Neecy dear, are you trying to make
me sick? lol ![]()
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 9:14
PM
Subject: [Sndbox] Recipes for Greg
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| How to Obtain Edible Insects
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By far the most difficult part of attempting any insect recipe
is acquiring the necessary ingredients. Insects are rarely sold in
supermarkets, nor, aside from various novelty items, are there
many pre prepared insect food products. Therefore, those who wish
to eat insects must acquire them either by catching insects in the
wild, by buying insects from pet stores or bait shops, or by
raising their own.
Catching insects in the wild, unless you're fortunate
enough to live in a rural area, is a laborious and potentially
dangerous task. I advise this type of insect collection only if
you're sure that the insects you're collecting are edible
(doyous...), and that the area where you're collecting is free of
pesticides. Cicadas, field crickets, grasshoppers, grubs, tomato
hornworms, and so forth, are among the edible insects one is
likely to find on such hunting expeditions.
Buying insects is the easiest way to get edible insects,
but it is also the most expensive (ain't it always the way?). Most
pet stores and bait shops carry crickets and mealworms, two of the
most easily raised and prepared insect species. You can also buy
these insects in bulk from various insect suppliers (see my Links, Etc. page
for more information on the subject). The only preparation that
you need give to insects acquired in this manner is that of
feeding them for a few days on fresh grain; most insects you buy
at bait shops or pet stores have been eating newspaper, sawdust,
or similarly unsavory packing material, which, while completely
harmless, might affect the insect's taste if you ate them while
the material was still in their digestive tract.
Raising insects, in my opinion, is the optimum way of
ensuring a steady supply of palatable insects. While not entirely
as convenient as simply popping into the pet store whenever you
need insects, it is far cheaper, more environmentally friendly,
and more rewarding in the long run. See my page on Raising
Insects for all the juicy details. |
| How to Prepare Insects for
Cooking |
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Those who are accustomed to eating animals probably know that
most animals must be killed, cleaned, and cooked before one can
eat them. The case is similar with insects. While there are many
people in other countries who prefer to eat insects live and raw,
and while it is true that you could probably get the most
nutrients that way, I prefer food that won't crawl off my plate. I
have tried eating live ants and mealworms, and in fact present a
"recipe" for live insect consumption below; however, I would
advise that beginning insect eaters start with cooked insects.
To prepare a batch of crickets or mealworms:
Take the desired quantity of live insects, rinse them off and
then pat them dry. This procedure is easy to do with mealworms,
but fairly hard to do with crickets. To do so with crickets, pour
them all into a colander and cover it quickly with a piece of wire
screening or cheesecloth. Rinse them, then dry them by shaking the
colander until all the water drains. Then put the crickets or
mealworms in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer until they
are dead but not frozen. Fifteen minutes or so should be
sufficient. Then take them out and rinse them again. You don't
really have to clean mealworms, though if you want, you can chop
off their heads. Cricket's heads, hind legs, and wing cases can be
removed according to personal preference; I like doing so, since
cricket legs tend to get stuck in your teeth. You are now ready to
use the insects in all kinds of culinary treats! |
| Mealworm Chocolate Chip
Cookies |
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup mealworm flour
Cream butter well, then mix in sugar, egg, vanilla flour, salt,
baking soda, chocolate chips, oats, and mealworm flour. Drop
batter by the teaspoonful on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10
minutes at 375 degrees farenheit. This recipe doesn't have much in
the way of palpable insect content, but is an excellent way to
introduce others (or yourself!) to entomophagy. Even many rather
squeamish people will try mealworm cookies, since the cookie
format doesn't look "gross" to most people, and since it is rather
difficult to actually taste the mealworms, though they enrich the
cookie with a somewhat nutty flavor and extra protein.
To make insect flour:
Spread your cleaned insects out on a lightly greased cookie
sheet. Set your oven 200 degrees and dry insects for approximately
1-3 hours. When the insects are done, they should be fairly
brittle and crush easily. Take your dried insects and put them
into a blender or coffee grinder, and grind them till they are
about consistency of wheat germ. Use in practically any recipe!
Try sprinkling insect flour on salads, add it to soups, your
favorite bread recipe, on a boat, with a goat, etc. |
| Chocolate Covered Crickets
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- 25 adult crickets
- Several squares of semisweet chocolate
Prepare the crickets as described above. Bake at 250 degrees
until crunchy (the time needed varies from oven to oven). Heat the
squares of semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler until melted.
Dip the dry roasted crickets in the melted chocolate one by one,
and then set the chocolate covered crickets out to dry on a piece
of wax paper. Enjoy! This is a little time consuming to make, but
definitely worth it...the crickets are deliciously
crunchy! |
| Ant Brood Tacos |
- 2 tablespoons butter or peanut oil?
- 1/2 pound ant larvae and pupae
- 3 serrano chilies, raw, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- Pepper, to taste
- Cumin, to taste
- Oregano, to taste
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- Taco shells, to serve
Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan and fry the larvae or
pupae. Add the chopped onions, chilies, and tomato, and season
with salt. Sprinkle with ground pepper, cumin, and oregano, to
taste. Serve in tacos and garnish with cilantro. (Not living in an
area exceptionally prolific with ants, I have never been able to
try this recipe. But it sounds perfectly delicious! I found it in
'Creepy Crawly Cuisine', an excellent recipe book.) |
| "Natural Style" |
- As many mealworms as you can sanely eat
Open mouth. Insert live mealworms. Chew. Swallow.
You can eat almost every kind of edible insect raw; however,
this method of eating insects should only be performed on insects
that you keep yourself or know are free from pesticides. Do not
snag passing cockroaches, ants, or termites in an urban area
unless you have developed a natural immunity to pesticides. And
don't forget to wash your insects before eating
them! | |
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