I'm going to the garden to eat worms ... or some other kind of tasty bug. I really need to try this, but where to start? The last time I ate a worm, I was 19; it gave me a hangover.

Curiously, edible bugs have been making the news this last while.

There are clouds of cicadas expected on the East Coast of the U.S., and adventurous gourmands waiting impatiently.

In Israel, a plague of locusts (no kidding) has people taking crispy revenge with their teeth. (The sidebar is a highly entertaining debate about whether locusts are kosher.)

And, various agencies are suggesting (yet again) that insects should be considered more seriously as a high-quality protein source world-wide. Steak for 9 billion people is apparently not a terribly viable option.

Here are a couple of links with great photos -- a wide range of insects cooked and ready to eat. Tuck in or gross out?

http://www.businessinsider.com/list-of-edible-insects-2013-5?op=1

http://www.businessinsider.com/bugs-as-food-around-the-world-2013-5?op=1

I haven't eaten many.

In Africa I've had Mopani worms - they are large white grubs that live under the bark of certain trees. They are normally grilled over an open flame. The outside skin of the grub turns to ashes and adds some "crispiness" to the flavor. The taste is tangy - it's not bad at all. You could do a lot worse.

I've always wondered about cooked tarantulas. I think they were a delicacy for the Apaches, or perhaps other Native Americans in the southwest. Same basic idea - just grilled over an open flame and the body eaten. The fire takes off the spiny hairs on the outer body of the spider. However, I don't want to encourage this stuff - I'd like to see the desert wildlife preserved.

Pete2

It's hard for me to think of a traditional culture that makes insect a significant part of their diet. Sure, there are lots of cultures that eat some on occasion, but I can't think of one in which insects is as much a part of the staple as rice, wheat, beef, pork, chicken, the usual varieties of vegetables, etc., for us. Why is that? Is it the "ick" factor? Do insects just not taste very good in general Or is it the trouble of cooking many tiny things, or the difficulty farming insects? (I'm guessing it probably isn't hard to farm insects -- after all, we mastered bees -- so it's gotta be some other reason).

I'm guessing that to overcome our cultural disgust with the idea of eating insects, the first form of insect food would be some sort of ground up burger patties.

As for "surviving," I'm trying to figure out the relevance. Is anyone thinking of raising locusts/mopani worms/anything in his/her vegetable garden? Or will this fall under the category of "wild edibles"?

The tribe adjacent to Mono Lake regularly gathered and consumed some sort of fly that regularly hatched out in rather significant quantities - offhand, the details escape me. There are several other groups as well that regularly consume bugs.

There is no biological reason why insects cannot be consumed by humans. For us Westerners, particularly, there is only a culturally determined "ick" factor.

Somewhere back in my college days, I heard the statement that there is no known group which makes 100% effective use of the biologically useful potential foods available to it - culturally determined taboos always come into play.

Chocolate covered ants, anyone?

There is a lack of big juicy tasty bugs to eat in Scotland so I'm pretty much with Karl on this one and will stick with a packet of monster munch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTIs9fvkUA

No doubt it's perception -- "bugs" in Western society, and especially urbanized society, are typically symbols of dirtiness and decay. Cockroaches and maggots, fleas and bedbugs.

And the friendly bugs with good PR, butterflies and bees, symbolic of beauty and freedom, or flowers and busi-ness and honey, are as far from being considered as direct food sources as you can get. Only a big meanie would harm a hair on their heads.

I suppose it's all in the selling: create a trend. Haute cuisine types can convince celebrity types to eat just about anything, as long as it's expensive enough and edgy enough. Others may follow.

But back to perception ... is that lobster or a crab on your plate, bought at exorbitant price and served with great fanfare, really just a great big creepie-crawlie sea bug?

I get the feeling that even in China, these are "weird things that you occasionally eat when you go to food markets." After all, their diet is centered on rice, some common domestic animals, and vegetables.

I've also been told that some of this stuff is geared towards tourists, and tourists could include both those from overseas and those from other parts of China, or from more affluent classes. But I wouldn't know from first-hand experience.

Anyway, we're already eating insect parts, right? Some always slip into our food. Ah, extra protein...

I've eaten red ants and grubs. The ants were okay, a little sour. The grubs were darned hard to get down.

Insects are chock full of parasites. Be careful eating them raw.

Sometimes it is better not to know what is going in your mouth.

Hey Benjammin,

Good to see you posting. I missed your wisdom.

Just read your other post, sounds like you found a home.

Pete

I had some interesting stuff in China. They will eat just about anything.

The fried crickets were actually pretty good.

Did not like the snake or eel - too tough.

I don't know what kind of eel you had in China, but you can get braised eel in sushi restaurants. Very tender and moist if done right. One of my favorites.

Yes, indeed! Some years ago I spent a month in Southern China (cave exploring). We ate local cuisine, which was ....different. We were served dog on several occasions, and we all eventually decided to just satisfy our hunger and not seek too much information.

What is the saying - "Oriental cuisine includes everything that flies, except a 747, every thing that swims, except a submarine, and anything with legs, except a table."

Whatever we ate, it was delicious and satisfying. We had no instances of digestive upset, or even Montezuma's (Mao's?) revenge - the trip of a lifetime. However, returning through Hong Kong, the first night half of us headed to the golden arches, the others found Jack in the box.

Spooting for Spoots (you need to sneak up on them quietly before putting salt down their holes) can be quite therapeutic and they are very tasty in a white wine sauce. But you have to draw the line eating Ragworm as they will give a nasty bite on the inside of the mouth when trying to eat them. They are more useful when used to catch something more edible such Ling, wrasse and pollock. Ling is very tasty.

Pollock is pretty good too. We eat a lot of it here in the states. We also call it arctic cod. Most of the fish sandwiches at the fast food chains are made with Pollock.

Old joke about happy motorcycle rider with bugs in his teeth... in Florida we are blessed with a little critter called a "love bug" and it is love bug season (May and Sept)... I ride a pretty quick motorcycle, and like to keep the visor partially open for air... they do not taste good... unlike Louisiana mud bugs (crawfish)that do taste good... as a University of Florida graduate, I tend to differ with Snopes as to their origin... I still think they were a UF Entomology department "whoops"...

I have no qualms about eating a few bugs like grubs that you can dig out of dead wood here, but prefer regular chow. I've had eel pies and stews in London and Amsterdam and they are excellent. I still have some qualms about eating them though since as a child I read Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, which sorta grossed me out then and now with how they caught the eels. I reckon traps for eels are far more common now.

When I was a kid, my Dad used to go to the Smoker (guy who smokes fish) every week or so and pick up a smoked eel. I used to love the thin layer (maybe fat) of meat just under the skin. If I remember correctly the body itself had one side mostly devoid of bones, the other side required some care not to pickup broken bones from the spine.

Pete