News
Gourmet insect foods are creating a buzz
Be-xoo is a firm that promotes a gourmet experience with insect-based dishes
Scorpion tacos for dinner, anyone? The entrepreneur behind food brand Be-xoo has delved into pre-Hispanic Mexican cuisine to create a product line of sauces, pastes, jams and ice creams made from bugs, and the scorpions, he says, are a winner.
Perhaps their surprise was understandable – on the menu were cheese with grasshopper jam, tamarind served with earthworms and avocados stuffed with cocopaches, a type of insect.Roberto Celis Montenegro is confident that his new recipes not only taste good but offer nutritional value as well. “We went to a hotel expo in Cancún three months ago and the chefs were surprised by the flavour – they liked it very much,” he said.
“Grasshoppers contain more protein than meat,” said Celis Montenegro. “Furthermore they don’t contain any preservatives, toxins or hormones.” There are 549 edible species of insect in Mexico, and Be-xoo intends to promote its new products as a healthier alternative to meat.
For instance, essential amino acids contained in escamoles – the larvae and pupae of an insect breed harvested from the agave plant also used to make tequila – are more beneficial than those found in meat.
“The body absorbs the nutrients from these creatures but it’s not the same as when you eat a steak,” said Celis Montenegro. “In that case the protein degrades in the stomach, but nutrients from the insect are absorbed directly and without any of the badness contained in meat.”
Another bug that has received a warm reception is the scorpion. “We make tacos and people have taken to them very well and are delighted with them,” said the chef entrepreneur, adding that the scorpion is also being used to garnish the classic Mexican drinks of mezcal and tequila, for “an exotic and challenging effect.”
And eating bugs could even benefit the planet as a whole. “The farming of insects does not generate greenhouse gases, in contrast with other protein foods such as meat,” he said. “A cattle ranch is unfortunately not much different to a polluting factory.”On a more serious note, Celis Montenegro said international studies suggest that the scorpion has anti-carcinogenic properties. “Obviously this is not the case if you only eat one – you need to eat them every now and again,” he added.
Celis Montenegro said the United Nations has even made recommendations on a global scale to encourage the production of insects for human consumption.
Be-xoo is a Mexican company whose mission is to promote a gourmet dining experience for those who wish to learn about insect-based, pre-Hispanic cuisine.
Mexico is a world leader in terms of the number of species of edible insects that have been classified. There are 549.
Source: Milenio (sp)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you. Comments are welcome.
ivan