Brian T - Posted - 01/09/2011:  13:29:20

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Pigs produce 8X - 12X as much ammonia per kg (2.2lbs) of growth that do crickets,
and 50X more than grasshoppers. 10X - 100X as much methane and nitrous oxide than mealworms do.
Plus, insects make protein/meat faster.

Something just has to taste more appealing than llamaburger ("Chip" was a bad boy).

sciencedaily.com/releases/2011...83737.htm

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Edited by - Brian T on 01/09/2011 13:29:43

GarlicBreath - Posted - 01/09/2011:  13:48:33

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Our, or "Western" culture, has some things that I feel will NEVER change. Our earliest known roots are found in a culture known for its pottery with curious, linear, "writing" on it. The anthro's name for the first of Us are the "wheat and beef" people. The "wheat and beef" culture now covers Russia, Europe, North America, completely, and also parts of the Pacific, Africa, etc. There are some inviolable tenets of Our culture:

Beef is food, the best food in fact.
Milk is food
Wheat is food (corn is a 2nd-rate substitute)
Bugs are NOT food

Sadly, short of a culture-obliterating Apocalypse, we'll never see Our People eating bugs. This is too bad! Bugs are indeed good food. In other cultures we've not steamrolled completely, bugs are eaten happily (well the bugs aren't happy about it) and are appreciated very much. There are videos on YouTube of "bug markets" in Asia, with the cutest Asian girls eating big ol' beetles, yum, yum!

For someone considering trying eating bugs, the humble mealworm is probably the best place to start. They're easy to get, easy to raise, and familiar to anyone who's had a pet that eats them.

figmo59 - Posted - 01/09/2011:  14:02:17

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MR T!!

bout busted a gut when i read your title!

KE - Posted - 01/09/2011:  15:18:39

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Ack! I would have never expected to see [FF] and "insect protein" in the same subject line -- but whatever smokes your wok.

GarlicBreath - Posted - 01/09/2011:  15:41:09

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I have no idea what the [FF] means and I have a feeling most here don't know what it means, Forum Friends? Forwarded For your perusal? Who knows?

jbanjoist - Posted - 01/09/2011:  15:59:19

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Insects are a staple in many parts of the world.
Ever watch "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern?"

pstroud1 - Posted - 01/09/2011:  16:34:50

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[FF] = food forum


I don't know who UM is but it's the food for-um.

Paul

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Edited by - pstroud1 on 01/09/2011 16:38:28

bikebum - Posted - 01/09/2011:  16:35:00

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"Insects are a staple in many parts of the world"

I have heard that certain types of ants are used to 'staple' wounds closed.

Micki - Posted - 01/09/2011:  16:56:27

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chocolate covered grasshoppers and such are called delicaces, spelling? Micki

KE - Posted - 01/09/2011:  17:40:41

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quote:

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Originally posted by GarlicBreath

I have no idea what the [FF] means and I have a feeling most here don't know what it means, Forum Friends? Forwarded For your perusal? Who knows?

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[FF] is our version of Food Forum, a temporary substitute until such time as the powers-that-be recognize the egregious oversight and create a proper forum for the most popular and least divisive forum topic.

BConk - Posted - 01/09/2011:  18:08:35

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quote:

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Originally posted by Brian T

Pigs produce 8X - 12X as much ammonia per kg (2.2lbs) of growth that do crickets,
and 50X more than grasshoppers. 10X - 100X as much methane and nitrous oxide than mealworms do.
Plus, insects make protein/meat faster.

Something just has to taste more appealing than llamaburger ("Chip" was a bad boy).

sciencedaily.com/releases/2011...83737.htm

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So, Brian, what got you thinking about mealworm protein? Did you actually OPEN that sealed bag of dark rye flour you found hidden in your cupboard?

I did get you email - I just haven't gotten around to replying yet

GarlicBreath - Posted - 01/09/2011:  19:45:54

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To really put my grubs where my mouth is, I need to go some mealworms and try eating some. They've become quite expensive for pet owners, it'd make the most sense to get a small amount and try them, and then raise them if they're a "go".

Brian T - Posted - 01/09/2011:  20:15:55

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BConk: No way! Haven't had the nerve to open the sack. -30 here, kinda cold so I spend a lot of time in my workshop on long overdue carvings.

