Why do Koreans eat insects and their larvae? Edible insects - basic rules for eating insects
insect dish
Iron and other elements of the periodic table, important and necessary for our body. Insects practically do not contain fat, but have large number protein. Insect food very nutritious.
Many nutritionists around the world believe that insect food is healthy and recommend its consumption. The energy component of insect nutrition is not inferior to regular nutrition. Over 1,400 species of insects are eaten today. The most common countries where it is consumed are Thailand, Uganda and New Guinea. In these countries, purchasing an insect dish is not difficult. Ready-made ones are sold in restaurants, small cafes and even in the market, where they can sell you fried grasshoppers, silkworm larvae, crickets and many other dishes made from fried or boiled insects that literally an hour ago were crawling through the trees or jumping in the grass. If you want to try other varieties, you can go to special restaurants where you will be treated to fried bamboo worms or longhorned beetle larvae in the form of kebab. You can also try other dishes, for example: cutlets from earthworms, cheese fly larvae in cheese, dried caterpillars with onions, boiled wasps, fried ants, deep-fried water bugs and many, many other dishes which are based on. Insects live all over the world, they are not at all disgusting if you don't know what you actually ate. Insect food, in the future may become an additional or alternative food to our current diet. Key phrases:
delicacy
insect species
worms and larva
local trade
insect pupa
food for lunch
various insects
unusual food
beetle food
larvae with greens
sandwich with bugs
dried insects
beetles on skewers
cockroaches for lunch
beetles for beer
dried snacks
larvae for lunch
dry for beer
high-calorie food
Where: Thailand, China, Latin America
For Thais, a plate of fried bamboo worms is the same traditional way start a meal like a salad or soup for Europeans. Their taste and texture are a little reminiscent of popcorn, although they do not have any special pronounced taste, but they are very nutritious.
In fact, these are not worms at all, but larvae of grass moths from the grass moth family (Crambidae), living in bamboo. Traditionally they are harvested by cutting bamboo stalks, but more recently they have been grown commercially on farms and packaged in bags like chips. Bizarre Food products can, for example, be bought in England. In addition to Thailand, bamboo worms are eaten with pleasure in China and in the Amazon River basin.
Shish kebab from longhorned beetle larvae
Where: Eastern Indonesia
Longhorned beetles, large and shiny beetles with long antennae, are distributed throughout the world, and there are many of them in Russia. In our country they are also called woodcutter beetles, in the English-speaking world - capricorn beetles.
Longhorned beetle larvae, found in the roots of sago palms, are a very popular village food in Eastern Indonesia. For the sake of fatty and juicy larvae, Indonesians sometimes cut down small palm groves, and then, carefully stringing them onto twigs, roast the larvae over the fire. They have tender flesh, but a very dense skin that takes a long time to chew. The maggots taste like greasy bacon.
The larvae have another use: villagers use them as ear brushes - they stick a live larva into the ear, holding it by the tail with your fingers, and it quickly eats away the ear wax.
Cheese with cheese fly larvae
Where: Sardinia
This cheese is proof that insects are eaten not only in Africa and Asia. Casu marzu is an important Sardinian specialty: cheese made from unpasteurized goat milk with live larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. For most cheese lovers, casu marzu is not just mature cheese or blue cheese, but completely rotten cheese with worms. Strictly speaking, this is how it is: this is ordinary pecorino, from which it is cut top layer so that the cheese fly can easily lay its eggs in it. The larvae that then appear begin to eat the cheese from the inside - the acid contained in their digestive system decomposes the fats in the cheese and gives it a specific softness. Some of the liquid even flows out - it is called lagrima, which means “tear”.
In Sardinia, casu marzu is considered an aphrodisiac and is traditionally eaten along with worms. Moreover, casu marzu is considered safe to eat only while the larvae are alive. This is not easy to do: disturbed larvae, reaching a centimeter in length, can jump out of the cheese to a height of 15 cm - many cases have been described when they got into the eye of someone who tried the cheese. Therefore, lovers of casu marzu often eat this cheese with glasses or, spreading it on bread, cover the sandwich with their hand. However, removing larvae from cheese is not considered a crime. The easiest way is to put a piece of cheese or a sandwich in a paper bag and close it tightly: the suffocating larvae begin to jump out. When the shooting in the bag stops, the cheese can be eaten.
Of course, casu marzu does not meet any hygienic standards of the European Union and was banned for a long time (it could only be bought on the black market at a price twice the price of regular pecorino). But in 2010, the casu marzu was recognized as a cultural property of Sardinia and allowed again. 
