How NOT to Eat Mealworms

This is one of those posts that tries to show you what not to do. If you ever decide to dabble with Entomophagy (the eating of insects), and have never eaten them before, keep the following in mind. Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, and are an important source of protein for…

shanegenziuk

April 16, 2012

1–2 minutes

eat, How to, Insects, Mealworms, Not

This is one of those posts that tries to show you what not to do.

If you ever decide to dabble with Entomophagy (the eating of insects), and have never eaten them before, keep the following in mind.

Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, and are an important source of protein for millions of people around the world.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, a 2050 population of 9 billion people will need increased protein derived from insects (and less from traditional cattle and livestock), to sustain our planet’s natural resources.

Here is how I suggest you prepare Mealworms for Human Consumption

Freeze the desired quantity of already purged mealworms for 30 minutes
Cut off the head and legs (basically the top bit), to make them not look like mealworms
Blend, season, and eat
Just don’t do what I did in the photos below, and it should all end well

Maybe blend them before you add to the other ingredients?

NO it still looks like a grub!

Not necessarily something you want to see at the end of your spoon. Especially if it is the first time you have ever tried insects. For some reason I lost my appetite fairly quickly…

OK so now you know what not to do, and I’m sure my next bug eating post will be a success story!

9 responses to “How NOT to Eat Mealworms”

Marty

June 3, 2018 at 11:31 pm

I grind mine, the entire critter. Nobody gets weird about hamburger. Another interesting concept that never gets mentioned, is that when eating “the entire creature”, a wide variety of nutrients are added to the diet, which muscle meats like steak and pork do not contain.

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1. shanegenziuk
  
  June 4, 2018 at 1:09 am
  
  Thanks for writing in Marty. Got a recipe to share?
  
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How to Prepare and Eat Mealworms | Ground to Ground

January 30, 2013 at 1:16 am

[…] So this will complete the two part series – how to eat them correctly, following on from how NOT to eat them. I will include references to the academic literature where required, and I’d encourage you […]

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What Quail Eat | Coffee Grounds to Ground

July 21, 2012 at 8:03 pm

[…] in addition to all the above, I have seen them happily tuck into Mealworms and Woodies (Woodland Roaches) – try and breed your own to reduce the food […]

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Some Red with your Grilled Water Scorpions? « FrenchNewsOnline

June 26, 2012 at 3:06 am

[…] How NOT to Eat Mealworms (groundtoground.org) […]

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Urban permaculturist

April 17, 2012 at 10:19 am

WOW! Certainly an eye opener. I remember stories from older generations who went through WWII of lack of food and eating grasshoppers, and dipping barks into wild honey.

I look forward to reading your culinary adventure into mealworms. My diet is mainly vegetarian with the occasional fish when out and about and on the road.

But I am curious creature. What does it taste like? How do you “grow” it? Do you have any information on its nutritional value in comparison to fish or chicken? Can you perhaps blog about it? Very intriguing indeed.

Zainil

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1. shanegenziuk
  
  April 19, 2012 at 1:20 am
  
  Will get back to you with all that info Zainil.
  
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Frogdancer

April 17, 2012 at 7:21 am

Dear lord!!!!

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1. shanegenziuk
  
  April 19, 2012 at 1:20 am
  
  That’s what the family were saying 🙂
  
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