So why did I pick out this book? Good question.
Ive been vegetarian for 30 years and you would THINK that insect cookery would be the ultimate ick factor. And it did have a bit of that "fear factor" appeal to me at first. But strangely it's really not that gross. I mean, I'm not salivating over pictures of roasted grasshoppers or anything but given the choice...I think I would eat mealy worms over chicken legs any day..
Isn't it funny though? I mean, people eat prawn cocktails all the time and when you think about it, I mean really think about it, prawns look rather insect like. It's kind of... well, icky. But we're used to it. And we eat honey which basically is bee vomit and love it. What's up with that?
I think what sealed it for me was the fact that we already eat bugs every day without even knowing it (it's in our peanut butter, chocolate, apple juice etc) and we haven't died yet, so it's not that big a deal. It's just a bit taboo. You know, like, eating bugs is for starving Ethiopians not "civilized" Americans (or some such nonsense). Fact is, in other countries people eat bugs NOT because theyre starving but because they actually taste good. Go figure. Us poor Americans are really missing out. Hey!
Anyway, I thought it was a pretty cool book. It explains the background of Entomophagy, how insects are used around the world in cooking, how they're making a showing in places like the Netherlands, San Francisco and New York, and it even has tons of recipes and full color pictures for your enjoyment. What's not to love?
Funny thing, I was with some friends today, one who is fairly open minded and a "mighty hunter" to boot. He has no problem butchering a deer or other animal and eating it. I mentioned this book and he thought it was totally gross. What a wus.
*I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
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