Experts from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization agreed with scientists that people should be persuaded to eat insects instead of meat. First, crickets and grasshoppers have as much protein as a cut of steak meat. Secondly, their cultivation is much cheaper and requires less space.
Experts note that about 1,400 species of insects are edible for humans. They are eaten in 36 African, 29 Asian and 23 countries in the Americas. Moreover, in some countries insects are considered a delicacy, in others insects form part of daily diet.
(Total 11 photos)
1. In many cultures around the world, insects, a protein-rich food, are an important part of the daily diet. And now in Europe there are restaurants that serve insect dishes.
2. But in China you can see fried locusts everywhere, which are sold on wooden sticks.
3. Many people in different parts of the world consider locusts to be a real disaster. But not the Mexicans. In Mexico, especially in its southern regions, in addition to all kinds of tortillas, you will also find fried locusts wrapped in unleavened tortillas.
4. And if in Mexico you can buy fried insects simply from a street vendor’s tray, then in other Western countries such dishes are more of a delicacy, served in expensive restaurants. For example, the New York Explorers Club restaurant annually hosts a reception during which insect dishes are served.
5. The Chinese talk about their gastronomic tastes with humor: “We eat everything that flies, except an airplane, everything that has four legs, except a table and chairs.” Of course, China is ahead of the rest when it comes to insect consumption. Many restaurants specialize exclusively in dishes made from insects.
6. For many people, just the thought of eating this mountain of larvae can cause severe disgust.
7. But the Chinese are less squeamish. They are ready to eat even fried scorpions on skewers. After all, taste is the main thing...
8. This is truly exotic for tourists, but for locals it is an absolute commonplace: everything that crawls will be used for food.
Hi all!
Man is born an omnivore, but few are ready to take this to heart and eat, for example, bugs, crickets, snakes or some disgusting-looking plant. Meanwhile, insects are eaten everywhere to the globe: they contain more protein than chicken meat, full of iron, magnesium and others important elements Finally, it's simply delicious. Approximately 1,700 species of insects are edible. And they are regularly eaten in 130 countries around the world! These are mainly countries in Asia and Africa. But the fashion for “fried insects” is also reaching European countries.
But we won’t talk about the culinary delights of other countries, but imagine a situation where you (God forbid) lost all your supplies and equipment, or almost everything. Remained: knife, matches, etc. And you are not in the jungle, but in your native Russia, presumably in middle lane, V summer time of the year.
Insects
So, what insects do we primarily encounter in the forest? You can eat mosquitoes and midges, but I think that the effort spent on catching them will not pay off. Let's look for something higher in calories.
Larvae of wood-boring beetles.
There are many dry trees in the forest, under their bark the beetles lay their eggs, from which, in turn, the larvae emerge. They feed on wood and it is not difficult to get them out from under the bark. If you have the opportunity to peel the bark from living spruce trees, then the smell of fresh bark will attract enough beetles, which are easy to collect. And eat it.
Ants.
They live almost everywhere. Ant eggs are especially nutritious. The ants themselves are also edible. It’s not for nothing that even bears eat them. In early spring It’s not difficult to collect ants, they come out to “warm up” large clusters, just have time to collect! And at other times, if you have a wet stick, you can collect ants without much difficulty. But in the fall they will have to be dug out from underground.
Wild bees.
It's not bad if you manage to find a hollow with wild bees. You can profit not only from the bees themselves, but also from their larvae, and possibly honey. But if you don't have fire, you shouldn't try to get them. Bee and wasp stings are painful, and hornet stings can be fatal. From a dry tinder fungus that grows on trees in the form of a scallop, you need to make a smoke generator. Make a gag from grass large enough to close the hollow with the bees. And try, after placing the smoke canister in the hollow, to close it with a gag. After some time, the insects will die, all that remains is to get them. The wasp nest is quite noticeable and resembles a paper ball. If you bring fire to such a nest, it will burn very quickly, since it consists of cellulose; at the same time, you will fry the inhabitants of the nest and their larvae. When catching bees, wasps or hornets, do not forget that these insects primarily react to movement, do not wave your arms or run (or run very fast and far). And one more thing: when bitten, enzymes are released that serve as a guide for other relatives where to bite! Be careful!
