Forget a bag of cheese and onion, soon you'll be crunching on critter crisps!
Drinking an ice-cold Singha beer with a bag of fried, greasy insects is on most adventurous travellers' bucket lists in Bangkok.
While it may take more than a few beers to nibble on a scary-looking scorpion, bugs are considered a healthy alternative to protein in Thai cuisine. Street markets sell 200 of the country's edible insect species, freshly fried and salted or sweetened—a bit like popcorn.
However, in the West, the yuck factor means most of us prefer a bag of crisps with our pint rather than crispy fried crickets, but the UK Edible Insect Association (UKEIA), which hosted the recent Farmed Insect Protein Conference at Nottingham University, says bug beer snacks are much better for us nutritionally. And as I discovered, they're not nearly as unsavoury as they look.
Six-legged superfoods have twice the protein of steak, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more vitamin B12 than salmon, and even more fibre than broccoli.
Insects are so good for our health and the planet says the UKEIA, we should be adding them to our daily diets. Grasshoppers, crickets and mealworms are filled with lots of nutrients including nine essential amino acids, which make them an excellent source of complete protein.
While creepy crawlies may look small, gram for gram, they contain more protein than beef and less than 5g of fat per serving. Compare that to my snack of choice, Walkers Cheese and Onion Crisps, which have 7.4g per bag. And as everyone knows, one packet is never enough!
The founder of edible insect firm Bugvita, Adam Banks, says, 'I don't think insects are going to replace crisps any time soon, but I absolutely can see a future where people are tucking into our cricket snacks instead of crisps – and they'd be a much more nutritious alternative!
'The feedback we've had from the public is that familiar formats are going to help get people past the 'yuck factor'. A cricket cookie, or pancake or brownie made from our mixes is easier for many to take a bite from than a whole insect.
'That said, because insects are a bit different and can be a little shocking to some when they first come across them, I think there is likely to remain a demand for them, ready to eat and in their natural form. They make excellent stocking fillers and Secret Santas too!'
However, not everyone is keen to see bugs on the menu. As Adam reveals, 'You would be surprised how many people get in touch or leave 1-star reviews because they are convinced that Klaus Schwab and the rest of the WEF global elites are working on a plan to force people to live in a pod and only eat bugs!'
And not only is eating insects good for you, it can help save the planet by fighting world hunger and reducing pollution. The world's population is growing, so we need to produce more food to feed everyone, and there are lots of insects to go around.
Farmed animals need a lot of space, while bugs don't take up much land, water or feed. Not only that, but unlike cattle, insect farming produces fewer greenhouse gases.
But if we can't get people chomping on whole insects, we can at least incorporate cricket powder into our foods.
While Bugvita works with a cricket farm in Northern Thailand, it has its own UK food manufacturing facility in Lincolnshire solely for edible insects. 'We're testing how to put cricket powder in meals because it's such a great source of nutrition and very versatile, but most people don't really know how to use it in cooking.
'We are also doing product development work for other edible insect companies who are looking to test the waters with a new concept. It's really hard to find manufacturers happy to work with insects, because they are new and a potential allergen, so that has helped us to get established.
'And we've also partnered with another company to help them develop a frozen cricket-based mince product.'
The only thing now stopping UK shoppers from being able to put edible insects in their supermarket basket is the regulatory turmoil left after Brexit.
Tiziana Di Costanzo, co-founder of Horizon Insects urban farm in Ealing, West London, remains hopeful we will see them on our supermarket shelves at some point, but explains, 'The EU was in the process of approving edible insects as the referendum took shape, which has left the UK behind in its progress on this 'future of farming'.
'Brexit has created huge delays on the industry's progress, and while other EU countries are enjoying the introduction of edible insects into their diets, the UK has a lot of catching up to do in terms of legislation. While stigma and cultural ideals remain a barrier to entry, the real barrier for this emerging industry is the UK government.'
It may be some time before we're all putting out bowls of locusts as party snacks, but frankly, after a few drinks, you'd be hard pushed with some of the brands to tell whether you're nibbling on Bombay or bug mix.
I tested four edible insect retailers' snacks – so you don't have to…
1. Crunchy Critters, £5.99-£8.49, from www.crunchycritters.com
First up was Honey Roast Crickets (30g), £5.99, and I tentatively had a nibble on a cricket, realised I had been worrying about nothing, and then had a mouthful to really get the honey, salt and cinnamon hit. To be honest, they just looked and tasted like sweet cinnamon-flavoured rice crispies.
But then I went hardcore and unseasoned with the company's bag of Mixed Critters (30g) £8.49 of mealworms, crickets and huge locusts, which were big enough to have been involved in a few plagues during the time of Egyptian pharaohs. I munched on a few big ones, but I draw the line at being able to eyeball my snacks.
I was also sent cricket flour, which can be added to a smoothie for extra protein, or you could replace a fifth of the flour in normal baking recipes with this powder.
Rated: 3.5/5
2. Bugvita, £3.99- www.bugvita.com
I went in next with the Maple Wood Smoked Crickets (20g) £4.99, which were probably just too strongly flavoured for my liking – I may as well have been eating maple wood chips.
I had avoided the Salt and Vinegar Mealworms (20g) £3.99 because of my horror of maggoty thing,s but when I'd got a bit braver by the end of the taste test, I nibbled on a roasted insect, and found I preferred the texture of mealworm to crickets.
The tangy vinegar flavour doesn't mask the nutty mealworm flavour, and I could see myself buying these to eat in future if they were more widely available.
Rated: 5/5
3. Bug Farm Cricket Cookies, £7.99 from www.thebugfarm.co.uk
The only thing stopping these yummy chocolate chip cookies from scoring top marks was the price. But while the industry is still in its infancy, all the insect products I tried were more expensive than regular snacks.
TV conservationist and bug lover Dr Sarah Beynon launched Bug Farm Foods with her chef husband Andy on a beautiful farm and nature reserve in St David's, Pembrokeshire, which is also home to the UK's first full-time edible insect cafe, Grub Kitchen, and its signature bug burger.
Each cookie contains about UK-farmed 20 powdered crickets, which you can't taste at all, and I particularly liked the mocha and chilli crunch flavour cookies – they had a real kick to them (apologies for appalling pun).
Rated: 4/5
4. Horizon Edible Insects, £8.99 from www.horizoninsects.co.uk/
These guys get an extra point for sending Crunchy Dried Crickets (10g) insects in a compostable paper bag, and you do get two bags of dried insects for your money.
There's really no need to have lots of flavourings added as these crickets had a mild nutty and earthy taste to them, so if you prefer your snacks unseasoned, Horizon's have no added salt, preservatives or additives.
I'd probably sprinkle them over yoghurt like seeds, but they can also be incorporated into everyday recipes as an alternative protein source.
Rated: 3/5
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