FabulousFusionFood's Insect-based Recipes Home Page
Examples of edible land arthropods: insects, arachnids and crustacea.
Welcome to FabulousFusionFood's Insect-based Recipes Page — The consumption of insects is called entomophagy and its estimated that insects (in various forms) are part of the diet of nearly 2 million people, mostly in Africa, Asia and South America and, depending on the species, they are consumed as eggs, larvae and adults. If we extend the definition here to include all land arthropods then this also allows us to consider spiders, scorpions and woodlice (and remember that these are all related to the aquatic arthropods: crabs, lobsters, shrimp/prawns).
Its estimated that around 5% of Europeans have consumed insects in some form or other. And, that, despite cultural reticence maybe 50% would be willing to try them. Insects should be one of the protein sources of the future. They are much more efficient at converting their food into protein. For the most efficient species they can convert 2kg of food into 1kg of insect protein. In contrast, they require 12 times less feed than cattle, 4 times less feed than sheep, and half as much feed as pigs and broiler chickens to produce the same amount of protein. They have a much higher fecundity level than conventional livestock, often producing more than one generation in a single season. They are mostly omnivorous, and could therefore be reared on various organic waste streams.
The collection of edible insects considered to be pests can contribute to reduced use of insecticides. Insects can also be reared, as they are in Thailand and they do not require land clearing to expand production (this can be done in industrial units).
The most commonly consumed insects globally are reported to be beetles (Coleoptera) (31%), caterpillars (Lepidoptera) (18%) and bees, wasps and ants (Hymenoptera) (14%), followed by grasshoppers, locusts and crickets (Orthoptera) (13%), cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, scale insects and true bugs (Hemiptera) (10%), termites (Isoptera) (3%), dragonflies (Odonata) (3%), flies (Diptera) (2%) and other orders (5%).
Unlike crustaceans, insects are much more variable in terms of flavour. For example, rickets taste like nuts, with a little smoky aftertaste; mealworms resemble smoked bacon, and ants have a distinctly lemony tang. Having eaten various insects, arachnids and arthropods around the world, I understand the potential importance of insects as a protein source. As a result I am starting to make a collection of insect-based recipes available on these pages.
The alphabetical list of all the insect-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 14 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| Chitoumou Origin: Burkina Faso | Inswa (Boiled Termite Snack) Origin: Zambia | Potted Woodlice Origin: Britain |
| Cricket and Two-bean Chili Origin: Fusion | Kai chutney (Red Weaver Ant Chutney) Origin: India | Salade complète au chitoumou (Salad of Whole Chitoumou) Origin: Burkina Faso |
| Curried Tempura Grasshoppers Origin: Fusion | Lal Chiti (Red Weaver Ant Curry) Origin: India | Scrambled Eggs with Woodlice Origin: Britain |
| Fried White Ants Origin: Malawi | Madora (Mapone Worm Curry) Origin: Zimbabwe | Zambian Mopane Worms Relish Origin: Zambia |
| Goan-style Mealworm and Chickpea Curry Origin: Fusion | Mopane Worms and Sorghum Porridge Origin: Botswana |
Page 1 of 1