Dried mopane caterpillars with onions
Where: South Africa
Dried caterpillars of Gonimbrasia belina, a South African species of mopane moth, are an important source of protein for South Africans. Collecting these caterpillars in Africa is quite serious business: in supermarkets and markets you can find both dried and hand-smoked caterpillars and pickled caterpillars rolled into tins.
To cook a caterpillar, you first need to squeeze out its green intestines (usually the caterpillars are simply squeezed in your hand, less often they are cut lengthwise, like a pea pod), and then boiled in salted water and dried. Sun-dried or smoked caterpillars are very nutritious, weigh almost nothing and have a long shelf life, but do not have much flavor (they are most often compared to dried tofu or even dry wood). Therefore, they are usually fried until crunchy along with onions, added to stews, stewed in various sauces, or served with corn porridge sadza.
However, very often mopane are eaten raw, whole or, as in Botswana, after tearing off the head. They taste like tea leaves. Caterpillars are collected by hand, usually done by women and children. And if they belong to anyone in the forest, then collecting caterpillars on neighboring trees is considered bad manners. In Zimbabwe, women even mark trees with their caterpillars or move young caterpillars closer to home, setting up unique plantations. 
Boiled wasps
Where: Japan
The older generation of Japanese still respects wasps and bees, prepared with the most in different ways. One such dish is hatinoko, which is bee larvae cooked with soy sauce and sugar: a translucent, sweetish caramel-like mass that goes well with rice. Wasps are also prepared in the same way - a dish with them is called jibatinoko. For older Japanese people, this dish reminds them of the post-war years and the rationing system, when wasps and bees were especially actively eaten in Japan. It is in steady demand in Tokyo restaurants, even if only as a nostalgic attraction.
In general, hatinoko and jibatinoko are considered a rather rare specialty of Nagano Prefecture. Fried black wasps are a little more common and are sometimes served with beer in Japanese taverns. Another specialty - rice crackers with earthen wasps - is made in the village of Omachi. These are small cookies with adult wasps stuck to them - each one contains from 5 to 15 wasps.
Japanese dishes made from wild wasps and bees are not cheap: it is impossible to put this business on stream; the preparation itself is quite labor-intensive. Wasp and bee hunters tie long colored threads to adult wasps and thus track their nests. However, you can also find canned bees in Japanese stores - this is usually how beekeeping farms sell their surplus. 
Silkworm fried with ginger
Where: China, Korea, Japan, Thailand
The city of Suzhou and its surroundings are famous not only for high-quality silk, but also for quite rare dishes made from silkworm pupae. As you know, silkworm caterpillars wrap themselves in a thin but strong silk thread. In the cocoon they grow wings, antennae and legs. Before this happens, Suzhou residents boil them, remove the cocoon, and then quickly fry them in a wok - most often with ginger, garlic and onion. However, tender larvae, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, go well with almost any vegetables and spices. When cooked correctly, they taste like crab or shrimp meat.
Silkworm larvae are no less popular in Korea. Trays of beondegi, boiled grubs with spices or steamed grubs, are found throughout the country. And stores sell canned silkworms, which must be boiled before use. They are also loved in Japan, especially in Nagato, and Japanese astrophysicist Masamichi Yamashita even suggests including silkworms in the diet of future Mars colonists. 
Fried ants
Where: Mexico, Colombia, Australia, South Africa
Ants are the most popular edible insects on Earth after grasshoppers. In Colombia, fried ants are even sold in movie theaters instead of popcorn. The ones most loved in Colombia are female ants with eggs. They are caught on rainy days, when water floods the anthills and the females climb out. In the simplest rustic version, they are prepared by wrapping them in leaves and holding them over the fire for a while. This is a crunchy, sweetish snack with a distinct nutty flavor.
But the most delicious ants, the so-called “honey” ants, are found in Australia. They feed on sweet nectar, transporting it in swollen abdomen (in Russian-language literature they are called “ant barrels”). These transparent bubbles are considered a sweet delicacy among the Australian Aborigines. In addition, two genera of honey ants are found in South Africa and semi-deserts of North America. 
Deep fried water bugs
Where: Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines
Large water bugs - insects from the Belostomatidae family - live all over the world, most of them in America, Canada and Southeast Asia. But while for Americans these are just large insects whose bites sometimes last for two weeks, in Asia they happily eat water bugs.
