The Gross-Out Article, or How I Got Started

This article is slightly edited from one I posted a while back at Faithwriters.com.

To get you going, check out this Scripture: Leviticus 11: 21, 22; Mark 1:6 --It's not without precedent and it's even biblical.

Several years back, a distinguished-looking lady came into our library with some questions. Her formal, quiet school-teacherish (which she was) manner seemed in stark contrast to her request for information on fried grasshoppers and sources of supply. When she made her request, I remembered buying chocolate-covered ants, bees, grasshoppers and caterpillars back in the early '70s when our Golden Valley, MN Byerly's carried 'em.  Byerly's doesn't carry them anymore. I checked a while back when we visited my parents. The teacher's request didn't shock me like it did some. It turned out the teacher was going to serve fried grasshoppers to some of the more daring teachers for a back-to-school function or something like that --quite possibly in remembrance of the big Warrensburg grasshopper feast from my earlier post.Several librarians and I jumped on the project. 

As a result of our hunt, the school teacher ended up buying two packages of hoppers (and I'm still trying to find out from where) and only used about half of one. She remembered our eagerness to find information and offered the library the leftovers. Only one of us (guess who) was adventurous enough to take her up on the offer. She didn't want any payment –only to get them off her hands.

The researching introduced me to websites and several books, which seemed to taunt me with, "I dare you to pursue this!" And here I am, unashamed, but on occasion, a little hesitant to admit, I've tried entomophagy, and am recognizing the potential in it.

Those commercially procured grasshoppers of the teacher's, though much larger than the ones in my yard, didn't impress me with their flavor or texture. Maybe they were fried in lard or shortening. Maybe they'd have been better with seasoning. I finished the open pack, and about half the other pack. The remainder ended up getting thrown out because I had no idea how long they stayed fresh. Over the months it took to reach that point, I'd looked at several of the books and websites we found while doing the original research.

Entomophagy is not just about fried grasshoppers and chocolate-covered stuff. One book, and I can't remember the author or title, explained how the author had been researching entomophagy. On a trout-fishing trip, he ran into a huge hatch of mayflies and wondered what the trout found so good about 'em. He tried one, then another, and ended up laying his fishing equipment down and eating his fill of mayflies. Of course, shortly after reading that, I was mowing on my tractor and my own yard happened to be quite thick with mayflies. I tried 'em too, and for quite some time, mayflies weren't safe around me.

During my early time of entomophagy experimentation, I discovered I like raw mayflies and young grasshoppers. Older hoppers were a bit too strongly flavored for me. In a recent book I read, the author pointed out something that should have been obvious to me. Eating uncooked insects poses the same threats of disease and parasites as eating under and uncooked meats of other types. I pondered that thought and my raw insect-eating days were all but over.

One day, not long after giving up raw "bugs" (entomologically incorrect, but etymologically correct, as "Eat-A-Bug's" David George Gordon points out), I ran across a bunch of tomato worms on my in-laws' tomato plants. "The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook" has a recipe for Fried Green Tomato Hornworms, so I collected all I could find from those plants. I only got about a dozen. They ranged in size from about an inch and a half to almost four inches long. My wife humored me and didn't protest, even though she knew what I was up to. A month or so earlier, she only smiled (and maybe rolled her eyes) as she peeked into a frying pan to catch me dry-roasting some grasshoppers, which ultimately found their way powdered into a hoppin'-good hot sauce. The day after the tomato worm find, I caught several grasshoppers, a cicada, and a couple field crickets. I finally had enough critters to make another attempt at edible insects.

After killing the snack by freezing, I thawed 'em out while tossing them in soy sauce. I cut up some white onion and sweet-pickled ripe jalapenos (from my garden) and heated up a bit of olive oil. In went the critters and they sizzled up a storm as the water steamed out. A couple of the tomato worms burst, so I adjusted the heat and kept on frying and stirring until the grasshoppers turned deep red-brown and the worms turned almost yellow. Then I stirred in the vegetables and continued until they were nicely browned.

I must admit I was quite pleasantly impressed at the outcome! Aside from the oniony, sweet and hot, salty flavors from the other ingredients, which was really quite good, the individual critters had flavors and textures all their own. In many books, you'll read of "nutty" and "smoky" flavors. The tomato worms didn't have that. They were quite similar to thin tubes of thick pea soup. The mere bulk of "stuff" in a tomato worm may take some getting used to, but they're really not all that bad. The cicada tasted and felt like a nut stew inside a big sunflower seed shell. I couldn't get the shell chewed, so, like a piece of gum that'd lost its flavor, I spit the shell out. The grasshoppers were, like most people say, smoky and nutty in flavor. I particularly liked the light and crispy texture. Finally, the crickets were most impressive, like crispy, smoked oyster. They were great!

