Have you ever considered insects as a part of your diet? While it might sound unusual to some, insects are a staple in many cultures around the world. They are not only culturally significant but also a sustainable and nutritious food source. Let’s dive into the fascinating world of edible insects and explore some creative ways to incorporate them into our meals.
Back in 2014, Emily had her first encounter with edible insects in Peru, where she tried fried palm weevil grubs. Describing them as tasting like “squishy cheese crackers,” Emily’s initial experience was mixed. Fast forward to today, she’s ready to give insects another try, this time with the guidance of Chef Mike from The Field Museum.
Chef Mike has crafted unique recipes that highlight the flavors of insects without overwhelming the dish. One of the first creations is a seasonal fall salad featuring cranberries, candied pecans, squash, and an apple cider vinaigrette, topped with ants and ant pupae. The ants add a surprising peppery and nutty flavor, enhancing the salad’s sweetness and earthiness.
The next dish on the menu is cricket gnocchi, made with cricket flour and served with a mushroom cherry cream sauce and mealworms. Gnocchi, a potato-based pasta, is surprisingly simple to make. The cricket flour adds a unique flavor and a touch of sustainability to this classic dish. The mealworms, when toasted, provide a delightful crunch reminiscent of fried onions.
Insects offer a more sustainable protein source compared to traditional livestock. They require significantly less water and produce fewer greenhouse gases. For instance, growing crickets generates less CO2 than pork production. Additionally, insects are rich in nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for heart health.
For those hesitant to dive into whole insects, cricket flour offers a gentle introduction. Chef Mike demonstrates how to make cricket cookies, using cricket flour as a flavorful addition rather than a full replacement. These cookies are a delicious way to explore insect-based ingredients.
To conclude this culinary journey, Luz, the food and beverage director at The Field Museum, introduces a salty caramel scorpion cocktail. Made with the museum’s own rye whiskey and garnished with a scorpion, this cocktail offers a unique blend of flavors and a crunchy surprise.
Incorporating insects into your diet might seem daunting at first, but with creative recipes and an open mind, you can discover a world of flavors and sustainability. Whether you’re trying cricket flour in your baking or enjoying a scorpion cocktail, these culinary adventures offer a taste of the future of food.
Join a hands-on workshop where you’ll collaborate with fellow students to create your own insect-based recipes. Use ingredients like cricket flour or mealworms to design a dish that highlights the unique flavors of insects. Present your creation to the group and discuss the culinary and sustainability aspects of your dish.
Participate in a structured debate focusing on the environmental impact of insect farming compared to traditional livestock. Research the benefits and challenges of each protein source, and present your arguments to the class. This activity will help you understand the broader implications of adopting insects as a food source.
Attend a tasting session where you’ll sample a variety of insect-based foods, such as cricket cookies and ant-topped salads. Reflect on your taste experiences and discuss with peers how these flavors could be integrated into everyday meals. This activity will expand your palate and challenge your perceptions of food.
Engage in a cooking challenge where you’ll receive a mystery box containing insect ingredients like cricket flour or mealworms. Work in teams to create a dish using all the ingredients in the box. Present your dish to a panel of judges and receive feedback on creativity, taste, and presentation.
Conduct research on the nutritional profile of various edible insects and prepare a presentation for your classmates. Highlight key nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids and discuss how insects can contribute to a balanced diet. This activity will deepen your understanding of the health benefits associated with insect consumption.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
**Emily:** Diners worldwide enjoy an ingredient that is culturally important, sustainable, and healthy, but is sadly absent from the cupboards of most western countries. I’m talking about insects. Back in 2014, when we were filming in Peru, I had my first experience with eating insects when I tried a traditional delicacy, fried palm weevil grubs.
**Emily:** They taste a little bit like squishy cheese crackers, the white cheddar kind.
**Nice Man:** They aren’t bad, right?
**Emily:** It didn’t go super great, but I thought I’d give them another try, this time with The Field Museum’s executive chef Mike to guide me through. He’s created some recipes specifically with insects in mind. So today we’re in the Field Bistro testing them out. And I’m not alone in embracing this new protein source; Joe over at “It’s Okay to Be Smart” is tucking in too, so after you’re done dining with us, head on over to his channel to check it out.