The Asian variety, Lethocerus indicus, is the largest in the family at 12cm in length, so the Thais simply deep-fry them and serve them with plum sauce. The meat of water bugs tastes like shrimp. At the same time, in Thailand they are eaten whole, in the Philippines the legs and wings are torn off (and in this form they are served with strong drinks as a snack), and in Vietnam they are made into a very fragrant extract, which is added to soups and sauces. One drop is enough for a bowl of soup. 
Grasshoppers with avocado
Where: Mexico
As is known, John the Baptist ate grasshoppers: the locusts, which he ate with wild honey, are locusts, close relative grasshopper It could be understood by Mexicans, for whom grasshoppers are practically a national food. Grasshoppers are eaten everywhere in Mexico: boiled, raw, sun-dried, fried, soaked in lime juice. The most popular dish is grasshopper guacamole: the insects are quickly fried, causing them to instantly change color from green to reddish, mixed with avocado and spread on a corn tortilla.
Like any small fried insect, fried grasshopper does not have a prominent flavor and usually tastes like the oil and spices in which it was fried. The grasshoppers sold by street vendors in Southeast Asia are simply overcooked chitinous shells. In general, grasshoppers are eaten wherever insects are eaten. Grasshoppers boiled in salt water and dried in the sun are eaten in the Middle East, in China they are skewered like kebabs, and in Uganda and nearby regions they are added to soups. It is curious that in Uganda, until recently, women were not allowed to eat grasshoppers - it was believed that then they would give birth to children with deformed heads, like grasshoppers. 
Dragonflies in coconut milk
Where: Bali 
Dragonflies in coconut milk
Where: Bali
Dragonflies can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h, so edible dragonflies are real fast food. They are caught and eaten in Bali: it is not easy to catch a dragonfly, for this they use sticks smeared with sticky tree sap. The main difficulty is to touch the dragonfly with this stick in a smooth and at the same time fast movement.
Caught large dragonflies, whose wings are first torn off, are either quickly grilled or boiled in coconut milk with ginger and garlic. Dragonflies are also made into a kind of candy by frying them in coconut oil and sprinkling them with sugar. 
Tarantulas baked on coals
Where: Cambodia
Black-fried tarantulas, looking like varnished, charred firebrands, are a common street food in Cambodia. A successful tarantula catcher can catch up to two hundred individuals per day. They sell very quickly. Cambodian tarantulas are fried in a wok with salt and garlic - their meat tastes like a cross between chicken and fish.
Large tarantulas, reaching 28 cm in diameter, are eaten in Venezuela simply by roasting them on coals. A slightly more elegant method of preparing tarantulas is used in Japan: they first tear off the spider's abdomen, then singe the hairs and quickly fry them in tempura.
However, it is believed that the most delicious spiders are not tarantulas, but spiders from the Nephilidae family, which are eaten in New Guinea and Laos. These spiders taste like peanut butter when fried. 
Last week in Moscow, as part of the film festival about science and technology organized by the Polytechnic Museum, screenings of the film were held, which talks about the fact that insects, firstly, can be tasty, and secondly, they are a source of protein, and therefore, probably this is the food of the future, because soon there will be life on Earth and they will all need to eat.
Director Andreas Johnsen and two heroes of “Zhukov” came to present the film: Josh Evans, a Cambridge student who worked in the organization for 4 years and researched little-used food sources, in particular insects; And Jose Carlos Redon- a chef from Mexico, a specialist in preparing delicious insects, breeds larvae (here you can read about all his projects -). On October 30, Jose prepared a dinner of insects at the Delicatessen restaurant; the chef and co-owner of the restaurant, Ivan Shishkin, helped him with four dishes and, in addition, prepared one of his own - a dessert of durian and silkworm larvae.
So, a five-course meal, each of which contains insects - something that an inquisitive person cannot miss, I thought. Another 50 Muscovites decided the same thing - that’s how many tickets were sold for the unusual set, they were sold out long before Sunday. Among those who came to Delicatessen were several of my friends, one way or another involved in the food and restaurant industry, several acquaintances of foodies (real foodies, not journalists or cooks, devoted fans of interesting food, the world of gastronomic pleasures and education), a couple of journalists, part of the team of chefs “Youth” and dozens of unknown people with pleasant faces. Of course, with pleasant ones, because if we all gathered at the appointed hour for the sake of one interest, it means that we definitely have a lot in common. In general, I also took the trip to a beetle lunch as an opportunity to meet like-minded people, people who are interested in expanding their boundaries and learning new tastes, just like me.
