This article was first published in the April 2016 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
For many of us, edible insects are more novelty than dietary staple, despite eighty per cent of the world's population regularly eating them.
Neil Whippey, co-founder of London-based food startup Grub, claims western reluctance may simply be down to a lack of knowledge: "You can't find insect recipes on BBC Good Food," he says. So Grub has teamed up with chef Sebastian Holmes, 25, to put together Eat Grub: The Ultimate Insect Cookbook, which mixes entomophagy with everyday meals. "I started from scratch and tested raw bugs, using spices and different lengths of time," says Holmes, who created 50 recipes, from grasshopper and maltose porridge to buffalo worm, peanut and vanilla praline. Rather than showcasing the insects, the book aims to make entomophagy an everyday activity.
Whereas other startups such as Bitty Foods sell insect-based products, Grub started selling packs of mealworms, grasshoppers and crickets online and to organic supermarkets in 2014. "We offer a range of cookable and pre-prepared bugs to have with a beer," says Whippey, 33. Grub currently imports insects from the Netherlands and Spain, but it plans to open its own bug farm in Cumbria this year. "Insects don't need much space or food, and they produce much more animal protein than cattle."
Grub's next frontier? Prime time. The company has attracted interest from a TV company in turning the book into a show. Whippey has high hopes: "Hopefully we can persuade Jamie or Nigella to cook with insects."
Ingredients
200g fine caster sugar 100ml water 1/2 vanilla pod 10g buffalo worms 40g crushed peanuts
Method\1. Melt the sugar and water in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring constantly. \2. Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape the seeds out and add them to the pan. Continue to heat the sugar until it thickens and turns toffee-brown. \3. Remove from the heat and stir in the buffalo worms and peanuts. Pour this straight on to a lined tray and spread thinly using the back of a wooden spoon. Leave to cool in a fridge. The praline should set after around 30 minutes. \4. Bash the praline with a rolling pin to break into bite-sized pieces.
- Recipe taken from Eat Grub: The Ultimate Insect Cookbook by Shami Radia and Neil Whippey, recipes by Sebastian Holmes (Frances, Lincoln, £20).
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
