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Studying native food traditions around the globe for over a decade has been yielding me many surprising results, among which is the fact that ALL of the major native traditions I have studied in Africa, Asia, America, Australia (coincidentally, they are ALL non-white cultures), insects are included as part of the diet. In fact, some insects are highly valued for their great supply of nutrients.
During a trip to a remote area in tropical Asia, I was introduced to a variety of such foods for the first by the native people (and how to find them, what types to look for, how to prepare them, what health benefits each of them offers, etc.). That was such an eye-opening experience for me! Seeing how the local people taking such foods for granted and feeling no qualms whatever, I learned to adopt their attitude, and suddenly, there appeared a strange yet strong feeling of a greater freedom, with food at least.
Later on, I checked around the net and found this article. And NO, the recipes at the end are NOT humor pieces, even though they may seem like taken from the writing of Dave Barry, or someone like that. I've never tried those recipes because they don't really look good--at least not as good as the ways the native people used to prepare their insect foods, which are extremely delicious and nourishing, and a lot simpler/easy to make.
Here is the article (I guess now after over 10 years, the delicacy of "microlivestock" is still not on many people's dinner plates, heh):
(from Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet
Entomology 1991 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1000)
Insects as Human Food (Microlivestock)
HYG-2160-96
William F. Lyon
The January 2, 1996 Wall Street Journal reported on a "small energetic group of entomologists, farmers and chefs" who are promoting edible insects, a foodstuff better known in academic circles as "Microlivestock."
Entomophagy (the eating of insects) has yet to become a day-to-day activity for most people in the United States and Europe in spite of the superior nutritional content of edible insects compared to other animals. Other cultures around the world have made insects a main ingredient in their diets, providing an excellent source of protein. Insects are an inexpensive substitute for meat in many developing countries.
In Mexico, grasshoppers and other edible insects are sold by the pound in village markets and are fried before being eaten. Many are sold in cans as fried grasshoppers, chocolate covered ants, etc. Tortillas are served with red and white agave worms in many Mexico city restaurants.
Columbian citizens enjoy eating a variety of insects such as termites, palm grubs and ants. Ants are ground up and used as a spread on breads.
Popular insects eaten in the Phillippines are June beetles, grasshoppers, ants, mole crickets, water beetles, katydids, locusts and dragonfly larvae. They can be fried, broiled or sauteed with vegetables.
In parts of Africa, ants, termites, beetle grubs, caterpillars and grasshoppers are eaten. Some insects such as termites are eaten raw soon after catching, while others are baked or fried before eating.
The giant waterbug roasted and eaten whole is a favorite food in Asia. It is easily collected around lights at night around bodies of water.
Sago grubs are popular for cooks in Papua New Guinea, most often boiled or roasted over an open fire.
Other edible insects eaten in this country include larvae of moths, wasps, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, adult grasshoppers, cicadas, stick insects, moths and crickets.
In the United States, some restaurants (Washington, DC) are incorporating insects into their recipe books and menus. On the menu are interesting dishes such as stir-fried mealworms and caterpillar crunch (a combination of trail mix and fried caterpillars). Insects can be substituted for everyday recipe ingredients. Tom Turpin, Professor of Entomology at Purdue University enjoys "chocolate chirpy chips" which is a variation of chocolate chip cookies. He uses the chocolate chip cookie recipe but adds roasted crickets to the cookie dough before baking. The cricket's wings and legs are removed before roasting.
Most American insect recipes are based on limited types of insects easily purchased from supply companies, pet stores or bait shops. Ants, crickets, grasshoppers and mealworms are the most common insects used for cooking. Over 1,000 insect species are eaten by humans world wide. Not all insects are edible. Some insects are toxic and may create allergy problems. Use only species mentioned in this Entomology fact sheet.