**Emily:** We are here today with The Field Museum chef, Chef Mike.
**Mike:** Hi.
**Emily:** This is exciting.
**Mike:** I’m very excited.
**Emily:** We’ve never done a food demonstration before.
**Mike:** Excellent.
**Emily:** And we’ve never done a food demonstration with insects.
**Mike:** We have lots of insects today.
**Emily:** So when we reached out to you to talk about different dishes, were you thinking about pairing particular insects with particular flavor profiles?
**Mike:** Well, I wanted to make sure that whatever we paired the insects with had a little sweetness, a little crunch, a little creaminess, so the insects, while delicious, didn’t overwhelm other flavors on the dish or scare people away.
**Emily:** Like it wouldn’t be too overwhelming. So what is this first dish that we’re having today?
**Mike:** We have a very nice seasonal fall salad here. When I think of fall, I think of things that go on your Thanksgiving table: cranberries, candied pecans, some squash, and an apple cider vinaigrette.
**Emily:** So we have ants and some ant pupae. I think I ate something really similar to this when we were in Peru and had mixed feelings about it.
**Emily:** These are interesting, actually. But I’m excited to try it again and prepare it in a different way.
**Mike:** We’re just gonna sprinkle whatever amount you feel comfortable with on top.
**Emily:** Yeah, I’m excited about this. I got to make sure I get one of the beetles in here.
**Emily:** The beetle larvae offer a texture like crispy onion pieces.
**Mike:** I agree.
**Emily:** I don’t really get much of the ants; I think I might just do a few for the ants right here.
**Mike:** There is a lot of sweetness on this salad, so it balances out the earthiness of the insects.
**Emily:** Whoa, whoa! They have way more flavor than you would think. It’s like little peppercorns; they’re not spicy, but there is this spicy element. It’s a very mild nutty sort of flavor, and the ants pop.
**Mike:** They are like a punch.
**Emily:** Yeah, I like it. I’m into it. Eating insects might sound unusual to you, but more than two billion people make eating insects part of their regular diet, consuming over 2,000 different species, with beetles and grubs being the vast majority. Most cultivated insects are raised on family farms, and some locusts and grasshoppers are even considered kosher and halal.
**Emily:** So what is our next dish?
**Mike:** Our next dish is going to be cricket gnocchi, little gnocchi with some cricket flour in them, with a mushroom cherry cream sauce and some mealworms.
**Emily:** Yeah, this is like extra bugs.
**Mike:** Extra bugs again, with extra seasonal fall flavor from the mushrooms and sherry.
**Emily:** Gnocchi is basically a potato-based pasta. You start with roasting a potato in the oven, and once it’s soft or cool enough to handle, you’re just gonna peel it.
**Mike:** And once your potatoes are peeled, we’re going to put them through a ricer or a cheese grater. We just want to grate it up a little bit, so you don’t get any lumps in your pasta.
**Mike:** Now we have our riced potato in the bowl, nice and soft. It’s room temperature, not too high, not too cold. Then we’re gonna add an egg, a little salt, and our cricket flour.
**Emily:** So it’s quite a bit browner than regular bleached flour.
**Mike:** Yes, you can definitely see the color in the finished product too.
**Emily:** When you’re cooking with cricket flour, is it like a one-to-one ratio for substitution?
**Mike:** You generally don’t want to substitute a whole cup of cricket flour, as it can be too strong. It’s best to add a little bit for flavor.
**Mike:** Now, once this is mixed in, we’re gonna add flour. There isn’t any set rule for how much flour you need; it might take different amounts depending on the potatoes.
**Emily:** Yeah, you have to have good intuition when it comes to the flour.
**Mike:** You can always add more; I start with a little, and you can always add more.
**Mike:** Now we have our nice dough; it’s slightly sticky but not sticking to my hands. We’re gonna put a little flour on our work surface and take a bit of the dough to roll it into a rope.
**Emily:** This is so easy! I always assumed that making things like homemade pasta or gnocchi was really complicated.
**Mike:** It’s really not that complicated. Then you just take a little paring knife and cut it into little dumplings. That’s it!
**Emily:** That’s it! There you have it.
**Mike:** Now that we have our gnocchi made, we’re gonna blanch them, which means putting them in boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute until they float. Then we take them out and put them on a plate or a damp towel.