Bumblebees themselves are not aggressive. If you don’t wave your arms too much, you can get the honeycomb out of the nest with bare hands. Bumblebees usually live in abandoned mouse holes. But sometimes they build nests in the grass. Bumblebee honey has an indescribable aroma! If you found a bumblebee's nest, you're lucky!
Grasshoppers.
Grasshoppers are a readily available source of protein and fat.
They are easier to catch in cool weather, which will make them somewhat lethargic.
Flies, horseflies, gadflies and other “aviation”.
EAT THE INSECTS THAT EAT YOU!
Like most insects, flies are an excellent source of fats and proteins. In a survival situation, don't skip any food source. All this together will help you get through the next day.
Don't forget that insects are not eaten raw! It's best to fry them. Alternatively, dry, crush and add to other foods.
Amphibians
Frogs, newts and salamanders.
These small amphibians live around freshwater bodies of water in both warm and warm countries. temperate climate. Catch frogs at night, when they are easy to spot by their croaking, and kill them with a stick. Eat them whole, after removing the skin. Newts and salamanders can be found under rotten logs or under rocks in the same places where frogs are usually found.
Shellfish.
These include invertebrates that live in water and grass: snails, toothless snails, slugs.
Recipe:
For cooking bivalve molluscs in hiking conditions, first you need to catch them. Although, with their speed of about 10 cm per day, the word “catch” sounds funny... You should not take very small and very large shells. The small ones are nothing to eat, and the large ones are old and overly hard. Optimal size– 7-10cm. Before cooking, the outer part of the shells must be thoroughly washed to remove silt, sand and bottom dirt.
A good, cookable sink is defined as follows: if the valves are tightly closed, then everything is in order. The mollusk is alive and holds the valves tightly.
Next, you should build a small fire. Cooking shellfish requires a lot of coals and heat, but not an open flame. When the fire is mostly burned out, place the shellfish on top of the coals. After 3-5 minutes, use a stick to turn the shells over to the other side. A well-fried clam allows the shell to open easily. This is a sign of readiness.
You can, of course, rake the coals and put the shellfish inside, and then pour hot coals on top. But this method has a drawback. Some shells spontaneously open when fried. This means that coal fragments will get inside.
From the shell they eat the so-called leg - a muscular process with which the mollusk pushes off the bottom and moves. This is a small formation of light beige or Pink colour. Everything else needs to be thrown away.
I tasted these creatures myself. The main thing is not to overcook or overcook, otherwise you will chew “a piece of a tire.”
Crustaceans.
Of these “comrades” we can only find one - crayfish. There are several ways to catch these inhabitants of the river bottom. Very often, crayfish are caught by hand, having marked a certain place in a reservoir where, by all indications, crayfish can live, they enter the water and carefully move along the bottom, inspect all the pitfalls, snags, and look under the trunks of trees lying in the water. as soon as they notice a crawling crayfish, they immediately, without delay, grab it with their hand, otherwise the crayfish can quickly hide in some shelter (remember that crayfish become surprisingly agile in the event of danger threatening them). Catching crayfish with your hands is an old, “grandfather’s” method, and, of course, the most primitive of all the others. In addition, this method cannot always be used - only in those reservoirs where crayfish are caught at a depth of half a meter to one and a half meters. In deeper places it is necessary to use crayfish traps, etc.
Crayfish go hunting after dark, so the most suitable period for catching them is from 10 pm to 3 am. in some reservoirs, crayfish go out to fish early in the morning, in the pre-dawn hours. so at such times the hunt for river “hermits” can be quite rewarding.
I personally recommend having a women’s nylon stocking in your pocket at all times. Takes up minimal space. We put something rotten in the stocking or the same toothless meat (its meat), slightly singed at the fire. Throw in deep place, where we can’t catch with our hands, and we go about our business for about 30 minutes, decide for yourself how long. The cancer is trying to get food and clings to the stocking with its claws, it is difficult to unhook. At one time I pulled out like 9 pieces. You can take several stockings.
