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ENTOMOPHAGY ANYONE? BUGS MAY BE THE CUISINE OF THE NEW CENTURY
AUBURN, Ala.__-- Have a craving for a snack that's sweet and creamy?
Try a hissing cockroach. Or, if you prefer something nutty flavored
and crunchy, leaf-cutting ants are a fine choice, according to Takumasa
(Demian) Kondo, a Ph.D. student in Auburn University's Department of
Entomology who recently gave a seminar on entomophagy, the practice
of eating insects.
Kondo first encountered insect cuisine is his native country of Colombia,
where a snack of leaf-cutting ants is often available at marketplaces
in villages along the Andes mountains. Later, as he traveled around
Colombia and the world, Kondo learned that many cultures eat a wide
variety of insects, and he has become quite the gourmet insect chef
himself.
"The U.S. and Europe are developing countries in this area,"
Kondo said with a laugh. Though insects have long been consumed by humans
(even Aristotle once waxed eloquently on the flavors of cicadas) and
have played an important role in the history of human nutrition in western
North America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America, they were
not so readily accepted by Eurocentric cultures.
Reports from early European settlers in the United States often mentioned
– with a mixture of disgust and fascination – the insect dishes
and "cricket drives" common among the Native American cultures
they encountered. Aphids (a source of sugar), grasshoppers, cicadas,
beetle larvae and caterpillars were commonly consumed by Native Americans
before European influence squashed this cuisine. Kondo noted that some
people in the western states still eat honey ants, and periodical cicadas
are still eaten in the southern states.
According to Kondo, there currently are two major "hot spots"
of entomophagy, Thailand and Mexico. "In Mexico, more than 200
species are consumed," he said. Among them is the agave worm, a
moth larvae often seen in bottles of mezcal, a drink similar to tequila.
"In Thailand, one thing that surprised me was that they ate scale
insects," continued Kondo, who is researching scale insect pests
for his doctoral degree. "Scale insects are usually tiny, but these
were very large and belong to the family Margaroridae." Other favorites
of the Thais are honey bees, giant water bugs, weaver ants and grasshoppers,
to name a few. In Indonesia, dragonflies are a favorite and in Africa
grasshoppers and termites often are consumed. Kondo noted that insects
are both nutritious and delicious. Most insects are high in protein,
carbohydrates and other nutrients and usually are low in fat, and they
have distinctive flavors. Male giant water bugs have a minty taste,
probably related to the taste of the male pheromones, leaf-cutting ants
(also known as "big butt ants") have a walnut flavor, fire
ant pupae taste like watermelon (though Kondo noted that the flavor
of these critters may vary from site to site) and silk worm pupae taste
sweet and creamy.
He also offered some hints on knowing which insects to eat. "Red,
orange or yellow, forego this fellow; black, green or brown, go ahead
and toss them down" is one rule of thumb to follow. "Usually,
insects that have very colorful parts also have nasty smells or poisons,
and usually dark colored insects are less likely to be toxic,"
he said. "But this is not always the case," he added. The
best way to select edible insects is to read a reference book on insect
eating, and most experts strongly suggest that all insects should be
cooked before they are consumed.
Some insects are eaten for reasons other than nutrition and flavor,
added Kondo. Several, including scorpions and Spanish flies (blister
beetles), are considered aphrodisiacs and Kondo said some people claim
these work as well as Viagra. Other insects are used as condiments,
such as dried giant water bug, which is often used in soups.
"I don't want to shock anybody," said Kondo, "but I have
to tell you the truth. We are all entomophagers. Many insects or insect
parts are in our foods, including cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables
and dried fruits." Kondo noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
fully recognizes that insects are impossible to bar from processed or
fresh foods. The FDA does, however, regulate the amount of insects,
insect parts or eggs that are permissible in foods. For example, a package
of frozen broccoli may legally contain no more than 500 aphids and a
can of mushrooms may contain up to 24 mites.
Many modern entomophagers contend that insects should be the food of
the future. They note that insects are nutritionally superior to many
other meat protein sources, such as beef and chicken. In addition, insects
are abundant (some 1,500 species have been deemed "edible"),
require less space to be produced and harvesting insects for food could
reduce the need for chemical pest controls. Insects might also provide
a new alternative crop for small farmers.
The idea is catching on, sort of. In the western U.S., various restaurants
are offering insects dishes on their menus, and in some circles these
dishes are considered haute cuisine. Typically, these dishes are found
in restaurants that specialize in pre-Hispanic or pre-Colombian food,
which include dishes eaten by native Mexicans before the Spanish arrived
with their European tastes.
Some specialty food stores also are carrying more and more insect foods.
Maguey worms (the larvae of the giant skipper butterfly) have been canned
in Mexico for some time, and now they are being imported into the United
States. Other imported insect foods include Japanese "Baby Bees"
(fried bee pupae with teriyaki sauce) and fried grasshoppers and silkworm
pupae. However, insect connoisseurs often turn up their noses at these
items, believing that the best tasting insects are fresh ones.
If entomophagy does become more common, Kondo said today's genetic technology
may allow science to develop a new line of super insects -- larger grasshoppers,
for example. "I just hope they aren't so large we have to use guns,"
he said with another laugh.
In the meantime, Kondo and others with a craving for bug cuisine must
forage for their own insect ingredients. Luckily, many edible bugs are
in abundant supply around homes and in the woods. And Kondo is quite
willing to share his own recipes. Giant Water Bug Tempura anyone?
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By:
Katie Smith
6/21/99
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