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An article for the Independent - and a list of great blogs!

3/22/2018

I wrote an article for the Independent, all about whether giving up meat and eating insects might save the world... here it is, please do take a look.

I also submitted a list of blogs as part of the article, but the didn't make the cut...so here they are!

If you're keen to read more about edible insects, please check these out (& let me know if I've missed any):

Bugburger – Tech Stack Manager Anders Engström on the rise of edible insects in Sweden and worldwide (Swedish/English)

Bugible – Entrepreneur Aly Moore on edible insect products and events in North America

Bugsolutely - Bugsolutely founder Massimo Reverberi on edible insect news worldwide

EntomoCentral - Media correspondent Justin Butner writes about all things edible insects, including a new series of posts titles 'Edible Insect Experts on...'

Entomology Anthropology - Anthropologist Dr Julie Lesnik on edible insects and human evolution

Entomove - Insect marketing manager and consultant Florian Nock on edible insects, farming and nutrition

EntoNation - More a comprehensive website than a blog, EntoNation also features a newsletter and podcast on edible insects. Check it out for articles on farming, cooking, thinking about - and enjoying! - insects as food.

EVO Conversion Systems LLC - Company EVO Conversion Systems on black soldier flies and their ability to convert waste into protein.

Ilka Taponen – Process Development Manager Ilka Taponen on the emerging edible insect industry in Finland and the rest of Europe (Finnish/English)

Les Criquets Migrateurs - Chemist Annie Ruelle-Sanguine and Agronomist Sebastien Collin on their adventures eating insects around the world (French)

Marwa Shumo - Postdoctoral Fellow Marwa Shumo on her work on edible insects in Kenya and Germany

Slices of Blue Sky - Blogger and engineer Marc Rumminger on current topics in insects as food

The Future of Edible Insects – Incredible Foods brand owner Mark Nagy on the challenges faced by insect-eating entrepreneur

The Insect Hunter - Food and Nutrition researcher John Kinyuru on his own experiences collecting and eating insects

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An eggciting discovery in Cambridge

3/18/2018

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'Insects are a delicacy!' is a phrase I've heard a lot and said myself, but I can see why it might be hard to believe.

If your first and only taste of insects is something deep-fried or freeze-dried, you might well be skeptical.

So here's an example of a edible insect - hopefully available in a store near you - that just might change your mind.

First, a little background: This, below, is the view from my window. I'm writing up my PhD results, holed up in an inverted snowglobe (Cambridge), and fresh edible insects seem like a distant, inaccessible luxury.

But a few days ago, everything changed. I went to my local Asian supermarket. As I was browsing and dreaming of warmth and miso, I spotted this on the shelves:

I'd never heard of Kai Mod Dang, but I know an insect dish when I see one! Served with sliced lime and pickles - what could they be? I turned the tin around and read with barely disguised glee: "RED ANT EGGS 25%, SALT WATER 75%'.

OK, not great ratios, but 25% is more than 0%, and the price - 5.45GBP for 400g - felt like a bargain.

I bought a couple of tins, enjoyed the shop owner's reactions to my purchase ('You eat these? Good! These are good!'), and headed home.

I've only ever had Mexican ant eggs before - we sauteed them in a little butter and folded them in blue corn tortillas. Called 'escamoles', they were one of the most delicious insects I've ever eaten. But perhaps Thai ant eggs would be different?

I turned to Twitter for help. Suddenly I had quite a few recipe ideas - I'd have to buy a few more tins!

That was a month ago, and I've only managed to try one of the suggestions so far. But it was definitely worth it. We had dinner guests, one of whom was our landlord, Geoffrey Roughton. I told him excitedly that I planned to cook ant eggs especially in his honour, and he did a very good job of showing his enthusiasm. He's very interested in insects as a potential alternative to meat, but he's always telling me that the key is in the preparation. I hoped that these ant eggs - and the recipes from my helpful Twitter friends - might just be flavoursome enough to win him over.

I drained the salt water off and we both sampled a tiny ant egg. Salty, creamy, and no discernible 'metallic' taste from being kept in a tin.

I sauteed them with a tiny scoop of plant-based 'butter'. Here's a photo:

They have eyes! Tiny black pinprick eyes. And some of them already have legs, too.

With wasp larvae in central Japan, the best quality selection would contain both larvae (no discernible ant/wasp form) and pupae (fully formed, but without a chitinous exoskeleton - like tiny white ghost versions of adult ants). They say this gives a more interesting texture and flavour. Perhaps the same is true of ants?

These ants certainly had a lot of both. They were a bit salty, but otherwise creamy, savoury and very moreish. Geoffrey sprinkled them liberally on his pasta, so I think he agreed. I'll definitely be trying them again, perhaps with another recipe next time.

Meanwhile, if you're based in a climate that's very much lacking fresh insects right now, I recommend checking out the six-legged delicacies that your local Asian supermarket might have on offer!

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An article for the Independent - and a list of great blogs!

An eggciting discovery in Cambridge

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