Edible Insects: A Global History - Gina Louise Hunter

• The biblical manna may have been the sweet excretion of the mealybug; this crystallized honeydew is still collected for human consumption today.
• Cazu marzu, a sheep's milk cheese infested with fly maggots, is a rich and pungent (and notorious) Sardinian delicacy.
• In Mexico, red or white maguey worms can be eaten as tasty fried snacks or dropped into bottles of mezcal.
• In Thailand, more than 20,000 families run small-scale cricket farms.

An estimated 2 billion people worldwide regularly consume insects. yet bugs are rarely eaten in the West. Why are some disgusted at the thought of eating insects while others find them delicious? Edible Insects provide a broad introduction to the role of insects as human food, from our prehistoric past to the current food trends, and explores how they could be a solution to our current global food shortage. On the menu are beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers and grubs of many kinds, with stories that highlight traditional methods of insect collection, preparation, consumption and preservation as well as the culinary uses of creepy-crawlies across many cultures.

Reviews: 

'Embellished with clever illustrations and a nice selection of historical and contemporary recipes... [an] outstanding series of food volumes.' - Wall Street Journal

Publisher: Reaktion Books Ltd

ISBN: 9781789144468

Pages: 176

Weight: 376 g

Dimensions: 197 x 120 x 14 mm