entomophagy

[ex-nohesita.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone!

Does anyone know of anywhere in the area I can buy bugs for cooking? I know that I can eat some delicious cricket appetizers at the Mexican restaurant in Powder House square, but they are very expensive.

Thanks!

Comments

[copperpoint.livejournal.com]

Plenty of fruit flies at my place. In more serious comments, there's a Ugandan grocery store somewhere in Brighton that sells de-winged grasshoppers.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Try Sunrise Land Shrimp (http://www.slshrimp.com/). They might do mail-order bugs, or they might be able to tell you where to buy them locally.

[phoenixy.livejournal.com]

Cardullo's in Harvard Square sells ready-to-eat cricket and larvae snacks. I'm not really an expert on cooking insects so I don't know whether you could make your desired dish with them or whether you'd need raw, unseasoned crickets.

Also, just about any pet shop that sells reptiles will also sell crickets; I don't know whether they're suitable for human consumption but I don't see why not. There's a Petco in Kendall Square that might suit.

[daft.livejournal.com]

Petco in Kendall (across from the Galleria) definitely has them. I'm not sure what would constitute "safe for human consumption", but in general it's important for a retailer to keep "food" clean, as it can make your pets ill. At least, that's the case for reptiles and their subsequent rodenty foodstuffs. I don't know about what crickets can transmit, but rodents can transfer mites and other parasites if not properly taken care of.

[veek.livejournal.com]

Really? You seriously want to cook insects?

What I want, then, is your recipe. *curious*

[laynamarya.livejournal.com]

Can you eat the crickets around here? You could totally catch them yourself. I'll come too.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

Chapulines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapulines)!

I can't say I've ever actually seen them for sale at a market anywhere, but I am fairly sure the ones that they serve at Tu Y Yo in Powderhouse Square come in a little jar with a red lid. They actually have the jar on a shelf in the restaurant. Perhaps you should ask the chef where he gets them.

If you can find a Mexican market around here, they would probably have them.

[copperpoint.livejournal.com]

Apparently the Ugandan store I mentioned is actually in Waltham.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

When my kids had lizards, we used to buy crickets at Big Fish, Little Fish on the corner of Elm Street and Cedar Street, near Porter Square. I also don't know if they're suitable for human consumption, but it's definitely closer than the other places suggested. Good luck!