The Delicious World of Edible Insects!

By Kristie Leong M.D., published Jul 11, 2007
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Would you eat an insect? It might surprise you to learn you already have and didn't even know it. They say a single individual may consume as many as a pound of insects over a lifetime in the processed foods they eat. For example, at many of the granaries in our country insects are milled along with the grain into the final product which ends up on your table as toast bread. Yet, we still find the concept of edible insects to be repulsive.

It may surprise you to learn that not only are many insects edible, they're also nutritious and thought to be quite delicious by people from other areas of the world, particularly Thailand where edible insects are sold as a delicacy.. There's even an official name for the practice of eating insects which is Entomophagy. A fancy name for a rather common practice in other cultures.

Just what are some of the edible insects you can choose from? Upon visiting some online sellers of gourmet insects, I found such offerings as: slow roasted giant water bugs; extra hot crushed giant bug paste; scorpions preserved in brine,;fried hairy tarantula spiders tossed in a spicy sauce,;ant eggs; delicately roasted termite eggs; and even a bug sample pack consisting of seven, slow roasted insects for snacking purposes. You can check out the full selection of edible insects at http://www.thailandunique.com/toeat.html. where you can conveniently order them online.This is just a small selection of the edible insects available to you. In fact, there are over 2,000 known edible insects!

Another surprising fact about edible insects is how nutritious they can be. In fact, 100 grams of insects supplies a full day's supply of vitamins and minerals as well as over 50 grams of protein, all for a calorie content of about 400 kilocalories. In fact, because insects are so nutritious, many people in the know are advocating they be used as sources of protein in areas where food is scarce, such as central Africa.

Comments
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Yikes!!! Fun read, but I do agree with Sophie..I couldn't knowingly eat an insect no matter what sauce they put on it!!!! :)

Posted on 07/12/2007 at 5:07:00 PM

 
This is so funny! Who would have thought we'd be eating insects in our bread? I'm not so sure if I could actually knowingly eat an insect though. So I shall lay off the oregano and garlic insect seasonings for now if you don't mind, Kristie! Sophie

Posted on 07/12/2007 at 10:07:00 AM

 
EWE!! We used to watch Fear Factor until I couldn't stand those critter-eating parts any more. I just don't know about sticking termite eggs in my mouth. This is a fun article though. You write articles on some really unique topics - so creative. Good job.

Posted on 07/11/2007 at 5:07:00 PM

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