Along with nutrition comes the added benefit of good taste. Doug Whitman, Entomologist at Illinois State University, enjoys eating raw yellowjacket larvae which have a sweet, nutty flavor. Gene R. DeFoliart, retired Entomologist at the University of Wisconsin, prefers the greater wax moth larvae (deep-fried will melt in your mouth, tasting like bacon) and crickets deep-fried have a crunchy, tangy flavor. He feels the honey bee has a good chance of becoming an American bug food. A pound of honey bees is about 3,500 bees. They can be put in an oven at low heat for eight hours and then used in flour for cookies. Some feel insect popcorn, using crickets, would be a new theater treat.
Most insects are cheap, tasty and a good natural protein source requiring less land and feed than raising cows or pigs. Many insects are far cleaner than other creatures. For example, grasshoppers and crickets eat fresh, clean, green plants whereas crabs, lobsters and catfish eat any kind of foul, decomposing material as a scavenger (bottom water feeder).
By weight, termites, grasshoppers, caterpillars, weevils, house flies and spiders are better sources of protein than beef, chicken, pork or lamb according to the Entomological Society of America. Also, insects are low in cholesterol and low in fat.
If Americans could tolerate more insects (bugs) in what they eat, farmers could significantly reduce the amount of pesticides applied each year. It is better to eat more insects and less pesticide residue. If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would relax the limit for insects and their parts (double the allowance) in food crops, U.S. farmers could significantly apply less pesticide each year. Fifty years ago, it was common for an apple to have worms inside, bean pods with beetle bites and cabbage with worm eaten leaves. Most Americans don't realize that they are probably already eating a pound or two of insects each year. One cannot see them, since they have been ground up into tiny pieces in such items as strawberry jams, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, applesauce, frozen chopped broccoli, etc. Actually, these insect parts make some food products more nutritious. An issue of the Food Insects Newsletter reports that 80 percent of the world's population eats insects intentionally and 100 percent eat them unintentionally.
The nutritional content of edible insects and other animals based on a 100 gram serving are as follows:
Energy
(Kcal) Protein
(g) Iron
(mg) Thiamine
(mg) Riboflavin
(mg) Niacin
Termite
(Macrotermes subhyanlinus) 613 14.2 0.75 0.13 1.15 0.95
Caterpillar
(Usata terpsichore) 370 28.2 35.5 3.67 1.91 5.2
Weevil
(Rhynchophorus phoenicis) 562 6.7 13.1 3.02 2.24 7.8
Beef
(Lean ground) 219 27.4 3.5 0.09 0.23 6.0
Fish
(Broiled cod) 170 28.5 1.0 0.08 0.11 3.0
Some tasty insect recipes obtained from the Iowa State Department of Entomology EntoGopher are as follows:
Rootworm Beetle Dip
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1-1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons skim milk
1/2 cup reduced calorie mayonnaise
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1-1/2 tsp. dill weed
1-1/2 tsp. Beau Monde
1 cup dry-roasted rootworm beetles
Blend first three ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and chill.
Banana Worm Bread
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 eggs
1/4 cup dry-roasted armyworms
Mix together all ingredients. Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 deg F for about one hour.
Chocolate Chirpie Chip Cookies
2-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 12-ounce pkg. chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dry-roasted crickets
Preheat oven to 375 deg F. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture and insects, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Bug Blox
2 large packages gelatin
2 1/2 cups boiling water (do not add cold water)
Stir boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely.
Stir in dry-roasted leafhoppers.
Pour mixture slowly into 13 x 9 inch pan. Chill at least three hours. BLOX will be firm after one hour, but may be difficult to remove from pan. Cutting blox: dip bottom pan in warm water 15 seconds to loosen gelatin. Cut shapes with cookie cutters all the way through gelatin. Lift with index finger or metal spatula. If blox stick, dip pan again for a few seconds.
In Reply to: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by whole foods expert :) [5329.1399] on April 06, 2007 at 09:39:55:
Expert:
Interesting...I wonder who carves the cockroach on Thanksgiving.
But seriously, supposedly in the U.S. hot dogs are allowed by law to contain a certain amount of insect parts and rodent hairs. We have eaten insects without knowing it.
There is no way in hell I'm trying those recipes you posted. Thanks, but no thanks.
