Bugs

Yes, this is my special one year anniversary blog. On Thursday the UTIA Entomology and Plant Pathology department hosted their annual Insect Smorgasbord. This event is one the ways the department raises awareness about how insects are used as a food source all over the world and important to our delicate ecosystem. I always enjoy visiting the Entomology labs when I am out and about on campus. I never know what interesting critters and research I'll stumble upon.






The menu included mostly mealworms (beetle larvae), crickets, cicadas, and ants cooked in various recipes. We had cricket meatloaf, mealworm meatballs, beetle bread, candied mealworms, candied ants, roasted crickets and cicadas used as garnish on stir fry or rice. I spoke to one of the researchers and he said they insects were mostly purchased from local pet stores and fed fruit for about a week to clean out their system. Once the system is clean an insect can be frozen and then prepared for consumption. I was personally hoping to eat bugs a little more exotic, but I can see how acquiring those bugs would have been very expensive.






The next group of pictures are of my plate and me eating the bugs. My overall impression? Well, I was hoping for more distinctive flavors. Mostly all I got was texture. I found that the cricket meatloaf tasted nutty, which is probably as distinct as it got. The bugs were mixed in with regular food so mostly all I tasted were the strong flavors of the other ingredients. The marina sauce in the mealworm meatball sub was overpowering, as was the peperoni on the mealworm cracker. The cicada was the only thing I ate by iteself and it didn't have much flavor at all, it was crunchy and chewy. Same with the crickets. I wish the experience could have been more authentic. I will probably have to travel outside the U.S. to have an authentic bug eating experience. It's on my list of things to do before I die. As far as the fetus is concerned, it's going to be very hard for a picky eater to survive in my home. I figured the sooner I can introduce the fetus to culinary adventures the better. I am looking forward to having a new little friend to sample the world's wonders with.





I love bugs. Always have. I ate them as a child. When I wasn't eating them I was making pets out of the them. When I was in 5th grade a teacher told me I would probably grow up to be an entomologist. Well, that didn't happen, but at least I finally found a job where I get to work with a bunch of entomologist.