The thought popped into my head: It's been a long hot day of driving in the summer. Bugs smashed all over the windshield, like to plug the rad. I'm supposed to go out there with a knife, scrape the windshield onto bread and eat it? Not. Smashed grasshopper thorax meat is a bit like peanut butter. When I get out onto the great plains, traveling, at the end of every day, I open the hood of the 'Burb and spray some water on the smashed bugs. . . . . local wasps clean that up right quick.
I know, I know, locusts are a common staple with the indigenous peoples of places like Morocco. Australian aborigines eat wichitie grubs which are nearly the size of a small hotdog. Yeah, sure, fine. You stay in your tree, I'll stay in mine.

I just hoped that since we are all supposed to be so agitated about appearing to be greener than grass, I'd offer a culinary treat to the Food Forum.

I did lime grouse with roasted pecans and potatoes tonight.
Llamas have 4 feet, mammals like other domesticated livestock. Believe me: they don't make my mouth water any more.

Jim Cannon - Posted - 01/09/2011:  20:21:28

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10,000 aardvarks can't be wrong!

Brian T - Posted - 01/09/2011:  20:34:04

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Garlic Breath: May I point out that cattle are introduced, white-faced, range maggots that don't belong in North America.
Bison are perfectly adequate with 10% of the grease. I pay $1/lb for bison which is cut-it-with-a-fork-tender.
Wheats are introduced Afghani grasses which likewise, don't belong here.
Certainly, these introduced species are no different than English sparrows or Anacondas in the Everglades.
However, North America has its prejudices (against Indian food = bison) like every where else.
To me, the key thing is that I can make really good informed choices about what I eat.
PS Bugs are out.

tinkersdam - Posted - 01/09/2011:  22:01:09

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Dear Brian....if I could get bison for $1 a pound it'd be on my table every day. However the $8-10 a pound it costs in the specialty markets is just way past my budget.

Bugs... I would suppose if we were starving, a good juicy bug would have some appeal regardless of our bug-wary upbringing.

GarlicBreath - Posted - 01/09/2011:  22:38:25

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quote:

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Originally posted by Brian T

Garlic Breath: May I point out that cattle are introduced, white-faced, range maggots that don't belong in North America.
Bison are perfectly adequate with 10% of the grease. I pay $1/lb for bison which is cut-it-with-a-fork-tender.
Wheats are introduced Afghani grasses which likewise, don't belong here.
Certainly, these introduced species are no different than English sparrows or Anacondas in the Everglades.
However, North America has its prejudices (against Indian food = bison) like every where else.
To me, the key thing is that I can make really good informed choices about what I eat.
PS Bugs are out.

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Wow, $1 a lb, sign me up! I've liked all the bison I've tried, and that includes those gamey-ass bison burgers from Trader Joe's. And I personally eat more corn than wheat, I'm very unusual in that I'm not a big bread-eater.

I think some bugs may be very good. I've eaten flour beetles, raw, and found them friggin' delicious. Although, I was rather hungry at the time.

8thpol - Posted - 01/10/2011:  05:37:53

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Eating bugs can be a highly profitable venture.....I ate a grasshopper in the school yard as a kid (lol not recently) and collected about $ .90 cents

Paul R - Posted - 01/10/2011:  07:10:39

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Home, home on the range, where it's time for the big roundup, branding, and grub drive to the nearest railhead. Head 'em up, move em' out! At crawling speed. Do grubs moo?

desert rose - Posted - 01/10/2011:  07:28:35

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I always put bugs on the list where they deserve which is seperate from the food list

But Ive eaten grasshopper tacos in Mexico and would not turn them down if offered again.

Ive eaten deep fried scorpions, grasshoppers and ciccada grubs in China and there was nothing unpleasent at all

Here in Japan they take grasshoppers in October after the rice is harvested and saute them in soy sauce and they are good and eat bee larvae dead or alive

So horizons can expand and grow

Scott

rinemb - Posted - 01/10/2011:  08:22:59

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I've said it before, AIWSIA, I can eat a lot of stuff-even stuff disgusting to many, but I will not eat a fried scorpion on a stick!
Most things-bread it fry it, simmer it in tomato sauce, or cover it in chocolate and I can eat. NO SCORPIONS.