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by PhillyLady [5066.2761] on April 06, 2007 at 11:58:26:
hot dogs can have them also? I guess any ground or milled food can then. Wonder if you eat a hanburger and a hot dog on buns, and a PNB & jelly sandwich, if you will go over the RDA of hairs and parts??))
What about organic, free range insects ?)
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by Vince F [4572.3053] on April 06, 2007 at 13:07:46:
Vince:
I don't eat hot dogs so I'm insect free.
Come to think, I do use brown rice flour so.......?
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by PhillyLady [5066.2761] on April 06, 2007 at 13:28:44:
whatch out for insects hiding in veggies. Though they'd only be little ones, but enough could affect RDA, because the would be whole.)
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by Vince F [4572.3053] on April 06, 2007 at 13:41:22:
Vince:
They all get washed before cooking or eating. I always look carefully. The toughest vegetable would be broccoli because of all the tiny hiding places. If anything remains, it would so small, it would be undetectable. I'm ok with that:-)
In Reply to: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by whole foods expert :) [5329.1399] on April 06, 2007 at 09:39:55:
All the flour, sugar and dairy makes those recipes less than acceptable as part of a PWFD!
~~~8>
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by PhillyLady [5066.2761] on April 06, 2007 at 11:58:26:
I thought it was the catchup with worm parts...but who really knows?! Whatever...a few insect parts or rodent hairs won't kill you, even if they are less than appetising for our American palates. We do seem to live a rather santized life here compared to many other countries. It doesn't generally 'bug' me! :-)
~~~8>
In Reply to: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by whole foods expert :) [5329.1399] on April 06, 2007 at 09:39:55:
EEEEEEEEW.
In Reply to: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by whole foods expert :) [5329.1399] on April 06, 2007 at 09:39:55:
Thanks, Whole.
ANYTHING that expands the variety in our diet will help, especially if it is unrefined.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by labrat [7343.2765] on April 06, 2007 at 14:25:06:
Sigh. I guess you guys didn't even read the article. If you did, you'd see this statement: "An issue of the Food Insects Newsletter reports that 80 percent of the world's population eats insects intentionally and 100 percent eat them unintentionally." So, everybody has ingested bugs, even though some may not realize it. Any runner knows this too: one easily swallows several gnats during a run in the warmer season. Hello? Did they kill you? No.
I think this bug-phobia is obviously cultural rather than natural. Think about it: edible insects have been part of the human diet since before we were humans. So, millions of years of human experiments with this food have PROVEN this food as a healthy supplement to the human diet. So what's the problem?
The problem is the narrow-minded cultural conditioning, from which the intelligent and bright members of that culture are supposed to grow beyond. It's like with raw food. The first time I tried raw beef, it took me quite some time to get over that mixed feeling of doubt, suspicion, queasiness, all of which were part of MY cultural conditioning (which NEVER recommends raw meat!). But once I pluck up my courage and tried raw meat, I then realized it's really no big deal.
The same thing with insects. I mean, they are clean, fresh, healthy, w/holistic, and WE KNOW that the most humans have been eating them for tens of thousands of years (with no ill effect but benefits instead), so why not?
Mental rigidity is what keeps people from expanding their horizons.
Of course, it'd be much easier to try these if one were immersed in the bug-eating cutural context. Say you were a tourist, and saw such delicious fares all over the place, and everyone in that area highly values such food, and the peddlers and other natives can demonstrate on themselves to show you how, and then they look at you encouragingly as you hesitantly pick one up, close your eyes and swallow an ant's egg... Hmmm, surprisingly yummy. Then you try another, and then another, and then a spoonful :)
See how easy it is?
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods Archive. posted by Walt Stoll [93.1889] on April 07, 2007 at 07:24:00:
Thanks, Walt.
