As
for the hormigas culonas (marketed as "Toasted Giant Ants,"
notice the bag's claim: "Nutty Bacon Like Taste." That's
the truth. Granted, real bacon doesn't have any chitin in it,
but the ant exoskeleton wasn't a problem for most who tried it.
Mopani "worms" are the caterpillar of a saturnid moth,
nearly all of which are large, magnificent moths; those who see
a live adult often remember it for the rest of their lives. In
the U.S. the family includes the Luna, Cecropia, Polyphemus, Prometheus,
Io, and others.
These caterpillars (which feed on the Mopani tree) are harvested
in several African countries. They're picked, gutted, boiled briefly,
and dried in the sun. An important food crop and source of protein,
they appear to be over-harvested, and there has been some concern
about their future.
I
found the mopani somewhat tasty, though not everyone agreedwith
me. It's an earthy flavor; one woman said they tasted like dog
biscuits. When I asked her she said, somewhat defensively, that
yes, she had once tried dog biscuits. I liked the dried mopani.
Although these two items are rarely seen in this country, they
are a wonderful way of doing two important things: first, to show
how insects-as-food are truly parts of other cultures (numerous
books and websites discuss the use of these insects in the culture),
and second, to try something more exotic than crickets and mealworms.
In fact I'm considering carrying both of these as products; if
anyone out there is interested let me know, but they're not cheap.
At least not yet….
Leaf-cutter
ants in a glass case instead of a tropical forest. They bring cut
leaf pieces into their colony so they can cultivate a fungus - their
only food. In the U.S. they're most often seen in nature documentaries.
It's been calculated that one colony consumes as much as a cow,
day for day. 