Photography by Samantha Demangate
“If it flies, jumps, or crawls, throw it in a pan!” We heard these words a lot while in Mexico. The country’s traditional cuisine revolves around sustainability and practices such as growing the mutually beneficial staples of corn, beans, and squash together have been utilized for centuries. One ancient food practice seems to be ahead of its time: entomophagy, aka the consumption of insects. As the world’s population increases and resources grow scarce, the world may look to Mexico for inspiration on how to cook these sustainably delicious critters.
“I love Chapulines, man I bought three bags at the market yesterday,” said a friend from Guadalajara over dinner. In Oaxaca, a group of us discussed how much we love consuming arthropods. Fried, boiled, sautéed. No matter how they’re prepared, they add an indispensable amount of nutrients, texture, and umami, to Mexican food. In market stands across the country, people jump to purchase the tiny critters. Most are collected by hand in the wild, cooked on large grills, and brought to the markets and cities.
Mexico has an ancient tradition of eating insects. In the Pre Hispanic days, people would supplement their diets with various insects and larvae. Flavorful, rich in protein, and abundant, they were integral to daily meals. Even after the Spaniards brought livestock, people in Mexico continued the practice and today, entomophagy newbies like myself are won over by the thousands. I’ll never forget the first bite of chapulines (grasshoppers). The savory flavor and delightfully crunchy texture were insatiable. Most people, especially the most squeamish, tend to feel a gag reflex brought on by a mental prejudice towards the animals. Yet, after that first bite, it’s almost impossible not to melt into your cravings for more.
There are an almost mind-boggling amount of species eaten in Mexico. The most common are chapulines, or fried grasshoppers. Normally tossed with salt, chili, and lime, they are the perfect portable snack that is sold throughout the country. Stink bugs (jamiles) are another popular type that are characterized not only by their unique flavor but by their tongue-numbing medicinal properties as well. Mezcal drinkers are probably already familiar with the maguey worms (gusanos de maguey) that come at the bottom of mezcal bottles. These caterpillars live on the large maguey cacti that are used to make tequila and mezcal. They are traditionally cooked on a stone griddle, known as a comal or deep fried. Two of my favorite and hard to find treats are escamoles (ant larvae) and the ultimate Chiapan delicacy known as Tsats. Escamoles are often stir-fried and eaten in a variety of dishes and have a taste and price tag to earn them the moniker of “Mexican caviar.” Tsats are the closest thing to that famous bug-eating scene in The Lion King that you can imagine. These huge caterpillars are generally fried and are exclusive to the highlands of Chiapas. Their taste and texture are reminiscent of superbly aged and cooked bites of free-range steak.
Chefs, amateur cooks, and foodies around the country and the world are continuing the long tradition of insect cuisine. New uses for them are being pioneered by people who create new dimensions of insect-based flavors and combinations. Alcoholic drinks and cocktails have long benefited from insects. Recently in Oaxaca I ordered an incredible mezcal cocktail served in a glass with a coating of pulverized chapulines, salt, and spices. Many of the country’s leading chefs and bartenders reach out for Cochineal, a parasitic insect that prays on various species of nopal cacti and produces a rich red dye which is used as a coloring agent in many cocktails and foods.
The future looks bright for insect cuisine. Environmental stresses on the food supply are a very real concern for most people around the planet and if major extinction events have taught us anything, it’s that insects will be around long after we will be. Sustainable, plentiful, nutritious, and most importantly delicious, we cannot ignore the fact that these tiny creatures are our culinary future. And if we all can prepare them as well as in Mexico, then we’re all in for a treat.