Insects are disgusting
For me this is absolutely true. For example, I am afraid of butterflies - they deceive a person. They look beautiful, with multi-colored wings, but upon closer examination they turn out to be hairy insects with nasty proboscis, which from a distance also resemble harmless flower stamens. Lies and provocation. Silkworm larvae, like ant eggs, do not disgust me - they are smooth. Although the silkworm has chitinous scales, this already looks much more dangerous. Lepidoptera, with complete transformation, arthropods, tracheal-breathing, six-legged, winged - all these are words about insects, each of which consistently generates a new attack of sticky disgust somewhere in the chest area.
Why am I doing all this? And besides, don’t think that I went to this dinner pleasantly inspired (in the context of talking about insects, this even sounds disgusting). I, like most likely you, am afraid of insects. Especially at ease. And until yesterday I tried only two types: dry overcooked grasshoppers in the north of Thailand - it was just nothing, ashes and earth, nonsense - and pickled silkworm larvae in tin jars from Korea - one of mine supplied them to Friday office parties former colleague, who became addicted to the dish after living in its homeland. This was delicious: juicy, with a bright marinade flavor - an excellent appetizer to go with bourbon.
I am inclined to consider this experience practically zero in the world of gastronomic possibilities of insects. And, since I love to learn and consider it useful to overcome unconsciously self-imposed boundaries in anything, if it does not harm another being, there was no doubt whether to go or not. After all, if people in Mexico, Africa and Korea eat insects, then it’s worth a try; it’s unlikely that millions of people could be so wrong. The desire to understand tastes that are unusual for a Russian person is no different from the desire to speak French or Japanese. Taste is exactly the same language, only it is much easier to learn.
Ant eggs - escamoles
A photo posted by Anna Maslovskaya (@annamaslovskaya) on Oct 30, 2016 at 7:05am PDT
The first course was seaweed and spelled biscuits with ant eggs (escamoles), chili sauce, pickled red onion, mint, calendula and caterpillar salt. I am writing this text after trying everything, and I can immediately say that these eggs are where I see the most potential for the world of food. They are pure protein, that's it. That is, they powerfully saturate. Second - nice light sweetish taste, the taste of neutral meat with a hint of fish and earth - in places it resembles bone marrow or even fat, but more interesting, richer. But there is also a minus - to produce in industrial scale they are impossible, which means it will not be possible to feed the planet. But the fate of the delicacy can be predicted.
Crickets - chapulines
A photo posted by Anna Maslovskaya (@annamaslovskaya) on Oct 30, 2016 at 7:47am PDT
It was a challenge: hard fried bodies with thin legs. “Waiter, I have a cockroach on my plate!” - that was the joke at our table. I delayed the moment, although the aroma was wonderful. So, what are these - crickets fried back in Mexico (chef Jose Carlos Redon brought them with him in his luggage, as well as all the insects from which dinner was prepared, except for silkworm larvae bought at the Vietnamese market in Moscow), tomato consommé, avocado, cilantro.
It's wildly delicious! But would it be tasty without grasshoppers? Absolutely. This is simply a very good dish, which is piquantly complemented by grasshoppers. As for the taste of the insects themselves - they have little innards, so they are more like chips with the taste of deep-dried meat and their own fat - plus a slight hint of urea, characteristic of almost all arthropods. In general, it’s interesting - and you can definitely eat it. But to have great fun at least the first time - unlikely.
Red agave worms - chiminquiles
A photo posted by Anna Maslovskaya (@annamaslovskaya) on Oct 30, 2016 at 9:58am PDT
Chilaquiles - blue corn tortilla with hot sauce, red caterpillars, onions, cocoa nibs, sour cream and cilantro. The taste of these caterpillars is very similar to the taste of grasshoppers, you can copy and paste. Red agave worms are caterpillars of a butterfly that lives on blue agave. These caterpillars are often put into mezcal. And the view is, of course, impressive. Timon and Pumbaa would be jealous. It's very interesting to try them alive.
Silkworm larvae
A photo posted by Anna Maslovskaya (@annamaslovskaya) on Oct 30, 2016 at 8:43am PDT
I thought this would be the easiest thing for me, but we already went. But again I was in no hurry. The dish looked like a battlefield in . This is one of my favorite films, so in some ways it looks attractive. On the other hand, you can see a mini seal in the pupae from some angles. On the third - chitin and scales again.