Reptiles.
Don't neglect snakes and lizards as a possible food source. All of them are edible. Remove their scaly skin and then boil or roast them. Before skinning, hold them over the fire to make skinning easier.
You may not believe it, but insects are edible. What do they taste like and why are some types regularly eaten in many countries around the world? We will learn about this from the materials of the next publication.
Cicada
This type of insect is eaten not only in Asian countries, but also in many parts of the United States. Cicadas practically do not crawl to the surface; they live deep underground and feed on the sap of the roots. They can live up to 17 years, periodically crawling to the surface to reproduce. At this time, many people eagerly await their prey, because they need to catch the insect before the shell hardens. Cicadas can be boiled, fried, or eaten with a side dish. They are valued for their low calorie content and high protein content (up to 40%).
In nature, there is also an annual (one-year) cicada, which is much easier to catch. Despite its name, it functions from 2 to 7 years. The insect tastes like asparagus or potatoes. 
Dragonfly
In Indonesia, people practice eating dragonflies, mainly as a medicinal measure. They are fried or boiled. They catch dragonflies while they are hunting mosquitoes, and to do this they arm themselves with palm tree sticks dipped in sticky sap. Dragonflies taste like the soft shell of a crab. 
Ant eggs
The following dish is popular in Mexico. The eggs of the giant black ant are collected from the roots of the agave plant. They are boiled or fried in oil and added to tacos or some other popular national dishes. However, the larvae have a mild, nutty flavor. There is also a cottage cheese aftertaste. 
Mopani worms
These insects are eaten in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In general, caterpillars are traditionally consumed all over the world. However, these blue-green spiny caterpillars are prized for their high protein content. Mopani worms are dried in the sun or smoked. Served with sauce or stew. This African exotic has a soft, buttery taste. 
Grasshopper
Mexicans have already distinguished themselves on our list. We continue to voice their gastronomic preferences. The grasshoppers are fried and seasoned with chili pepper and lime. Enterprising people sell the finished dish in market squares. Passers-by happily gobble up handfuls of fried grasshoppers, like chips. They have a salty and spicy taste. 
Silkworm pupae
Residents of Vietnam, China and Korea eat silkworm pupae, which are considered an edible by-product of the silk industry. If in Korea this insect is usually boiled, then in China and Vietnam residents prefer fried silkworm pupae. The dish tastes salty, similar to dried shrimp with a chewy consistency. 
Water beetle
These insects are eaten in Thailand. These massive creatures are very popular as a snack and can be purchased at any kiosk. Thais prefer them fried with hot sauce or steamed. They also roll them into jars. The taste is reminiscent of lightly salted fish. 
Scorpion
This formidable insect is eaten by residents of China, Thailand and Vietnam. They are caught on the street and deep fried. The taste of scorpion resembles the soft shell of a crab or shrimp in its shell. 
Weevil beetle larva
Another “treasure” is eaten in Nigeria, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. IN rural areas Weevil larvae are considered a staple product; they are valued for their high protein, calcium, and potassium content. They are collected directly from the tree, strung on a skewer and fried over hot coals. Sometimes fried in flour and wrapped in sago leaf. When raw, the larvae taste like coconut, and when cooked, they taste like bacon. 
Ants
Ants are eaten in Australia, Colombia and Thailand. Australian Aborigines wait until the insects grow to the size of grapes and eat them raw as sweets. Colombians eat their fat-assed ants like popcorn or peanuts. In Thailand, they prefer to fry red ants along with eggs and add them to salads. 
Tarantula
Residents of Cambodia and Venezuela fry these arachnids in oil until crispy. Salt, sugar and sometimes garlic are added and sold as street food. They eat tarantulas whole. And if the creatures’ legs are crispy, their thick bellies are quite sticky. In the jungles of Venezuela you can find a tarantula the size of a dinner plate. This type of tarantula is considered a delicacy and is fried over an open fire. It tastes like crab meat. 