Like when I get a good batch of kimchi, pickles, pepper brownies or jalapeno cookies, I had to bring a big sample to friends to share. I'd already picked out my intended victim, due to her reaction to the hoppin'good hot sauce a couple weeks earlier. When I asked if anyone was interested in my latest experiment, I said, "It's not the hoppin' good hot sauce that had the powdered grasshoppers in it." She said she didn't like the idea of hot stuff, but the grasshopper part sounded interesting. Be careful what you say, specially if you're only trying to humor someone. You never know when it may come back to you.

Within minutes, I brought in the previous night's leftover stir-fry, having to fight myself not to eat it all up, so I could share it. My first victim looked nervous as she said, "I thought you'd maybe bring it in in a couple days, not just a minute or two." She didn't want an audience for her first entomophagous attempt, so I suggested we slip off to the break room. There was someone else in the break room, so we had an audience, but still not a big one. The audience was also one who tries most of my other stuff –but not this.

After looking into the stir-fry, the victim said, "Ew, I don't want to try a tomato worm!" I poked the chopsticks in and pulled out a grasshopper. She asked, "What's THAT?" The legs and wings were gone, and it looked similar to a long, shiny raisin.  I told her it's a grasshopper and her face went into a skeptical twist as she slowly extended her hand. I think she might have even given a little shiver as the morsel hit her hand. She put it in her mouth and slowly began to chew. Her eyes got big and she started to smile and said, "Oh my gosh! That was good!" She eagerly accepted another, bigger hopper. The response from later adventurous eaters has all been positive.

On my way to make a book-delivery to one of our library branches, I stopped at my favorite convenience store for my soda refill. Some of the guys who work there eagerly try my concoctions. One of them likes my experiments well enough that he gets his own bottle of most. As I walked in, I asked if anyone felt adventurous. The new guy said, "If it's anything like that kimchi I tried, I'm game!" I said, "This stuff isn't hot at all," and for a second or two, silence fell. The old-timer with my culinary goodies broke the silence with a hesitating, "What's in it?" "Well, aside from soy sauce, onions, and a bit of those pickled jalapenos, there's critters."

The new guy said, "Whoa, not me! I'm skittish enough around bugs." I said, "It's your chance to take revenge." He didn't go for it, but Old-Timer said, "You know, I'd heard of eating insects and have been meaning to try it some time." I said I had grasshoppers and tomato hornworms. Old-Timer laughed and said no tomato worm for him, but he'll try a grasshopper.

Old-Timer started chewing and he put up his hand, saying, "Mmmm, Hmmm", between chews. "It tastes like… like… I can't quite put my finger on it… It's not bad…" Then I told the guys about the cicada and cricket. New Guy said he'd have tried a cricket "because they're little." Neither of them was disappointed that I'd already eaten the cicada.

Since then, I'd experienced catching grasshoppers by flashlight on a cool night is quite like picking berries. New Guy also asked me to bring some grasshoppers again because he was ready to try them.

The other day, I called a bluff. Two ladies who work at one of the libraries I deliver to said they were interested in trying my entocuisine. I brought in part of batch number two. This time there were no tomato worms or cicadas, but it included peach-pit meats, which are very almond-like. One of the ladies declined after seeing the bowl, but the other didn't back down or even hesitate.

I ate one hopper while telling about the adapted recipe, as one patron who looked into the bowl staggered off with her hands fluttering like a butterfly, shuddering and repeating, "Ew, ew, ew." Daring Librarian had a cricket and the patron "Ew"ed again. Then Daring Librarian had a grasshopper, saying, "These are really good, though I'm most partial to crickets." Another "Ewww!" was heard in the distance. We didn't eat it all, so I had a fair bulk of leftovers for dinner.

While camping the following weekend, I was reading my Bible by lantern-light and a big grasshopper hit me in the chest. I picked it off and gently tossed it to the weeds. Another bounced off my head and landed in the Book. I only smiled as it hopped off into the dark. Before this, I'd probably have absent-mindedly squished 'em. The next day, again, while reading, a big ant crawled along the edge of the table and I reached out, tapped it with a finger and popped it in my mouth. I realized what I'd done, and glanced around to see if anyone saw me. I think I got away with it. Ants are tart!