**Emily:** And then you’re gonna sauté them afterwards?
**Mike:** Yes, then we’re gonna finish the dish. Next, we’re gonna make our cream sauce. I have a nice hot pan here with onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and some nice fall mushrooms.
**Mike:** I’m gonna add a little olive oil and butter. Once it’s hot, I’ll add the onion and garlic to sweat it out for about 30 seconds to a minute.
**Mike:** Now we’re gonna add our mushrooms and stir those around.
**Emily:** It sounds amazing!
**Mike:** After a minute or two, once the mushrooms are soft, we’re gonna add our fresh herbs. You can really use any mushrooms you want; there’s no right or wrong answer.
**Mike:** Now we’re gonna add our sherry. It’s a good idea to take the pan off the stove when adding alcohol, then put it back on to see the flame up.
**Emily:** That’s so fun!
**Mike:** Once the alcohol has cooked off, we’re gonna add our heavy cream.
**Emily:** Oh, I love to see it!
**Mike:** Once the cream has reduced by about half and thickened up, our sauce is good to go.
**Mike:** Now we’re ready to finish the dish. I’m gonna put a little olive oil in a hot pan and throw our gnocchi in there to get a little color.
**Mike:** Now that our gnocchi are cooking, we’re gonna toast up our mealworms.
**Emily:** There are some big ones in there!
**Mike:** Yes, there are!
**Emily:** But is anything bad when it’s fried?
**Mike:** Everything’s good!
**Mike:** Once those have toasted for about 30 seconds to a minute, we’ll add our cream sauce.
**Emily:** It has a nice nutty aroma.
**Mike:** Smells delicious!
**Emily:** Is there a reason why you toast the mealworms before adding them to the cream sauce?
**Mike:** If the mealworms are frozen, you want to toast them a little to give them flavor.
**Emily:** So otherwise they might get a little soggy?
**Mike:** Exactly!
**Emily:** Looks amazing!
**Mike:** Now we’re gonna ladle our pasta, sauce, and mealworms together.
**Mike:** We’ll garnish with a little green, and then we’re good to go.
**Emily:** Beautiful! Let’s dig in!
**Emily:** I’m excited! I’ve got to make sure I get some mealworms in there. Oh, that’s amazing! It’s really good. They are crunchy, and if you think of them as fried onions, it’s just a nice texture contrast.
**Emily:** I think it’s just overcoming that first hurdle of being like, “Ooh, this looks like something that accidentally ended up on my dish.”
**Mike:** In the finished product, it all works together quite nicely, and it tastes good.
**Emily:** I don’t even think of the cricket flour being a part of it, so if you can’t do the full-on mealworms, maybe start slow with the flour.
**Mike:** If you’re ambitious enough to make homemade pasta, you can also use cricket flour for that too; it doesn’t have to be gnocchi.
**Emily:** Great! Insects are a more sustainable source of animal protein than conventional livestock. Conventional livestock consumes a significant amount of the planet’s freshwater and crops every year while contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Growing pork produces more CO2 than growing the same weight in crickets. Insects need much less water to grow, and eating insects produces a lot less waste.
**Emily:** So the previous dishes are not available for purchase in the restaurants here at The Field Museum, but there is something that is, which is the next thing we’re gonna make: cricket cookies.
**Mike:** Cricket cookies, yes.
**Emily:** So in addition to having crickets in them, they’re also made with cricket flour?
**Mike:** That’s correct.
**Emily:** Great! And we’re gonna demonstrate how you can make them too.
**Mike:** This is basically your basic cookie recipe. We have our room-temperature butter and sugar.
**Emily:** Nice amount of butter!
**Mike:** Always! We’re gonna cream our butter and sugar together.
**Mike:** Once it’s sufficiently whipped, we’ll add our eggs and vanilla, one egg at a time.
**Mike:** Once our eggs are mixed in, we’re gonna add our dry ingredients: flour, cricket flour, baking soda, and salt.
**Emily:** So you’re using it more like a spice rather than a replacement?
**Mike:** Yes, it’s very strong. You can taste it even in small amounts.
**Mike:** Now we’re ready to scoop our cookies. I have these scoops that professional chefs use, but you can obviously use a spoon.