Termite
In West Africa, Australia and some areas of Latin America, residents eat termites. They are eaten raw, fried over charcoal or in oil. Termites taste like carrots.
Wasp larva
Residents of Japan love to eat wasp larvae. They are carefully removed from the nest and cooked in soy sauce with added sugar. Eaten as a snack. Taste: sweetish, crispy 
Huhu beetle larvae
These insects are loved by the natives of New Zealand. The huge, thick larva is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a snack. People collect them under rotting tree trunks. Valued for their high protein content, their taste is reminiscent of peanut butter. 
Brown marmorated bug
In Mexico and South Africa local residents eat stink bugs. To prevent the smell from being felt, insects are soaked in warm water. In Africa, they are first beheaded and then boiled and dried in the sun. Eat as a snack. The insect tastes like a mixture of cinnamon and iodine.
Fried bamboo worms
Where: Thailand, China, Latin America
For Thais, a plate of fried bamboo worms is as traditional a way to start a meal as a salad or soup is for Europeans. Their taste and texture are a little like popcorn, although they do not have any special pronounced taste, but they are very nutritious.
In fact, these are not worms at all, but larvae of grass moths from the grass moth family (Crambidae), living in bamboo. Traditionally they are harvested by cutting bamboo stalks, but more recently they have been grown commercially on farms and packaged in bags like chips. Bizarre Food products can, for example, be bought in England. In addition to Thailand, bamboo worms are eaten with pleasure in China and the Amazon River basin.
Shish kebab from longhorned beetle larvae
Where: Eastern Indonesia
Longhorned beetles, large and shiny beetles with long antennae, are distributed throughout the world, and there are many of them in Russia. In our country they are also called woodcutter beetles, in the English-speaking world - capricorn beetles.
Longhorned beetle larvae, found in the roots of sago palms, are a very popular village food in Eastern Indonesia. For the sake of fatty and juicy larvae, Indonesians sometimes cut down small palm groves, and then, carefully stringing them onto twigs, roast the larvae over the fire. They have tender flesh, but a very dense skin that takes a long time to chew. The maggots taste like greasy bacon.
The larvae have another use: villagers use them as ear brushes - they stick a live larva into the ear, holding it by the tail with your fingers, and it quickly eats away the ear wax.
Cheese with cheese fly larvae
Where: Sardinia
This cheese is proof that insects are eaten not only in Africa and Asia. Casu marzu is an important Sardinian specialty: cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk with live larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. For most cheese lovers, casu marzu is not just mature cheese or blue cheese, but completely rotten cheese with worms. Strictly speaking, this is how it is: this is ordinary pecorino, from which the top layer is cut off so that the cheese fly can easily lay its eggs in it. The larvae that then appear begin to eat the cheese from the inside - the acid contained in their digestive system decomposes the fats in the cheese and gives it a specific softness. Some of the liquid even flows out - it is called lágrima, which means “tear”.
In Sardinia, casu marzu is considered an aphrodisiac and is traditionally eaten along with worms. Moreover, casu marzu is considered safe to eat only while the larvae are alive. This is not easy to do: disturbed larvae, reaching a centimeter in length, can jump out of the cheese to a height of 15 cm - many cases have been described when they got into the eye of someone who tried the cheese. Therefore, lovers of casu marzu often eat this cheese with glasses or, spreading it on bread, cover the sandwich with their hand. However, removing larvae from cheese is not considered a crime. The easiest way is to put a piece of cheese or a sandwich in a paper bag and close it tightly: the suffocating larvae begin to jump out. When the shooting in the bag stops, the cheese can be eaten.
Of course, none hygiene standards Casu marzu does not comply with the European Union and was banned for a long time (it could only be bought on the black market at a price twice the price of regular pecorino). But in 2010, the casu marzu was recognized as a cultural property of Sardinia and allowed again.
Dried mopane caterpillars with onions
Where: South Africa
Dried caterpillars of Gonimbrasia belina, a South African species of mopane moth, are an important source of protein for South Africans. Collecting these caterpillars in Africa is quite a serious business: in supermarkets and markets you can find both dried and hand-smoked caterpillars and pickled caterpillars rolled into tins.
