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Weird Niche: Edible Insects. Yum. Yum.

Welcome to another edition of  Weird Niche Wednesday.

I promised you that December would be a month of weird foods. That certainly wouldn't be complete without today's Weird Niche.

BUGS. Yummy, delicious, tasty, crunchy, salty bugs.

Have you been craving some of these tasty treats?

If so, you're in luck! They're all in these handy-dandy cookbooks!

Cookbooks with Edible Insect Recipes

eat-bugs-cookbook_
Click here to peek inside “33 ways to cook grasshoppers, ants, water bugs, spiders, centipedes, and their kin”.

Who can resist? 😉 Christmas is coming. Start collecting critters now to create a new family-favorite. I'm thinking they'd go GREAT with oysters. (I'm turning green…)

Next!

creepy-crawly-cuisine_
Click here to peek at “Creepy Crawly Cuisine: The Gourmet Guide to Edible Insects”

Just in case your insect cuisine gets boring, here's yet another insect recipe collection.

man-eating-bugs_
Click here to peek at it at amazon.

Actually the book above is more of an archeological look at insect-eating in various cultures. See?

From Scientific American- Entomophagy, the eating of insects, is not for every palate, but a surprising number of people do it. Menzel and D'Aluisio, husband and wife, have visited insect eaters in 13 countries, sampling the menu at each stop. “Our view of the culinary potential of invertebrates broadened as we ate raw scorpion in China, roasted grubs in Australia, stir-fried dragonflies in Indonesia, tarantulas on a stick in Cambodia, and live termites in Botswana,” they write. “Perhaps the most memorable meal was Theraposa leblondi, a tarantula big enough to hunt birds, which we ate with Yanomami Indians in the Venezuelan rain forest.” Adventurous readers will find recipes for such delicacies as Witchetty Grub Dip and Stink Bug Pâté.

It sounds like a cool book for Teachers. 🙂

Onward with silliness…

Of course, for those out there who aren't in the mood to cook, this is for you. YUM YUM! Edible Insects on the go.

Tasty Crickets for Snacking

Perfect for gift-giving this holiday season. (Ladies, these are just the right size for stashing in your purse for when you just need a light snack.)



Click here to take a look.

And, if that's not enough details for you, here's a cricket, broken down into it's parts.

“Can I please have a drumstick and a side of potatoes? No. Wait. Make that two drumsticks. I skipped breakfast.'

519BC4QG5NL._AA280_
Click here to see more at amazon.

Larva Treats

Now, I'm a marketer, not a Biologist, so I'm not sure if these qualify as “insects” or if I need to create a separate “worm” post for them. God, help me. lol!

But, here are some tasty larva treats. (Not something I ever thought I'd write on this blog. “Tasty larva treats?” Yowza.)

larvets_
Click here to peek at it at amazon.

Scorpion Candy

And, of course, a crunchy Scorpion. Now, i can see this. You find one in your shoe and fling it across the room. It lands in a fry daddy or a fondue pot and you just go “Oh to heck with it. Grab me some vodka to wash it down with. How bad can it really be?”  I'm down with that. But, it would have to be an accident for me to get involved — and there would have to be vodka, too, and lots of it, I'm thinking.

scorpion-candy
Click here to peek at it at amazon.

More Edible Insects than You Can Shake a Stick At

How can you apply this idea to your business? I have NO flipping idea. But, guess what? I found more edible insect stores, so this may just be a profitable niche. Yay!

Check them out if you dare…

How to Make Chocolate Covered Insects at Home

If you'd like to make Chocolate Covered Insects at Home along with your other Christmas goodies, I've got you covered.

Here's an article that explains how:

Have a great night. And, be sure to leave your comments below. I'd love to read them all. 🙂

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. Of course, if you want to find a profitable (and less gross) niche than this one, I recommend:

250X250bubblesNRP

I appreciate shares and I adore comments! Please share your thoughts.

  • Arika Lewis
    Reply

    One word for you Nicole – GROSS!!! 😉

    My mama always used to tell me stories of eating chocolate covered ants/grasshoppers! And I always thought they were just chocolates shaped like critters…

  • Mike Paetzold
    Reply

    Now I understand your earlier tweet on this post coming. Yep you do go to great lengths on Wednesday.

  • The Mom
    Reply

    Okay… so, I’ve been sitting here looking through recipes and talking to the Mr. about what to make for Christmas dinner this year, because it’s all about the food in our house. Should we stick to the traditional meal, or try something new and different?

    Then I sat down to take a break and read Nicole’s always interesting Weird Niche Wednesday. What can I say? Talk about new and different! This is all way too too too weird. Although the Scorpion Candy was intriguing, as was the Scorpion Vodka… two good things.

    I have to agree with vodka being the drink of choice there – no simple can of beer or glass of wine will wash those little critters down the gullet.

    So, as I sit and ponder Christmas dinner this year, I’ll have to take a moment to think outside the box. But, Nicole, this is way outside… very funny! Thanks for the laughs, and the squirms… eeek

    • Nicole Dean
      Reply

      OH, NO. It’s not a sign, I promise!

      Make Curried Cauliflower & Green Bean Casserole — without any added “crunch” please! 🙂

    • Lisa Marie Mary
      Reply

      Bwahahaha! Hey there, Mom! Christmas dinner + insects = a very funny blog post for Miss Patty all about how she totally ‘got’ Nicole!

      😀

  • Lisa Marie Mary
    Reply

    Holy macaronis!!! The ‘snack crickets’ and the larva treats – ech!!!

    We saw someone eating a tarantula on one of those ‘survival’ shows – pretty freaky, really.

    You can see a funny video of me subjecting my kids to bug-eating-grossness (on one of those shows) at the link I left. Hahaha!!

  • Daniella Martin
    Reply

    Hi there — love your site! Thanks for getting this info out to the public!
    Speaking of this particular niche market, I do an online edible insect cooking show: http://www.girlmeetsbug.com.

    I’d love to know what you think!

    Sincerely,

    Daniella Martin, host of Girl Meets Bug

  • Nat
    Reply

    Hey there, I used to eat ants as a kid, they were tangy like citrus, I guess it was the acetic acid. 🙂
    I have tried fried witchety grubs, they were actually quite tasty, someone made them for me once on holiday. I have tried to eat one raw since, but couldn’t bring myself to do it.:(

  • Paul Landkamer
    Reply

    Gross, nuthin! I make a mean cricket jalapeno cookie, mealworm rice krispy treats, and excellent Japanese beetles in sweet and spicy Asian sauce! –among other things.

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