At first I decided that they were stuffed with something, like profiteroles. I ate a piece of the mass crawling out of the silkworm - an omelet. Now I understand - these are the insides of the larva, fried protein, the taste of which most of all really resembles a delicate egg soufflé. Protein, protein, protein. And there is a lot of it, which means that these larvae really make sense to use for food. It goes great with durian puree, especially if it’s already winter and you’re missing Asia again. A viable nutritious dish, the men around really liked it. Of course, this is almost their morning omelette.
Ant larvae in dessert
Larvae again, almost loved. The ice cream is made with milk in which ant eggs have been boiled, thus flavoring it. Then the same eggs were added to caramel, amaranth seeds and wild calendula flowers were sprinkled on top. Very sweet and caramel, a great dessert. It would be impossible to understand that there are larvae in it if we did not know this. Brilliant bright finale.
Verdict
Having tried everything from the world of insects, I can so far draw one conclusion - larvae and eggs are more interesting, more nourishing and tastier than adults, covered with powerful chitinous shells. Although, this is another observation - their taste is interesting. This is the same acquired taste that Ivan Shishkin spoke about in his “Preparatory Classes” - a taste that you need to get used to, a taste that expands your palette.
Trying roasted crickets and red worms and realizing that they are quite similar may be a small discovery, but it is. And the fact that ant eggs and silkworm larvae can provide so much protein and replace meat from a nutritional point of view - this information may one day help you survive (God forbid, of course). This five-course meal not only killed my dislike of insects (I just now know how to beat them: eat them!), but also sparked a great interest in the world of arthropods. Given the opportunity and with knowledgeable people, I would like to try more.
Reviews from guests at an insect dinner
Mikhail Ershov
A specialist from the foreign procurement department of Rosatom is experimenting with fermentation of products at home
“The evening was very interesting, my impressions were divided: on the one hand, I was disappointed in grasshoppers and caterpillars, on the other hand, I was pleasantly impressed by ant larvae. Silkworm and durian are absolutely delightful, a very interesting combination. Interestingly, I had no internal barrier at all to eating all this. The massive size of the event probably had an impact.”
Alexander Pokhvalin
Illustrator and foodie
“In my opinion, insects are an ingredient that so far does not add anything special to dishes other than an aesthetic component. Everything was delicious, but it would have been just as tasty without the grasshoppers and caterpillars. The only exception was silkworm larvae, which are unlike anything else in taste and texture. I don’t know if it’s even possible to extract any particularly bright taste from insects, but now for me they really look just like alternative source protein, but not as an interesting thing from a taste point of view. And it’s also a funny idea that these are ingredients that, if they get into a dish by accident, cause rejection, but when everything goes according to plan, then it’s a cool attraction.”
Alena Ermakova
“If you take this as a challenge and as a way to reduce barriers in your head, then this interesting experience. As a child, I was afraid of you, caterpillar, and now I will eat you! Well, that's about it. From a gastronomy point of view, this dinner did not impress me. Most of it wasn't particularly tasty. In addition, there was a feeling that if you removed the insect from the dish, no difference would be felt. But if you added pork, it would probably taste better! So I'm for pork. In hungry years, finding myself in a Mexican village, I will gladly eat soup with grasshoppers to get protein from them. But I’ll probably go to other places to eat for pleasure.”
Ilya Kolmanovsky
Head of the biology laboratory at the Polytechnic Museum, candidate biological sciences, zoologist, teacher, television and radio presenter
“My children liked the crunch of the larvae and the ice cream, or rather the ant caramel, in it. This is not the first time I have eaten insects - it so happens that I often get caterpillars for lunch; a colleague brings them to me. It’s very tasty, we eat them alive, like sashimi.
I was at the screening of the film “Beetles” at the Danilovsky market, there was a tasting of insects, but I liked it more at Delicatessen, the chef found wonderful combinations. I'm glad that no discount was made on Moscow tastes and the tortilla remained uncompromisingly spicy. I liked the local silkworms (they say the farm where they are raised is somewhere in the Kuban) the most: there was something to bite and they went well with durian. This is all acquired taste - an unusual taste that you need to learn and get used to. We were all lucky because we were able to try escamoles almost in winter - ant eggs, which are in season in Mexico in the spring. They were delivered frozen. It is in the spring that ants lay very large eggs, which later become queens. They are difficult to obtain; Mexicans try not to rob the nests too much, so that the colonies still continue to reproduce.