To cook a caterpillar, you first need to squeeze out its green intestines (usually the caterpillars are simply squeezed in your hand, less often they are cut lengthwise, like a pea pod), and then boiled in salted water and dried. Sun-dried or smoked caterpillars are very nutritious, weigh almost nothing and have a long shelf life, but do not have much flavor (they are most often compared to dried tofu or even dry wood). Therefore, they are usually fried until crunchy along with onions, added to stews, stewed in various sauces, or served with sadza corn porridge.
However, very often mopane are eaten raw, whole or, as in Botswana, after tearing off the head. They taste like tea leaves. Caterpillars are collected by hand, usually done by women and children. And if they belong to anyone in the forest, then collecting caterpillars on neighboring trees is considered bad manners. In Zimbabwe, women even mark trees with their caterpillars or move young caterpillars closer to home, setting up unique plantations.
Boiled wasps
Where: Japan
The older generation of Japanese still respects wasps and bees, prepared with the most different ways. One such dish is hatinoko, which is bee larvae cooked with soy sauce and sugar: a translucent, sweetish caramel-like mass that goes well with rice. Wasps are also prepared in the same way - a dish with them is called jibatinoko. For older Japanese people, this dish reminds them of the post-war years and the rationing system, when wasps and bees were especially actively eaten in Japan. It is in steady demand in Tokyo restaurants, even if only as a nostalgic attraction.
In general, hatinoko and jibatinoko are considered a rather rare specialty of Nagano Prefecture. Fried black wasps are a little more common and are sometimes served with beer in Japanese taverns. Another specialty - rice crackers with earthen wasps - is made in the village of Omachi. These are small cookies with adult wasps stuck to them - each one contains from 5 to 15 wasps.
Japanese dishes made from wild wasps and bees are not cheap: it is impossible to put this business on stream; the preparation itself is quite labor-intensive. Wasp and bee hunters tie long colored threads to adult wasps and thus track their nests. However, you can also find canned bees in Japanese stores - this is usually how beekeeping farms sell their surplus.
Silkworm fried with ginger
Where: China, Korea, Japan, Thailand
The city of Suzhou and its surroundings are famous not only for high-quality silk, but also for quite rare dishes made from silkworm pupae. As you know, silkworm caterpillars wrap themselves in a thin but strong silk thread. In the cocoon they grow wings, antennae and legs. Before this happens, Suzhou residents boil them, remove the cocoon, and then quickly fry them in a wok - most often with ginger, garlic and onions. However, tender larvae, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, go well with almost any vegetables and spices. Properly cooked, they taste like crab or shrimp meat.
Silkworm larvae are no less popular in Korea. Trays of beondegi, boiled grubs with spices or steamed grubs, are found throughout the country. And stores sell canned silkworms, which must be boiled before use. They are also loved in Japan, especially in Nagato, and Japanese astrophysicist Masamichi Yamashita even suggests including silkworms in the diet of future Mars colonists.
Fried ants
Where: Mexico, Colombia, Australia, South Africa
Ants are the most popular edible insects on Earth after grasshoppers. In Colombia, fried ants are even sold in movie theaters instead of popcorn. The ones most loved in Colombia are female ants with eggs. They are caught on rainy days, when water floods the anthills and the females climb out. In the simplest rustic version, they are prepared by wrapping them in leaves and holding them over the fire for a while. This is a crunchy, sweetish snack with a distinct nutty flavor.
But the most delicious ants, the so-called “honey” ants, are found in Australia. They feed on sweet nectar, transporting it in swollen abdomen (in Russian-language literature they are called “ant barrels”). These transparent bubbles are considered a sweet delicacy among the Australian Aborigines. In addition, two genera of honey ants are found in South Africa and the semi-deserts of North America.
Deep fried water bugs
Where: Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines
Large water bugs - insects from the Belostomatidae family - live all over the world, most of them in America, Canada and Southeast Asia. But while for Americans these are just large insects whose bites sometimes last for two weeks, in Asia they happily eat water bugs.
