Or, scenes from my kitchen on a Sunday morning [full photo album]
The release of Mary Roach's new book, "Gulp" got me thinking about adding a few animal products back into the diet. Decided that it was time to give insects a try.
After spelunking a bit on the internets, found myself in email conversation with Harman Johar, founder of World Ento. They offer organically raised mealworms and crickets specifically for human consumption (they do all of the dirty work: http://goo.gl/LVnzW).
I ordered a small sized (100g) batch of each - crickets (Acheta domesticus) and mealworms (larval stage of Tenebrio molitor). They arrived on Friday via USPS.
I grabbed a copy of "Creepy Crawly Cuisine" (http://amzn.com/B0062C5S5W) to read up on prep, cooking and recipes. Decided to keep it simple the first time, and just stir fry. Both were seasoned lightly with Jane's Krazy Salt (http://amzn.com/B000GZU8VU).
Also found a recent journal article in Molecula Food and Nutrition Research by Birgit A. Rumpold and Oliver K. Schluter, "Nutritional composition and safety aspects of edible insects" (http://goo.gl/cuFL5) from which I learned:
100g of fresh adult crickets:
505kcal, 70g protein, 18g fat, 16g carb
100g of fresh mealworms:
565kcal, 49g protein, 38g fat, 6.5g carb
But how do they taste?
Both have a fairly mild flavor - nothing too strong or pungent. But no, they do not taste like chicken. The mealworms had a surprisingly light crunchy texture. The crickets were also nice and crispy. The small bits of the exoskeleton - wings and antennae - weren't noticeable at all.
Would I eat them again?
Yep. Because they both have a mild flavor, they take on the taste of what you cook them in. I kept it simple this time, but could easily see them becoming part of my diet.
What about the price?
They ain't cheap if you buy them in small quantities. And keep in mind that these are specifically sold for human consumption. While there are many on-line sellers who cater to the reptile owner crowd, these are considerably more expensive. 100g of crickets were $15 and 100g of mealworms were $11.
For a quick comparison, you can get a pound (454g) of Foster Farms chicken breast for $6.49, or about $1.40 per 100g. The vegan protein powder mix that I normally use - hemp, rice, pea, potato, sacha inchi - costs me about $9.82 per pound, or $2.15 per 100g.
That being said, Harman at World Ento assures me that as they ramp up their production capacity, those prices will drop significantly. Look for lower prices in late 2013!