So now, as I drive around on my library delivery routes and scan the countryside, it hits home all the harder how abundantly God has provided for us. Am I ready to throw caution to the wind and be a hunter-gatherer? No way! I like my metal pans, freezers, refrigerators, stove and oven, my car, and other benefits of civilization. Those, too, are gifts of God. Running water's nice, too, as is the Internet where you're likely reading this.

Some of My Motivation

Some of you might wonder why someone brought up in Western culture actually eats bugs.  I'll be transferring another article on that topic soon, but the below article documented an event that took place quite near where I live over a hundred years ago, so my interest, particularly in this area, isn't without precedent!  This is a story or how a guy took hardship and turned it into a fun event.  Enjoy!

Who Recalls Locust Feast?

From "The Bulletin" Johnson County Historical Society, Inc., Sep, 1979 (Vol. XV, No. 2)

If you think this year's onslaught of grasshoppers has been bad, think back to what it was like in 1875 when young boys were gathering buckets of locusts for a very unusual –but true—banquet.

The subject of Warrensburg's "grasshopper feast" came up again earlier this year with a reprint of a 1909 reminiscence by "The Country Cousin" in the Warrensburg Star Journal, January 31.

The unnamed writer was a member of the city council, and he told of a dinner at the normal school that had him feel as though the 'hoppers were yet stalking through his stomach.

The fall of 1975 [sic] brought swarms of Rocky Mountain or "Indian" grasshoppers (so named because of their copper color and bright red legs) to Western Missouri.  The locusts laid eggs in the sandy, loose soil, and the following year, then hatched out in plague proportions.

"Country Cousin" reported that they moved forward "like an avalanche," up from the bootoms [sic] around Post Oak.  There were so many of the 'hoppers that trains were being stalled because of wheels slipping on the rails.  A Warrensburg banker, A.W. Ridings, offered a reward and paid fifty cents for every bushel of grasshoppers brought to his bank at Holden and East Pine Streets.  So many were brought in, however, he was forced to retract the offer.

The feast?  That was the idea of Charles V. Riley, the first state entomologist in Missouri and later an entomologist with the U.S. Department of agriculture.  Riley claimed that the grasshoppers could be safely eaten.  Accounts differ, but "Country Cousin" said that all of the teachers in the normal school attended the banquet, with the cooking being supervised by a German clerk named Weidermeyer, who was also an excellent chef.

"First came grasshopper soup, then grasshopper pancakes served with butter and syrup; the scrambled eggs well mixed with grasshoppers; then followed pudding, spiked with the festive hopper, and finally came a pie around the edge of which the redlegged grasshoppers were set around in a circle looking outward, very artistically arranged," he recalled.

Riley's account of the banquet was included in a report to the governor.  In addition, details were in a paper he read before the American Association of the Advancement of Science.

The article raises some questions.  First, who was "Country Cousin"?  Any Ideas?  Second, does anyone remember first or second-hand stories from persolns [sic] that attended the banquet or were otherwise involved?  If so, write The Bulletin in care of the Heritage Library in Warrensburg.

I'd like to recreate an insect feast here in Warrensburg, Missouri, some time.  Please, if anyone thinks it sounds like fun, and specially would like to help, let me know!  We probably would have to expand on grasshoppers, as we can't really schedule another plague.

And I'd like to give the Johnson County Historical Society special thanks for giving me the go-ahead to re-post this article!  Go to Facebook and friend them!

It Happened on a Dark and Humid Night

It's a dark warm night in mid to late spring.  That's prime bug collecting time.  Turn on a porch light or a fairly bright light near a window in your house.  It shouldn't take long for the guests to arrive.  While you're waiting, take a flashlight out to trees and the garden to collect more stuff.  (Ed K., if you're reading this, I plan on building a big bug trap like you've got! –If it works for me, I'll share it.)

Last night (29 May, 2011), I had my first fruitful night-hunt!  It'd been a really screwy year, so far, for weather.  It'd been unusually cold and rainy.  I guess that's what's been keeping the bugs under cover.  Last night was different!  It was warm and humid, with a little breeze.  I'd been looking, for days, for the big cicada hatch that was supposed to be happening.  I'd also been leaving lights on and checking windows for June bugs and other critters.  All total, over the past couple weeks, I'd only gotten five or six June bugs, and seen only two empty cicada shells and one adult. 

--time passes--

Now 1 June, I gotta get this finished so I can post it in time for folks to do something about it.  Get outside after dark, with a flashlight.  Look just about anywhere you can think –tree trunks, undersides of branches and leaves, fences, flower patches, buildings, and even on the ground.  You'll probably surprise yourself at the stuff you'll find.  Collect your bugs alive, and kill them by freezing.  Store them that way until you're ready to cook them.