The Asian variety, Lethocerus indicus, is the largest in the family at 12cm in length, so the Thais simply deep-fry them and serve them with plum sauce. The meat of water bugs tastes like shrimp. At the same time, in Thailand they are eaten whole, in the Philippines the legs and wings are torn off (and in this form they are served with strong drinks as a snack), and in Vietnam they are made into a very fragrant extract, which is added to soups and sauces. One drop is enough for a bowl of soup.
Grasshoppers with avocado
Where: Mexico
As is known, John the Baptist ate grasshoppers: the locusts, which he ate with wild honey, are locusts, a close relative of the grasshopper. The Mexicans, for whom grasshoppers are practically National food. Grasshoppers are eaten everywhere in Mexico: boiled, raw, sun-dried, fried, soaked in lime juice. The most popular dish is grasshopper guacamole: the insects are quickly fried, causing them to instantly change color from green to reddish, mixed with avocado and spread on a corn tortilla.
Like any small fried insect, fried grasshopper does not have a prominent flavor and usually tastes like the oil and spices in which it was fried. The grasshoppers sold by street vendors in Southeast Asia are simply overcooked chitinous shells. In general, grasshoppers are eaten wherever insects are eaten. Grasshoppers boiled in salt water and dried in the sun are eaten in the Middle East, in China they are skewered like kebabs, and in Uganda and nearby regions they are added to soups. It is curious that in Uganda, until recently, women were not allowed to eat grasshoppers - it was believed that then they would give birth to children with deformed heads, like those of grasshoppers.
Dragonflies in coconut milk
Where: Bali
Dragonflies can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h, so edible dragonflies are real fast food. They are caught and eaten in Bali: it is not easy to catch a dragonfly, for this they use sticks smeared with sticky tree sap. The main difficulty is to touch the dragonfly with this stick in a smooth and at the same time fast movement.
Caught large dragonflies, whose wings are first torn off, are either quickly grilled or boiled in coconut milk with ginger and garlic. Dragonflies are also made into a kind of candy by frying them in coconut oil and sprinkling them with sugar.
Bedbugs with chicken pate
Where: Mexico
Grass bugs - in particular, from the family of true stink bugs (Pentatomidae) - are also eaten throughout the world. Like most bugs, stink bugs. In order to get rid of unpleasant odor, in South Africa they are first soaked for a long time in warm water, and then simply dried and chewed.
On the contrary, the Mexican variety of stink bugs is valued for its strong, medicinal smell - probably due to its high iodine content. American TV presenter Andrew Zimmern, who ate stink bugs in an episode of his television series Bizarre Foods, compares their taste to tutti-frutti chewing gum. In Mexico, bedbugs are used to make sauces, add them to tacos, or fry them and mix them with chicken pate.
For their strong smell, stink bugs are also valued in Vietnam, where they are used to prepare the spicy dish bọ xít, and in Laos, where bugs are ground into cheo paste with spices and herbs.
Tarantulas baked on coals
Where: Cambodia
Black-fried tarantulas, looking like varnished, charred firebrands, are a common street food in Cambodia. A successful tarantula catcher can catch up to two hundred individuals per day. They sell very quickly. Cambodian tarantulas are fried in a wok with salt and garlic - their meat tastes like a cross between chicken and fish.
Large tarantulas, reaching 28 cm in diameter, are eaten in Venezuela simply by roasting them on coals. A slightly more elegant method of preparing tarantulas is used in Japan: they first tear off the spider's abdomen, then singe the hairs and quickly fry them in tempura.
However, it is believed that the most delicious spiders are not tarantulas, but spiders from the Nephilidae family, which are eaten in New Guinea and Laos. These spiders taste like peanut butter when fried.
To be honest, the culture of eating insects among the Slavs is not particularly developed. No, seriously, why eat all sorts of crawling and flying crap if it’s much simpler and easier to find or go for it? Whether it’s the case of the aborigines of Australia and South Asia... For them, eating insects is a process as normal and natural as, for example, porridge for breakfast is for us. However, for a person who, say, is lost in the taiga, any source of protein can be a salvation. So it is better to study in advance the basic rules regarding the consumption of arthropods. So, what are these insects?..
