Photo: MyRecipes
CRICKET cookies. Yes, you read that right. Entomophagy is by no means a new practice to those of other countries, but the eating of insects is quickly gaining momentum in the Western world. They say it’s the future of low-fat, high-protein cooking. Plus, you eat the whole thing. Sustainable much?
Get this: Just 100 grams of cricket contains a whopping 12.9 grams of protein. Ounce for ounce, you get nearly twice the protein of beef. They’re also a complete protein, which means they contain all nine of the essential amino acids. It’s hard to argue with stats like that.
Still not convinced? We figured. We know these critter cookies aren’t for the faint of heart, so that’s why we gave them a try for you.
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On one recent, fateful day in our food studios here in Birmingham, Alabama, we developed and taste-tested a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that included 2 cups of cricket flour. “Oh, whew, cricket flour. That’s not so bad,” you say? Well, we also tossed in an additional 1/2 cup of dry, roasted whole crickets with the chocolate chips just for the fun of it. So. Fun.
After shooting the video and baking the cookies, it was time to ensue the taste test. Our team of pro chefs and bakers gathered around the large tasting table and stared at the plate of bug cookies piled high in the center. The conversation went something like this:
“Yeah, these are Fear Factor cookies right here.”
“Come on guys, be brave and grab a good one. You want to see some real crickets in there.”
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(Everyone grabs a cookie)
“I don’t think I got enough cricket.”
“No, no…the less body parts the better.”
“I want to really taste the cricket. I need more cricket.” (Grabs a different cookie)
“That one’s a whole abdomen. Uh, yep. That’s a cricket family.”
(Counting to 3, they all take a bite simultaneously.)
“I think I can feel legs between my teeth.”
“It’s just like walnuts. Little crunch. Definitely crispy.”
“I can basically feel it, like, moving in my mouth. Hmm. It’s pretty nice.”
“Honestly, these are pretty good. They taste like normal chocolate chip cookies with a nutty undertone.”
“Just okay. They taste kind of grainy. Is that the crickets?”
“I think it’s good.”
“They taste very earthy and nutty, just like what you’d expect from a wheat flour chocolate chip cookie. I could have done without the addition of the dry, roasted crickets.”
(More thoughts later on…)
“If you just grabbed the cookie and didn’t know what it was, you honestly wouldn’t know.”
“Not the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had.”
“I took them home to my 12-year-old son, and he ate it because he’s adventurous and loves trying new things. He thought they were fun. My 8-year-old daughter also tried it. She didn’t spit it out.”
“I wasn’t worried about the bugs. I knew I was about to eat a cricket cookie, so the bugs didn’t freak me out.”
Overall? Our editors actually gave these cricket cookies a thumbs up. Check out the video from the official tasting.
This article originally appeared on MyRecipes.com.
from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1XxPEpi
