How to use the whole animal (waste not want not)

[mymilliefleur]

When it comes to eating "bugs" it's all in your head. Consider how many people will salivate over steamed lobster, but won't eat a cricket. But....why? If you think about it, they are both six legged, hard-shelled arthropods with gooey innards. It's just because one they are use to and another they aren't. One is not empirically any "grosser" than the other--or if anything, the lobster, which eats rotting detritus and other dead things lying on the seafloor should be considered "grosser" than the cricket, which eats green leaves and flowers. But in fact there's no logic to it either way, really, and it's all fine food. It's understandable that people have cultural prejudices, especially about food, but at the same time it has to be understood that they are only just cultural prejudices and very often don't have anything to do rationality.

Kind of fascinating, really. There was a great article in last weeks "The Week" magazine on edible insects BTW.

I got the opportunity to taste roasted, spiced iron crickets on a recent trip to Cambodia. They were delicious, crisp and nutty, and made a great high-protein snack. Before you jump to conclusions, I'm not interested in eating weird stuff just to brag about it--I actually liked them, and went back for more packages again and again to stick in my day bag (and they were probably one of the more nourishing things I ate at the time, in between meals mostly based around highly polished white rice and processed white rice products and small portions of often low-quality meat). I would love to farm some crickets myself, both to eat, and as a protein source for livestock, but I have yet to find a source of starter stock for one of the gourmet species. I think it would make a great project...

Good post. People today are way to picky. Take liver for example. It's basically just another muscle, and very nutritious. I used to hate it myself, until I tried some homemade liver pate, And it was Delicious. And then you hear what people say about homegrown food some times.

 

[Beer can]

They must farm them somehow, they have tons of them in markets on tv shows ive saw. No way they collect that many wild.
Actually lobster used to be only fed to slaves and prisoners, or used for fertilizer, nobody wanted to eat them. Same with oysters.

 

[Aphrael]

Good post. People today are way to picky. Take liver for example. It's basically just another muscle, and very nutritious. I used to hate it myself, until I tried some homemade liver pate, And it was Delicious. And then you hear what people say about homegrown food some times.

I have to say, I'm one of those who hates liver. It has nothing to do with the idea of it being an organ for me. I want to like it, I really do, because I know it is super nutritious. But I just can't stand it, the taste makes me gag. Heck, even the smell of it cooking is enough to make me nauseous.

 

[Beer can]

Very cool also... I found ants tasted like vinegar... I was a kid so my memory could be off...

Lol! I remember eating live ants in elementary school just to gross kids out and think i was cool. Yeah i remember they had some bite to them, acidic.

 

[Aphrael]

They must farm them somehow, they have tons of them in markets on tv shows ive saw. No way they collect that many wild.
Actually lobster used to be only fed to slaves and prisoners, or used for fertilizer, nobody wanted to eat them. Same with oysters.

Isn't it funny how things change? At one time, the organs and offal were considered the greatest delicacies and only the rich could have them. The plain ol' muscle meat was left for the poor. Now it is largely reversed.

 

[Beer can]

I have to say, I'm one of those who hates liver.  It has nothing to do with the idea of it being an organ for me.  I want to like it, I really do, because I know it is super nutritious.  But I just can't stand it, the taste makes me gag.  Heck, even the smell of it cooking is enough to make me nauseous.  

Ever try liverwurst, or braunschweiger? It doesn't taste like liver, its made with pork liver. You can even make a dip with it. I had some homemade, made with deer liver and chicken livers, and smoked, very good.

 

[hennible]

They must farm them somehow, they have tons of them in markets on tv shows ive saw. No way they collect that many wild.
Actually lobster used to be only fed to slaves and prisoners, or used for fertilizer, nobody wanted to eat them. Same with oysters.

In Newfoundland where a lot of Canadian lobster is fished it was considered poor person's food for very long time... It's what the Fishermen ate a lot of them grew up to have a distaste for it

I have to say, I'm one of those who hates liver.  It has nothing to do with the idea of it being an organ for me.  I want to like it, I really do, because I know it is super nutritious.  But I just can't stand it, the taste makes me gag.  Heck, even the smell of it cooking is enough to make me nauseous.  

I hate it too but I can add about five chicken livers to meatloaf all ground up in my Food processor and not taste it... Even manage to get my snooty little nephew to eat it without knowing it was in there... Works good with pork meatloaf or a beef meatloaf.

 

[bamadude]

Im not eating fish bait

 

[hennible]

Your DW eats worms your covered already

 

[bamadude]

Lol. She eats whatever i tell her to eat