Grasshopper pie and other tasty insect dishes
Source: Agencies |
April 18, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NEED more protein in your diet? Try adding worms to your chocolate muffin recipe mix, or spice up a mushroom risotto with a sprinkling of grasshoppers.
"The Insect Cookbook," which came out yesterday and is written in Dutch, contains these and other unusual recipes and is intended to promote insects as a source of protein.
"I see this as the next step towards the introduction of insects on restaurant menus in the Netherlands. I also expect people to buy the book and start cooking with insects at home," said Marcel Dicke, a professor at Wageningen University, which specializes in food and food production.
To mark the book launch in Wageningen, specialist insect chef Henk van Gurp will try to set a record for cooking the world's biggest grasshopper pie.
Research by scientists at the university showed that insects could provide the best source of protein to meet the needs of a rising population. Currently, 70 percent of agricultural land is used for livestock production.
Dicke said that with the world population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, it will be difficult to provide enough protein for everyone because there will not be enough land for raising livestock.
The nutritional value of insects is similar to meat, and the emission of greenhouse gases from insect production is 100 times lower than in pig production, the university said.
Dicke said the biggest resistance to eating insects for protein is likely to be in countries where people are used to eating big portions of meat.
Those who can't be bothered to shop, prepare and cook the bugs for themselves can sample them at a handful of restaurants in the Netherlands.
Specktakel restaurant in the town of Haarlem, just west of Amsterdam, served customers a five-course menu of insect dishes last month.
"The Insect Cookbook," which came out yesterday and is written in Dutch, contains these and other unusual recipes and is intended to promote insects as a source of protein.
"I see this as the next step towards the introduction of insects on restaurant menus in the Netherlands. I also expect people to buy the book and start cooking with insects at home," said Marcel Dicke, a professor at Wageningen University, which specializes in food and food production.
To mark the book launch in Wageningen, specialist insect chef Henk van Gurp will try to set a record for cooking the world's biggest grasshopper pie.
Research by scientists at the university showed that insects could provide the best source of protein to meet the needs of a rising population. Currently, 70 percent of agricultural land is used for livestock production.
Dicke said that with the world population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, it will be difficult to provide enough protein for everyone because there will not be enough land for raising livestock.
The nutritional value of insects is similar to meat, and the emission of greenhouse gases from insect production is 100 times lower than in pig production, the university said.
Dicke said the biggest resistance to eating insects for protein is likely to be in countries where people are used to eating big portions of meat.
Those who can't be bothered to shop, prepare and cook the bugs for themselves can sample them at a handful of restaurants in the Netherlands.
Specktakel restaurant in the town of Haarlem, just west of Amsterdam, served customers a five-course menu of insect dishes last month.
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