At lunch, I had an important conversation with both Josh and José about why humans, having made the leap in food security, domesticated animals to provide a permanent food supply, and why the same did not happen with insects. After all, insects produce a kilogram of meat per kilogram of food, and cows, for example, produce a kilogram of meat per six kilograms of food. Josh says this is due to the Eurocentric stereotype that switching to farming is a necessary stage for the development of civilization. Although this may be unsafe: pestilence or overgrazing may occur on the farm. But semi-free confinement is more careful in this sense; it is a more sustainable method.
Jose says that growing insects is technologically difficult and only now can we begin to do it. And Munipov (Alexey Munipov - Moscow journalist, foodie, was also at lunch at Delicatessen. - Note ed.) believes that aversion to insects is to blame. And there is truth in this too. The night before, my children refused to eat maggots at home. At lunch at Delicatessen, the daughter tried a couple of insects and the next morning she ate several more bugs at home, recording a video greeting on Halloween for friends. Before my eyes, her tastes are evolving.”
Morozov Alexey
Culturologist, also involved in fermentation, produces sparkling wine honey drink spontaneous fermentation "Myod"
“This lunch did not become overcoming any boundaries for me, since I have been interested in unusual food for a long time. As a child, I once secretly roasted larvae found under bark over a fire and was pleased with my experiment, although I never repeated it.
It was interesting to find out what taste different bugs have and what use chefs will find for them. Unfortunately, in most dishes insects were just decoration. Next time I would prefer to eat crispy fried grasshoppers and caterpillars separately as a beer snack. Although I would be happy to serve some pumpkin or tomato soup at home with grasshoppers instead of sunflower seeds.
In general, of course, it’s a shame that Westerners have so many prejudices about eating insects. I don’t think that, blindfolded, ardent opponents of the gastronomic use of bugs would distinguish a cooked caterpillar from some kind of seed, or the insides of a silkworm larva from an omelet.”
What insects can you eat? V Middle lane Russia, so as not to get poisoned? I have collected the most common types of insects that can be eaten if you are in survival conditions
Black forest ants and their larvae
In the forest you can often find anthills, and ants live in them. Ants are an excellent food for the hungry prepper. They contain a lot of protein. Ants contain formic acid, which is easily, almost completely neutralized during heat treatment (cooking). Red ants are very acidic (they contain a lot of formic acid).
How to cook:
- Ant broth
- Roasting ants
- Eat raw
Ant eggs
Ant eggs are a light food that is very easy to collect. They are very nutritious and contain a lot of protein. There is one simple way to collect ant eggs.
We dig up an anthill from the side (or at least from above). We scatter the contents of the anthill on a cloth (you can use an awning or a jacket), wrap the edges. Be sure to spread the cloth (fabric, jacket) so that straight lines fall on it sun rays. To avoid the eggs and larvae from drying out, the ants begin to drag them into the shade (under the folds of fabric or jackets). This way we get a lot of nutritious and clean (without soil and garbage) product.
Wood beetle larva
A very easy to obtain food and very nutritious is the larva of the wood beetle. It is not difficult to obtain it by tearing off the bark of a rotten tree, or simply by picking apart the passages of the woodworm and pulling out the juicy white larva. The larvae feed on wood, so they can be eaten raw, baked, fried, boiled...
Grasshoppers and locusts
IN summer season In the fields and meadows you can find grasshoppers, which can also be eaten. Grasshoppers can be fried on a fire, strung on a stick, or deep-fried (boiling oil). First season well with spices and salt.
Locust
The locust is similar to a grasshopper, but much larger. John the Baptist, as is known, ate grasshoppers: the locusts, which he ate with wild honey, are locusts, a close relative of the grasshopper.
According to the Book of Leviticus (11:22), four types of insects were considered acceptable in the diet of the ancient Israelites: “...of these you shall eat: the locust with its kind, the solam (type of locust) with its kind, the hargol (beetle) with its kind, and the chagab ( grasshopper) with her breed.” The Gospel of Matthew (3.4) says that John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey in the desert. Acrids are known to be several species of true locusts common in the Middle East and North Africa.
Carlton Kuhn's book "The Hunting Man" tells how the Indians caught locusts. They dug a trench and filled it with dry grass, which the locusts feed on, then they drove the locusts into the trench with sticks, they set the grass in the trench on fire, the locusts were fried, the villagers collected the ready-made fried locusts and carried away.
The pioneers of America also prepared locusts. They boiled it in salt water and then fried it in butter with vegetables and vinegar.