**Emily:** There we go!
**Mike:** I like to bake them at 350 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes.
**Emily:** And you mentioned adding a cricket right after they come out of the oven?
**Mike:** Yes, I like to add the cricket about two minutes before taking them out of the oven, pressing it down in the middle.
**Emily:** Look at that beautiful cricket! Oh, there is a nice crunch. You get a little bit of that earthy flavor at the end.
**Mike:** Yes, you get it at the end.
**Emily:** Well, for the most part, it’s just a darn good cookie. Thank you so much for taking the time to show us how to make some of these dishes. I’m excited to go home and experiment!
**Mike:** Me too! The gnocchi was delicious, and I’ll make it tonight.
**Emily:** Lovely! Thank you.
**Mike:** Thank you, it was a pleasure.
**Emily:** Insects contain more nutrients than conventional livestock, including omega-3s, which lower cholesterol, making them a heart-healthy option. Insects are distant relatives of shellfish, so if you have a shellfish allergy, you could be allergic to insects too.
**Emily:** To wrap up our culinary adventure into insect food and drink, we’re here with Luz, the food and beverage director here at The Field Museum. What are you gonna be making?
**Luz:** I will be making a salty caramel scorpion cocktail.
**Emily:** A scorpion cocktail garnished with a scorpion?
**Luz:** Absolutely! We’re using our very own rye whiskey.
**Emily:** The Field Museum has its own branded rye whiskey?
**Luz:** Absolutely!
**Emily:** I’m really excited to try it today.
**Luz:** First, we’re gonna add some ice, then the rye.
**Emily:** And then we have apple cider?
**Luz:** Yes, make sure it’s nice and loaded. Then we’re gonna shake it.
**Emily:** I love that sound! It’s a nice fall color. Ooh, I can smell the rye in there too.
**Luz:** Believe me or not, it’s very smooth.
**Emily:** Oh, is it?
**Luz:** Yes, now for our finishing touch…
**Emily:** Our tiny little scorpions! They’re pretty adorable.
**Luz:** Yes, they add a little crunch.
**Emily:** Cheers! I’m gonna try to get my scorpion. Oh, that is really good! It’s a nice pre-dinner cocktail for fall.
**Luz:** This is actually a partnership with Journeyman Distillery.
**Emily:** And they’re inspired by the collections here at the museum?
**Luz:** Yes! Even if you’re at the bar having a drink, you’re still getting some education out of it.
**Emily:** I love it! Educational bar visits are great!
Insects – Small arthropods with a segmented body, exoskeleton, and jointed appendages, often studied for their ecological roles and biodiversity. – Insects play a crucial role in pollination, which is vital for the reproduction of many plant species.
Sustainability – The practice of maintaining ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources, ensuring long-term environmental health. – Implementing sustainability in agriculture can help preserve ecosystems and support future food security.
Protein – A macromolecule composed of amino acids, essential for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s cells, tissues, and organs. – Legumes are an excellent source of plant-based protein, contributing to a balanced diet.
Nutrients – Substances that provide nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life, including vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients. – Soil quality affects the availability of nutrients to plants, influencing their growth and productivity.
Cuisine – A style or method of cooking, especially as characteristic of a particular country, region, or establishment, often reflecting local biodiversity and resources. – The Mediterranean cuisine is renowned for its use of olive oil, fresh vegetables, and seafood, promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Flavors – The distinct tastes of foods or drinks, often influenced by the chemical compounds present, which can affect dietary preferences and food choices. – The flavors of herbs and spices can enhance the palatability of plant-based dishes, encouraging more sustainable eating habits.
Greenhouse – A structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, used for growing plants under controlled environmental conditions. – Greenhouse technology allows for the cultivation of crops in regions with unfavorable climates, extending growing seasons.
Omega-3 – A type of essential fatty acid found in fish and some plant oils, important for cardiovascular health and cognitive function. – Incorporating omega-3 rich foods into one’s diet can support brain health and reduce inflammation.
Agriculture – The science, art, and practice of cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising livestock for human use and consumption. – Sustainable agriculture practices aim to reduce environmental impact while maintaining crop yields.
Diet – The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats, often studied for its impact on health and the environment. – A balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help prevent chronic diseases and promote overall well-being.
