Crickets, An Abundant Source of Protein Worldwide

A message from EatThePlanet.org: "We are happy you found us! We strive to be informative and accurate. Enjoy what you find here! Take a look at our new downloadable pdf eBook A Complete Guide To Foraging. We put a lot of work into this eBook and are very excited to share it with you." - Joe Forager(Owner)

Field Cricket
Field Cricket (Photo By: Altairisfar / Wikimedia Commons)

Crickets( Family: Gryllidae) can be found in almost every area on the globe where humans live.  Crickets are a substantial snack food for many people around the globe, including parts of Asian and Africa. Your native or local crickets can be collected and raised easily with very little, food water and space requirements.

Edibility And Culinary Use

The taste is very good. It has a nutty flavor.  There are no bad tastes or aftertaste.  It often just tastes like a hardier version of the herbs and spices it’s cooked in.  Crickets should always be cooked when eaten, not because of anything inherent to the Cricket, but they may contain parasites.  Crickets are eaten throughout the world in many ways including, fried, baked, mashed, cooked over fire, and boiled in salt, or soup. I like to eat them baked till crunchy with some mild spices, it’s a tasty and healthy snack.  Here is our Crispy Roasted Crickets Recipe. Crickets are also often cooked till crunchy then ground into a powder to add to flower and other grains.  This is a good way to fortify your meals with protein.

Health Benefits

Brown House Crickets Cooked
Brown House Crickets Cooked

The primary nutritional benefit is well known and that is its protein content compared to contents of fats and cholesterol.  So in other words this is a great choice to get you protein but not put on a lot of pounds.

Conclusion

Crickets are easy to identify, capture, and raise worldwide, and that’s why it is already a popular food source in some places in the world.  Eating Crickets is a good solution to the problems of lack of protein in some countries and overabundance of fats and cholesterol in others.  Once we get past cultural taboos, we will realize how good and nutritious Crickets are.



Many of our readers find that subscribing to Eat The Planet is the best way to make sure they don't miss any of our valuable information about wild edibles.

Like our facebook page for additional articles and updates.

Follow us on Twitter @EatThePlanetOrg

See our privacy policy for more information about ads on this site

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stellaria media – Chickweed

Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a common edible green that was brought here from Europe. Chickweed can be identified by its teardrop-shaped leaves that grow opposite

Read More »