You have good taste--pun intended :)
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by labrat [7343.2765] on April 06, 2007 at 14:25:06:
Hey Labrat:
I realize we unknowingly eat insects and rodent hairs. But just like the vegetarian who prefers to not eat meat, I prefer to not eat insects willingly:-)
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by whole foods expert [5329.1399] on April 07, 2007 at 08:35:36:
I did read the article and I commented in my post that I thought our culture here in the states was a bit oversantized compared to other countries. (didn't you see that in my post?) My only disagreement with the article was that the recipes were decidedly NOT whole foods!
I eat all kinds of raw stuff and body organs and parts and weird animals like squid, eel, snails and octopus that gross a lot of my friends out. I have not eaten insects yet, but I would be able to try them. I must admit however, that I do have an extremely intense aversion - maybe even a phobic type response - to worms, grubs and caterpillars. I would probably never be able to eat one of those...but I'd try ants for sure.
~~~8>
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by labrat [7343.2765] on April 07, 2007 at 21:19:03:
Oh good. Nice to know there is another adventurous spirit (with food) around here. Yes, I had seen that in your earlier post, but your last sentence gave me the impression that you actually like (at least have no objections towards) oversanitation, which sort of nulls it.
Speaking of oversanitation, well, you seem to imply that edible insects are not clean--a concept which is completely untrue. In reality, they are prepared just like any other food, so it can be as sanitized, or as unsanitized, as one choose to. In other words, edible insect is merely an ingredient, and this ingredient is no cleaner or dirtier than any other food; the sanitizing part is what people do to the ingredient, rather than an inherent nature of the ingredient itself.
Anyway, I think it is wise to try to adapt to a diet that includes insects as a part. In case of a nuclear war that wipes out human civilization, leaving no one to slaughter the animals for the rare few of us who survived, or leaving no animals at all except insects, then ant's eggs and grasshoppers etc. can be an easy-to-find source of animal protein. heh heh.
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by To labrat [5329.1399] on April 08, 2007 at 08:53:47:
I am a pretty literal person as a rule. I was not implying anything about the cleanliness or uncleanliness of insects as a food. Where did you get that impression?
I made no judgement pro or con.
So what insects have you eaten?
~~~8>
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by labrat [7343.2765] on April 08, 2007 at 10:04:58:
It's from your mention of sanitation in this particular context of insects. And your big "NOT" in caps in the subject line.
About your earlier point of the recipes having unhealthy products, I agree. As I mentioned earlier, the native ways of preparing these foods is much more healthy. They should simply introduce those native recipes directly to the western world, instead of rendering it through a "filter" and making a beneficial food into an unhealthy fare. Unfortunately, this happens a lot when people introduce something good and healthy from other cultures to the U.S., which may partly explain the health problems in the states.
That's why it's important to study native/ traditional diets on one's own by going there, and to learn from the natives directly, so we can avoid fallacies (such as the fallacy of believing the stuff offered as "Chinese" food in the U.S. is real Chinese food, for instance).
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by To labrat [5329.1399] on April 08, 2007 at 22:25:16:
I see - the NOT refered to your stating it was "whole foods" when every recipe called for sugar and/or some other refined product.
And my comments about sanitation were in the context of insect parts and rat hairs allowed infood; again, I stated that I thought the US was exceptionally sanitized compared to many other cultures..no judgement was made.
I agree with you about Chinese food. The same is true of Mexican and many other ethnic foods here.
So, you never answered my question - what insects have you eaten??
~~~8>
In Reply to: Re: Expand your horizon with whole foods posted by labrat [1119.3360] on April 09, 2007 at 08:13:35:
Then the "NOT" is misplaced, because using some refined ingredients in the recipes doesn't make the entire food group of insects into non-whole foods. And it is the latter that's the subject of my post.
Also, when you stated "We do seem to live a rather santized life here compared to many other countries. It doesn't generally 'bug' me!" the statements do make some judgment. See, if a "rather sanitized life" doesn't bug you, then obviously the not so sanitized "other countries" probably does bug you. That’s how I got that impression about insect as being unclean/unsanitized from you. And, a "rather sanitized life" doesn't mean "oversanitization," right?
What I have eaten—hmm, that’s a long story. Why, are you interested in trying some? Ha!
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