Paranominal » Insect

Daniel Klein: WATCH: A Lavish Insect Feast, And Why You Should Eat Bugs

Paranominal — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:53:20 +0000

Before you call this video gross, or trendy, or sensationalist… watch it. David Gracer, an entomophagy (bug eating) expert gives a pretty good case for making wider use of bugs. From the environmental factors to our own psychological hangups, his ideas are not to be disregarded. In a world of factory farms and GMOs, catching your own eight legged friends could just be the sensible way to go. And chances are you have eaten many bugs before…maybe even every day. And of course I eat like 12 varieties in the video… enjoy.

For more videos and recipes visit www.theperennialplate.com

Weird News on HuffingtonPost.com

WATCH: Carnitas, Beef Or Bugs? Edible Insect Food Cart Launches

Paranominal — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 22:56:39 +0000

In August, hundreds of San Franciscans lined up on Folsom Street to taste the goods at the famous S.F. Street Food Festival. Faithful patrons crowded ice cream and tamale carts and waited half an hour for a slice of Flour + Water pizza. But the most adventurous diners didn’t waste time with the local standard fair. They headed straight for the wax moth larvae tacos at Don Bugito.

Don Bugito, a local business that has started selling Mexican cuisine featuring edible insects, is aiming to change the way San Franciscans think about bugs. And soon, the company will be serving up their fare at a full-time food cart.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO)

“In Mexico, the pre-Hispanic cuisine included a lot of edible insects,” explained owner Monica Martinez. “It’s because it’s such a good source of protein.” For a protein fix, her customers can stock up on larvae-filled tacos or vanilla ice cream topped with mealworms caramelized in sugar and rum.

“In general, people are unfamiliar with this,” laughed Martinez. “I know it’s not an easy thing. But I didn’t think it was easy when people started eating sushi in the Western world.

Martinez became fascinated with sustainable food systems upon moving to San Francisco. “Raising something that I can see, understand the cycle of it and then consumeâ?¦is a big challenge. It’s a big step for me towards understanding what I eat.” The mealworms Martinez raises are cheap, produce extremely little waste and are filled with fat and protein. “I buy 250 for $ 8,” said Martinez. “It’s really cheap.”

At the street fair, Martinez’s customers reported that the larvae tacos tasted “like a taco,” with one customer swearing the bugs tasted like pork.

Eager to get your fix? Check out the video from Faircompanies below and keep your eyes peeled for the Don Bugito’s new food cart:

Weird News on HuffingtonPost.com

Dairy Producer Demands Insect Autopsy After Woman Finds Fly In Yogurt

Paranominal — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:14:58 +0000

Mealbreaker (n.): a nasty, non-edible surprise found in food while it is being eaten; often lawsuit-provoking, sometimes fabricated, always disgusting.

Eating dairy is not traditional in Chinese culture, but the sales of milk products have started to pick up in the People’s Republic. If a strange story by the China Times News Group is to be believed though, Chinese dairy companies may be letting this rapid adoption get to their heads.

Apparently, a woman bought a bottle of yogurt on July 27, ate half of it in the morning, and then came back to her fridge to finish the rest that afternoon. While gulping it down, she tasted something strange, so she spit the yogurt out — and found a dead fly! When she complained to the manufacturer, Bright Dairy & Food Co, company officials didn’t apologize or offer her a refund. Instead, they asked her to autopsy the fly to make sure it had gotten into the yogurt before she opened it. (It is impossible to autopsy a fly.)

If Bright Dairy didn’t want to pay up, it should just have explained that it was taking a cue from Dana Goodyear’s insect-eating article to add a new “fly” flavor to its profile. Or that the fly was just trying to give “a shot of life to the vein” of plain yogurt, like the pomegranate-acai in a new flavor of Fage.

But seriously: get a grip, food manufacturers! When your customers complain of mealbreaker, just give them coupons and move on.

Here are 17 Mealbreakers from the past; we’ve dropped “Pearl in King Crab Leg” because votes in past slideshows indicated that most readers found it to be pleasant. Mealbreakers are never pleasant.

Weird News on HuffingtonPost.com