The Insect Cookbook

Arnold van Huis; Henk van Gurp; Marcel Dicke

Arnold van Huis, Henk van Gurp and Marcel Dicke

The Insect Cookbook

Food for a Sustainable Planet

In: Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History

Translated by: Françoise Takken-Kaminker and Diane Blumenfeld-Schaap

Columbia University Press | 2014

https://doi.org/10.7312/vanh16684

Overview
Contents

About this book

The Definitive Guide to Insects as a Sustainable Food Source

In The Insect Cookbook, two entomologists and a chef make the case for insects as a sustainable source of protein for humans and a necessary part of our future diet. They provide consumers and chefs with the essential facts about insects for culinary use—where to buy them, which ones are edible, and how to store and prepare them—with recipes simple enough to make at home yet boasting the international flair of the world's most chic dishes.

The Definitive Guide to Insects as a Sustainable Food Source

In The Insect Cookbook, two entomologists and a chef make the case for insects as a sustainable source of protein for humans and a necessary part of our future diet. They provide consumers and chefs with the essential facts about insects for culinary use, with recipes simple enough to make at home yet boasting the international flair of the world's most chic dishes.

"Invite politicians to dinner and let them tell the world how delicious it is.... They will proudly go around and say, 'I ate crickets, I ate locusts, and they were delicious.'"—Kofi Annan

The Insect Cookbook features delicious recipes and interviews with top chefs, insect farmers, political figures, and nutrition experts, including chef René Redzepi, whose establishment was elected three times as "best restaurant of the world"; Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations; and Daniella Martin of Girl Meets Bug. The book contains all you need to know about cooking with insects, where to buy them, which ones are edible, and how to store and prepare them at home and in commercial spaces.

Author information

Arnold van Huis is emeritus professor of tropical entomology at Wageningen University and is a consultant on insects as food and feed to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Henk van Gurp is a cooking instructor at the Rijn IJssel Hotel and Tourism School in Wageningen and has been involved with entomophagy (the eating of insects) for almost twenty years.

Marcel Dicke is professor of entomology at Wageningen University and Rhodes Professor at Cornell University. In 2006, he and his team organized the Wageningen–City of Insects festival.

Reviews

Our food future is here and needs to be embraced. This book will... start you down the road of culinary adventures.

The Insect Cookbook is a fascinating read and an excellent introduction to the topic of entomophagy. It offers not only an unusual lens through which to view broader debates and food security and the resource efficiency of our current food system, but also a recipe for fried tarantulas.

Excellent and fascinating... Insects have the potential to come to the rescue and the sooner we get used to the idea, the better!

This thoroughly enjoyable entomophagy primer is much more than a cookbook and, due to its interesting vignette style, keeps the reader's attention firmly fixed throughout. It pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable - an important thing to do at a time of such radical environmental destruction... this could constitute the next great culinary revolution.

Barbara Kiser:
Tarte tatin with chocolate-coated grasshoppers? With 2 billion of us already popping mealworms and more, this is a case of joining the crowd.

Theresia de Vroom, Marymount Institute for Faith:
Beautifully presented and well written, The Insect Cookbook has a variety of authorities to support its case that we need to consider incorporating insects into our diets for ecological reasons.

Job Ubbink, Food Concept and Physical Design of "The Mill," Switzerland:
An attractive mixture of background information on insects, their anatomy and history of use in food and other products, food culture, recipes, and interviews. It is very carefully prepared and a pleasure to read.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	v
Foreword Louise O. Fresco Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xi
Preface Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xv
Acknowledgments Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xvii
1. Insects: Essential and Delicious
Six legs and other features Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	2
Eating insects: “A Question of education” Kofi Annan Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	6
Cooking with Edible Insects Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	12
“You Have to eat away the Fear” Pierre Wind Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	15
Everyone Eats Insects Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	19
Shrimp or Grasshopper? Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	19
“I could eat insects anytime, day or night” Harmke Klunder Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	21
Weaver Ants in Asia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	26
Wasp larvae in Japan Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	26
Termites: A royal Meal Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	28
Lake Flies in East Africa Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	31
“The tortillas from Way back When” Edoardo Ramos Anaya Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	32
Spirited Caterpillars in Mexico Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	35
Long-Horned Grasshoppers in East Africa Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	35
“Insects Are buzzing All Around Me” Johan Verbon Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	38
Recipes: Five Snacks Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	42
2. Is It Healthy?
Fish Friday, Meat Loaf Wednesday, Insect Tuesday Margot Calis Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	54
“A World That Works” Marian Peters Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	58
Eating Insects Safely Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	64
What Kinds of Insects Can Be Eaten? Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	65
Insect Consumption and Health Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	66
Recipes: Five Appetizers Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	70
3. Eating Insects: Naturally!
“Some People Won’t Try Anything New” Jan Ruig Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	82
Recipes: Eleven Main Dishes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	86
“Valuable, Abundant, and Available to Everybody” Daniella Martin Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	108
“Bonbon Sauterelle” Robèrt Van Beckhoven Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	113
Cochineal from Peru Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	116
Maggot Cheese in Sardinia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	117
Palm Beetles in the Tropics Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	118
Dragonfly Larvae in China Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	119
Recipes: Five Festive Dishes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	122
“An Exploration of Deliciousness” René Redzepi Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	132
“The Next Generation’s Shrimp Cocktail” Katja Gruijters Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	138
Spiders in Cambodia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	141
Moths in Italy and Australia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	142
Recipes: Six Desserts Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	144
4. On the Future and Sustainability
Mopane Caterpillars in Southern Africa Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	156
Silk Moth Pupae in China Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	158
Food for Astronauts Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	160
“I’ve Always Put Everything in my Mouth” Jan Fabre Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	162
Shellac from India Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	166
Jumping Plant Lice in South Africa and Australia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	166
Insects: A Sustainable Alternative to Meat Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	168
“A New Episode in the History of our Civilization” Herman Wijffels Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	171
Insect Consumption: A Global Perspective Paul Vantomme Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	175
Insect Consumption: The Future Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	177
Resources and Suppliers Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	179
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	183

The Insect Cookbook

Food for a Sustainable Planet

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