Edible insects are slowly but surely making their way into the corners of Western Europe. You can find insect products in Germany, the Netherlands and France, for example. In Asia, eating insects is the order of the day and is part of a wide variety of dishes.
A varied selection of edible insects
It is hard to believe that the world is uncovering over 2,000 species of edible insects. But we'll just take a look at a few of them here. You can take a bite out of the larvae of the mealybug and the Brazilian mealybug. Next up are the straight-winged crickets, where our familiar house cricket is worth a mention. You can also enjoy the saranacs, cockroaches and grunts.
Environmentally friendly and a nutritional bomb
In terms of protein content per 100 grams, the cricket can outperform any drink or protein bar. For the detail hunters, the protein content is around 69 to 100 grams, which is 255% more than beef! Cricket is also an unexpected giant in calcium content. In addition, it is a source of all ten essential amino acids and vitamins B2 and B12.
Among other positive facts, we can consider the proportion of edible insect parts compared to current alternatives. In fact, 80% of the insects are edible and the remainder is very easy to utilise. It is thus an ecological option that is significantly environmentally friendly.
But the proportion of edible component is not the only ecological curiosity. The house cricket produces only one single gram of greenhouse gases per kilogram of protein, which is absolutely incomparable and unsurpassed by the competition. By comparison, poultry produce on average up to 300 grams, pigs 1 130 grams and cattle up to 2 850 grams of greenhouse gases for the same proportion of protein. The house cricket also leads the category of least water consumption per 1000 grams of protein. This is just one litre of water. So we have a clear ecological king.
Insects belong on the plate
The large number of edible insects offers an incredible number of varied combinations and gastronomic possibilities. If you would like to experiment in your kitchen, we can recommend the cookbook by Associate Professor Maria Borkovcova and the collective Insects on the Plate, which is available on our online shop. This cookbook will serve as a great and colourful guide to the paradise of insect delicacies.