I go collecting with a small plastic coffee creamer bottle.  It's got a little shaker lid with a hinged-door on the opening just the right size for June bugs, grasshoppers, cicadas and more.  When I'm done collecting, I put the bottle in the freezer, and about 15 minutes later, the critters are ready to sort into sandwich bags.  At least that's the way I do it. 

I've found lots of June bugs on foliage, and not all on my window screens.  They seem to be rather partial to young leaves from sucker plants that sprout from stumps.  Cicadas are on just about anything, and we should have the annuals start their hatch in a few weeks.  Annual cicadas are bigger than periodicals, but don't hatch in such bulk.  Then there's grasshoppers late in the summer.  Almost all these critters pick quite easily.  They're not nearly so skittish at night –particularly the diurnal insects like grasshoppers.  They pick best on cool nights.  Crickets are probably easiest to acquire by trapping, of from a bait shop, but they're might tasty!  I'm particularly fond of those brown camel crickets so common in many basements.

I seriously don't believe a few entomophagists can put a dent in an insect population, unless the insect is rare to begin with.  So far, in combination, I've gotten about a quarter pound of June bugs and cicadas in the freezer –more cicadas than June bugs.  I've got a little less than that in mealworms I raised in my basement.  Try raising your own ento-treats, but if you pick wild, be respectful.  Never eradicate a population –unless, of course, you're picking pests from your garden.  And if you do pick regularly, you shouldn't need to use pesticides!  Reduced pesticide use will even make the green folks happy. (and an almost off-topic note: Put earthworms in peat for a few days before you boil 'em (20 minutes, with garlic).  It helps purge the fine gritty dirt from their systems.  They have a taste sort of like earthy fish, with a texture similar to squid.  They oughtta go over quite nicely at our fear factor program in October)

So now you've got all this neat stuff you can eat.  How do you do it?  I'll be happy to share my experiences with you, and below, you'll find a bibliography of some of my favorite books on wild edibles and edible critters of many sorts.  They're all good enough that I've added them to my personal library –even though I work at a public library.

Bibliography

Angier, Bradford. Field Guide to Wild Edible Plants.  Stackpole Books.  Harrisburg, PA. 1982. 

Angier, Bradford. How to Stay Alive in the Woods.  Macmillan Publishing Co. New York. 1956.

Brill, "Wildman" Steve and Evelyn Dean.  Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants: in Wild (and Not so Wild) Places.  Harper Collins Publishers.  NY.  2002.

Couplan, Francois, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America. Keats Publishing, Inc. New Canaan, CT.  1998.

DeFoliart, Gene, Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, David Gracer, Ed. Food Insects Newsletter: Chronicle of a Changing Culture. Aardvark Global Publishing. Salt Lake City. 2009.

Department of the Army.  The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants.  Skyhorse Publishing.  NY.  2009.

Forey, Pamela, and Cecelia Fitzsimmons.  An Instant Guide to Edible Plants.  Grammercy Books.  NY.  2001.

Gordon, David George. The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook. Ten Speed Press.  Berkeley, CA. 1998.

Gordon, David George. The Secret World of Slugs and Snails: Life in the Very Slow Lane. Sasquatch Books.  Seattle.  2010.

Herter, George Leonard and Berthe E. How to Get Out of the Rat Race and Live on $10 a Month. Herter's, Inc. Waseca, MN. 1975.

Holt, Vincent M. Why Not Eat Insects? Pryor Publications Whitstable and Walsall.  Whitstable, Kent, UK. 2007 reprint of 1885 publication.

Jaden, Jenna, and the University of Maryland Cicadamaniacs. Cicada-Licious (2nd ed.) University of Maryland. 2004.

Menzel, Peter, and Faith D'Aluisio. Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects. Ten Speed Press. Berkeley, CA. 1998.

Phillips, Jan.  Wild Edibles of Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation.  1979.

Rost, Amy, compiler.  Survival Wisdom and Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Subsist in the Wilderness. Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, Inc. NY. 2007.

Taylor, Ronald L. and Barbara J. Carter. Entertaining With Insects. Salutek Publishing Co. Yorba Linda, CA. 1996.

U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force. Survival, Evasion and Recovery. 1999.

Websites

June bugs and More

http://intotheborderlands.blogspot.com/2008/06/eating-brown.html

Food Insects Newsletter

http://www.hollowtop.com/finl_html/finl.html

http://www.food-insects.com/

And of course, don't forget my two Facebook groups: Missouri Entomophagy and Wild Edibles of Missouri.