During the summer, the California Indians consumed huge quantities of locusts. They soaked these insects in salt water, then baked them in clay ovens, then ground and added to soups.
In Africa they love locusts very much, they eat them raw, cook them on stones or an open fire. In Japan, locusts are marinated in soy sauce and fried. In Asia they fry in oil. In Taiwan, locusts are a delicacy that is served even in the most expensive restaurants. Locust is very nutritious. It contains 50 percent protein (more than beef) as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins B 2 and niacin (nicotinic acid - vitamin PP)
How to cook locusts?
Before cooking, locusts should be boiled, after removing the legs and wings, then fried in oil. According to some gourmets, locusts taste like crayfish
Dragonfly
You can also eat dragonflies if you first tear off their wings and fry them, it will turn out very well. In Bali, for example, dragonflies are considered a delicacy. They even manage to make sweets from them, after frying them in boiling coconut oil and sprinkling them with sugar. Dragonflies are cooked in the same way.
Earthworms
They are absolutely tasteless, but at the same time quite nutritious, and getting them is not difficult. Worms can be eaten raw, after removing the dirt. Some craftsmen even manage to make cutlets from worms. Worms can also be baked.
Crickets
Crickets live in burrows. To get a cricket, fill its hole with water and it will come out on its own. We catch it, and then either fry it, boil it, or even bake it over the fire.
What insects can be eaten in extreme conditions?
Now I'll ruin my appetite. It is better not to watch for the faint of heart and hungry.
Entomophagy is the phenomenon of eating insects, inherent in many living beings (birds, reptiles, insects themselves, mammals). The definition was invented by man, therefore in relation to it it will be said that in Central and South America, Australia, Africa and in many regions of Asia (southern and eastern) there are dishes and entire cuisines based on the preparation of insects, which are very successful. In fact, entomophagy is found in more than 100 countries around the world, and it is believed that in the future the number of people practicing this way of eating will increase due to the threat of world hunger. It is estimated that more than 1.5 thousand species of insects can be eaten in one form or another.
Strictly speaking, accepted safety standards do not prohibit eating wormy vegetables and fruits. It is known that wormy apples are the sweetest on the tree, and the possibility of accidental ingestion cannot be ruled out. Moreover, during his life, a person, without knowing it, swallows more than 300 g of insects, along with jams, bread and other products. It should be noted that insects contain a lot of protein. In some cases, certain food additives are obtained from them, for example, cochineal food coloring is isolated from crushed scaly insects that live on prickly pears. Proponents of eating insects believe that this can solve many problems with obesity, high blood pressure, and so on. In the debate about healthy food, entomophagy charts its own path, which differs from the traditional and vegetarian path. Unlike vegetarians, entomophagists believe that plant proteins, obtained, for example, from nuts and legumes, do not replace animal proteins for humans. In the West, entomophagy is now gradually becoming fashionable, concentrating in communities associated with it. But we can firmly say that even having realized all the advantages of entomophagy, many people find it very difficult to overcome stereotypes.
Proponents of insect eating believe it will help solve obesity problems, high blood pressure, poor physical shape. In the debate about healthy food, entomophagy opens up a kind of third path, different from the traditional and vegetarian path.
Entomophagous (?) cuisine
Pate “Tender”
Any insects that are available are suitable for preparing this dish: mealworms and mealybugs, adult bees and their larvae, locusts, silkworm larvae, cockroaches. Fry finely chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic in oil. Put the insects (which must first be killed by leaving them in the refrigerator for half an hour), salt, pepper and the necessary seasonings - to taste. You can add a little white wine to the mealworms. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, and then rub through a fine sieve and keep on fire, stirring all the time, until all the liquid has evaporated and the pate has acquired a dense consistency.
Melt the butter and stir a glass of chopped worms into it. Add one tablespoon of honey and granulated sugar and beat the resulting mixture in a mixer. Pour in sweet sherry and rum (you can use more sherry and a few drops of rum). Boil for 5 minutes, then pass through a fine sieve and keep on low heat until the mixture hardens. Remove from heat, add a tablespoon of lemon juice and cool in the refrigerator. The good thing about the dish is that when it is finished, nothing in it reveals the main component from which it is made.
You will need three tomatoes, one small zucchini, an onion, two sweet peppers, one head of cauliflower, a glass of dry white wine, one hundred grams of grated cheese, three hundred grams of mealworms, herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil. Rinse the mealworms well and dry and salt. Finely chop the vegetables and fry in olive oil. Add worms and white wine to the fried vegetable mass and simmer for 10-12 minutes over low heat. Before serving, sprinkle with grated cheese and garnish with herbs.
