Mealies . . . not just for breakfast anymore

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mavman99

Guest
Have an annoying co-worker who won't leave you alone? Bring them a batch of Mealworm Cookies. :p
 

BluGnat

Opus
Messages
579
Location
Westminster, Colorado
Oh, wow. Pretty sure I just threw up a little bit. It sure would be cool to have such a cheap and constant source of protein for cooking (I'm $20+ lighter after picking up chicken breasts and salmon on the way home from work)...if it didn't have that pesky little problem of seeming so NASTY. I wonder what the hubby and kids would think...
 

GoGo

I'm Watching You
Messages
529
Location
Brooklyn, New York
I say you make it, feed it to them, and see how they like it. Without telling them whats in it. For all you know if you never let them know that the worms are in it they might love the taste.
 

Scott&Nikki

New Member
Messages
2,003
Location
DeKalb/Wheeling IL
GoGo said:
I say you make it, feed it to them, and see how they like it. Without telling them whats in it. For all you know if you never let them know that the worms are in it they might love the taste.

But make them sign a contract before they eat it saying they will not leave you.
 
M

mavman99

Guest
I think this is my favorite part:
"Dried mealworm larvae can be used in place of nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips in many cookies, bread, and dessert recipes. In powdered form, mealworm larvae can also replace part of the flour in cakes or pie crusts. If they are just barely thawed, whole, or ground, they can be added to sauces or used to make delicious spreads."

When I was in Boy Scouts we learned about survival and one kid (who was a little off) brought in chocolate covered ants and Chex Mix, kind of like their recipe. I can't remember what was in the Chex Mix, but if you can get past what it is, it just tasted like anything else in there.

BUT, adding them to "sauces" or making them into a "delicious spread?" Only for my ailing lizard (if I had an ailing lizard).

Actually, it is probably like people who think I am nuts for eating a cow.
 
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Melody

Guest
Other cultures are revolted by our eating chicken eggs! If you really stop to think about it, it really IS revolting - undeveloped embryos????? Yuck. But I do eat eggs, so a lot of it is in the mindset!
 
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Sdaji

Guest
When I go through my mealworms, I usually pick out the white (freshly moulted) ones and have a bit of a munch. They're good live, but if you're squeamish they're not bad fried. I find them to be a bit rich, so if I eat more than about 200g I can feel a little bit heavy. Great on pizza.

Crickets are delicious, certainly nicer than mealworms if you're going to eat a large quantity. Great raw or fried, also not bad as a pizza topping.

Anyone who says they taste like chicken clearly hasn't tasted them!

I'm not sure what species of cockroaches people over there breed, but don't eat Nauphoeta cinerea; they really do taste terrible (unless you're willing to cut them up and only eat the yummy bits, but it's a lot of work and not really worth it).

Bees taste a lot like crickets, except that they're very sweet, they're nice if you just add a few to a meal, but unless you like your food much sweeter than I do, you don't want to eat too many. I once made an omlette with too many bees, it did taste good, but I felt a bit ill afterwards (I don't have much of a sweet tooth and would feel sick after eating a chocolate bar, too many lollies, etc). If you have a sweet tooth, bee larvae or pupae are absolutely brilliant.

Grasshoppers are delicious, similar to crickets most of the time, but if they've been eating some plants the flavour greatly changes. Locusts/grasshoppers which have been eating Eucalyptus ("gum" trees) are particularly good, if they've been eating Acacia ("wattle"), the flavour is often good, but can be too strong if they've been eating arid adapted Acacia species with small, resiny phyllodes.

Spiders are absolutely delicious (and extremely high in protein), but usually difficult to obtain in large quantities.

Earwigs are good, they taste a lot better than they smell! Another great one for pizza, great fried or roasted, I don't think I've tried them live.

Beetles are usually too crunchy to bother with, as are cicadas, and some others.

I've found dragonflies to be unpleasant, although other people have said they like them. Perhaps I just haven't cooked them properly.

There are plenty of others, I could ramble on all day. Western people really are startlingly squeamish creatures.
 
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Jayyoung

Guest
I also would eat insects before dog, but for reference don't eat dog liver! to high in Vitamin A.
 
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M

mavman99

Guest
Sdaji said:
Western people really are startlingly squeamish creatures.

We are spoiled by how easy it is here to eat whatever we want or don't want(myself included). If you ask some people where hamburger comes from, they would probably tell you "the grocery store."

When there is no pressure here to try something new, we stick to pretty basic stuff (in a global, mealworm-eating sense). You always see it on Survivor--people are starving, no meat, and they refuse to eat a rat or monkey or something. Not a garbage eating rat from some alley, but a rat that has been living on a tropical island eating berries and nuts.

Oh, well, I think I will stop and get some kiwis and tilapia on the way home for dinner (that is about as global as I am going to get most likely :) ).
 

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