Edible insects - basic rules for eating
Ants
Collecting ants is not difficult. The simplest method that even chimpanzees were able to master was using a long twig. You just take a long branch and
following the example of our distant relatives, you stuff it into an anthill. Then he pulls it out - that’s it, how many insects have you caught? More the hard way- destroy part of the anthill and organize a beautiful shaded place nearby, where frightened insects will drag their eggs and larvae, which you will then cynically collect and eat. You can also break off part of the anthill and throw it into the water, and then collect all those that float up. This method works perfectly with termites, but the poor ants float much worse on water, so they do not float up in full force.
Earthworms
Formally, classifying them as insects is absolutely wrong. Annelids are a more primitive stage of evolution. But as for me, eating a worm is absolutely the same as eating a fat and juicy bark beetle larva. So let's not fall into formalism.
Finding earthworms is very simple: dig up the loose soil and you’ll definitely find a couple. If you're lucky, you might even find a fairly large specimen. And considering that at night they themselves crawl to the surface of the earth...
But what exactly should we do with it? The problem lies in the way the worm feeds, which passes soil through its food tract, which must be disposed of. You have several options. The first is to give the worms a few days of hunger strike: the earth will come out on its own. The second is to place them in flour. The worms don’t care what they swallow, so very soon they will happily find themselves stuffed with “dough.” Some people very aptly compared this state to “sausage in dough”, only in reverse. Well, the third way is to put them in salt water. When the worms become transparent, you can wash and cook further. You can, in the end, just squeeze out the worm by hand. Of course, some of the soil will remain, but heat treatment will eliminate any risk. After the preparation is complete, you can give free rein to your culinary fantasy, because the worm is 80 percent protein. Bake it whole, make minced meat, deep-fry it, boil it - all this will be very nutritious, and some say it’s tasty. As a last resort, you can eat it raw.
Larvae
This category includes intermediate forms of a wide variety of beetles, wasps, bees and other insects. Virtually identical to caterpillars. But the latter bravely crawl around the world around them, since most often they are completely inedible or poisonous. And the larvae are forced to hide their plump bodies under the protection of rotten wood or fallen leaves. And they are doing the right thing by hiding it. Just as they are unpleasant to look at, they are just as useful as a food product. The purest protein in an easily digestible form! The same applies to bee and wasp larvae.
Yes, they are quite difficult to obtain - there is a risk of being bitten quite badly, but this source of protein will be a useful addition to honey. So the main problem is to find this very source. A rotten tree, an old stump, a bee's nest are the main objects of interest.
And then the most difficult thing - you need to convince your body that this whitish, seemingly eyeless and generally disgusting something is excellent food. You can remember, for example, that the Japanese, a very highly developed nation, are extremely fond of eating boiled wasp larvae. Or that Australian aborigines quite calmly eat giant larvae alive - and nothing, they live for themselves. If you are convinced, great. You take the prey and fry it. It can be in oil, it can be in flour, it can be just like that. Extreme people can even eat it raw.
Tarantulas
The tarantula is a unique creature. Not only can it cause you some trouble, but it can also save you from starvation. The fact is that fried tarantula is a common dish in Cambodia. Well, as usual... During the reign of the Khmer Rouge, food was bad - so they started eating spiders. And then we got used to it and got involved. So don’t forget the lessons of the Cambodians: if you see a tarantula, think of it not as danger, but as prey. Just don’t forget to remove the poisonous glands - heat treatment, of course, destroys the poison, but, as practice shows, not completely.
As you can see, insects really are an excellent source of food. Collecting them is quite simple, the nutritional value theirs is huge. There is only one drawback - well, our people are not used to eating this creeping and flying muck. I'm just not used to it. So much so that it can even cause nerves. But this problem can also be overcome. The main thing to remember is that extreme situations require extreme decisions. And eating worms and larvae is not the worst thing that can happen to you.