Take 25 large crickets, euthanize them in freezer(do not freeze!), remove the hind legs and place on a baking sheet. Dry in the oven at 250 degrees for 1...2 hours. Melt a few chocolate bars and bring to a boil. Dip the finished crickets into the chocolate one at a time, then lay them out to dry on wax paper.
Women are offered, for example, a chocolate-covered cricket for the first time, believing that it is addictive it will go faster. But sometimes even such yummy food makes women feel sick: crickets on their teeth make a specific clicking sound, as if you are squashing a bug. However, later, having gotten used to these sounds, thrill-seekers crack crickets like seeds and claim that even potato chips with their monotonous crunch cannot compare with them.
In Thailand, the cheapest insect dishes are grasshoppers and ants, the most expensive is baked scorpion. It will be served to you only in an expensive restaurant, always on a thin flatbread, with a light sour sauce. In the north of Thailand, they also eat live insects, especially live (they must move!) ants in sauce or sugar. If you want to hunt for food on a plate - please!
Madagascar cockroaches are a real delicacy! Cockroach dishes are based on traditional Thai cooking recipes and are considered “cool” to eat. Fans of insect dishes claim, for example, that these fried creatures resemble ham.
The most popular snack is the ugly-looking crispy fried bear. Connoisseurs also speak highly of the classic "cocktail", which contains four components - crickets, locusts, water beetles and mole crickets.
Pizza with rhinoceros beetle larvae
What you need (8 servings): 15-20 rhinoceros beetle larvae
1 red bell pepper
2 tomatoes
1 onion
200 g hard cheese
5 tbsp. l. tomato paste
4 tbsp. l. mayonnaise
For the test:
1.5 cups flour
150 g butter (can be replaced with vegetable oil)
First the basics. Mix melted butter with flour, egg and salt. Knead thoroughly, roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in foil and put it in the refrigerator for a while. Now for the filling: chop the tomatoes, peppers and onions. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater. Ready? Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out thin layer on a baking sheet, forming small sides around the edges. Mix and spread evenly over the surface of the base. tomato paste and mayonnaise. Place tomatoes, peppers, onions and cheese on top (sequentially, in layers). Fry the rhinoceros beetle larvae in boiling oil over high heat for 5 minutes. Season them with salt and herbs, dry them from fat on paper towel and place on top of the cheese on the pizza. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes at 180°C.
What you need (4 servings):
1 cup mealworms
200 g long grain rice
1 leek
1 large onion
2 medium carrots
1 bell pepper
4 tbsp. l. soy sauce
vegetable oil
salt, pepper, green onions
Cook rice in salted water. Onions finely chop the leeks, mix and sauté in a small amount vegetable oil until golden brown. Then add the pre-grated carrots, and after another 10 minutes, add the bell pepper, cut into thin strips. Simmer the vegetables uncovered for 10 minutes, season with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Add cooked rice to the vegetable mixture. Heat the oil in a separate frying pan and fry the mealworms in it a little. They should increase slightly in size as they fry. Once this process is complete, remove the worms from the heat so they don't burn. Now season them with salt and pepper, mix with rice and vegetables and then simmer over medium heat for another 5-7 minutes. Serve the dish hot, sprinkled with finely chopped green onions on top.
What you need (12 cookies):
48 well-fried and caramelized crickets
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 stick of melted butter
Mix flour, salt and soda. Separately, beat the butter and two types of sugar with a mixer, add the egg, flour mixture, walnuts, chocolate chips and 2/3 crickets. Mix everything. Sprinkle a baking sheet with flour and spoon the dough onto it, forming small round cookies. Leave a distance of a couple of centimeters between them - when baking, the size of the cookies will double. Place a cricket on top of each, slightly pressing it into the dough. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 180°C.
Earthworm cutlets
What you need (4 servings):
700 g worms (after internal cleaning)
1 tsp. lemon zest
150 g melted butter
white pepper, salt
breadcrumbs
sour cream
Place the worms in a colander and place them in boiling water for a few minutes. Then grind them with a blender, add lemon zest, melted butter, salt and white pepper. Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with salt. Form cutlets from the minced meat, dip each one in egg and breadcrumbs and place in a heated frying pan with butter. Fry for 10 minutes on each side. Before serving, fill the cutlets with warm sour cream.