 3:02 PM on April 22, 2007
divabat: Aww, no love for our 'synthefood'? I thought we shipped lots of that stuff overseas.
posted by Mitrovarr at 3:36 PM on April 22, 2007
posted by Mitrovarr at 3:36 PM on April 22, 2007
One of my favorite childhood memories was eating these. They tasted like this. No kidding.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:21 PM on April 22, 2007
posted by bluesky43 at 5:21 PM on April 22, 2007
Belle O'Cosity: He had a great point on one of the shows saying, every culture has a food that others would find just horrifying.
I wonder what ours in the US is? The deep-fried twinkie?
American food is kinda bland; not too many creepy-crawly horrors lurking therein.
BUT I have heard that non-USians have a problem understanding the appeal of peanut butter. That's the closest thing I can think of. It ain't lutefisk or hakarl but it'll have to do.
posted by jason's_planet at 5:53 PM on April 22, 2007
I wonder what ours in the US is? The deep-fried twinkie?
American food is kinda bland; not too many creepy-crawly horrors lurking therein.
BUT I have heard that non-USians have a problem understanding the appeal of peanut butter. That's the closest thing I can think of. It ain't lutefisk or hakarl but it'll have to do.
posted by jason's_planet at 5:53 PM on April 22, 2007
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posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:26 PM on April 21, 2007