Brad

agent369 - Posted - 01/10/2011:  08:55:53

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Me thinks I could eat scorpion before I could eat spider. My only experience eating bugs would be silk worm larva....does that still count as a bug? Kinda nutty from what I recall

Brian T - Posted - 01/10/2011:  08:57:18

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I fail to see the logistics of trying to raise grasshoppers on a commercial scale.
Trying to brand them and keep them fenced in. At least they could supply their own airfreight to market.
If I had a thousand acres of crickets, I'm sure the noise police would come calling.
I don't think that grubs moo but they poo. A common consequence of eating.

My sense of that research article was that you would have to replace all the meat on your table with bugs.
"Oh Ma, Not deep fried honey bee larvae again!"

"Junior, don't poke your sister with those scorpion stingers. And get those tarantula fangs out of your nose. Makes you look stupid."

Bison? The price is right. I can see the rancher's treeline from my kitchen window. Individual cut prices are as bad as anywhere else.
I buy at least one side (2 yr old) each November. Big ones are 650-700lb, $1/lb hanging on the hook. One of the last few good butchers in the valley is in Valemount, 1hr+ on the highway. I had the last side hung for 14 days (lost 20lb water). $0.47/lb to cut, wrap, label and quick-freeze. I got steaks 1" thick, some roasts, stew meat and lots of burger. Hauled it home (so that's 4+ hrs driving).
For what I put in my freezer. it looked like $3.27/lb because he was done culling his herd and I paid the going price of $2.50/lb on the hook. Fantastic, grass-fed, organic. . . whatever you want to call it. Darn clean food, our joke here is that bison is Robson Valley sunshine. After 8+ years of doing this, beef does not taste good at all. We shot 50+ ruffed grouse. I'd like to buy a side of pork
but most around here is raised strictly for family. . . they claim there's absolutely no money in it.

Sometimes, it's convenient to get together with other people and take a whole critter/2 sides and divvey up the pile. Lots of people don't want to take the plunge and stock up on clean meat. . . . . " eeeuuuuuu, it's bison!"

Paul R - Posted - 01/10/2011:  10:26:44

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quote:

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Originally posted by Brian T

Lots of people don't want to take the plunge and stock up on clean meat. . . . . " eeeuuuuuu, it's bison!"

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Out this way there's a bison farm on Wolfe Island, just a ferry ride away. The Kingston Brewing Company sells bison burger, my favourite thing on their extensive menu. Low in fat, high in iron.

Brian T - Posted - 01/10/2011:  10:45:24

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Paul: call them up, ask for the price on a quarter & a side. Ask what they knock down: 2-yr olds? 3yr-olds are OK too
The older animals may be the breeding stock.
They're really bony critters, the side won't look like much when processed.
If you ever wanted to try to learn to play "the bones," bison ribs are gigantic.

Beef has about 11g (approx 1/3 oz) fat per 100g cooked meat. Chicken is about 9g/100g
Bison is 2g/100g

Lots of people may not want to or simply don't have the cash-up-front to bankroll a side + cutting.
Maybe they say: "OK, I can do $200.00" Then, you have to have freezer space!

Bison is NOT forgiving when cooked. Anything past medium rare becomes unchewable in no time at all.
I've got years of experience cooking bison and about 8 or 9 sides of the stuff under my belt (literally).
Anybody here in the BHO wants to go this way, I've developed/modified some very very good recipes.
Wine-braised bison? My vegetarian kid will have seconds.

But, back to the bugs. . . what a lunch! Crawling around on my hands and knees, overturning logs and rocks.
Just imagine peanut brittle made with Carpenter Ants.

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Edited by - Brian T on 01/10/2011 10:47:30

Paul R - Posted - 01/10/2011:  11:46:46

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quote:

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Originally posted by Brian T

But, back to the bugs. . . what a lunch! Crawling around on my hands and knees, overturning logs and rocks.
Just imagine peanut brittle made with Carpenter Ants.

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I think Torontonians must be looking for a good bedbug recipe book by now.

GarlicBreath - Posted - 01/10/2011:  11:50:14

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quote:

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Originally posted by 8thpol

Eating bugs can be a highly profitable venture.....I ate a grasshopper in the school yard as a kid (lol not recently) and collected about $ .90 cents

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Haha! My Dad was nicknamed "Robin" in school because on a dare, he'd eat a worm.

GarlicBreath - Posted - 01/10/2011:  11:55:17

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quote:

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Originally posted by Brian T
Bison? The price is right. I can see the rancher's treeline from my kitchen window. Individual cut prices are as bad as anywhere else.
I buy at least one side (2 yr old) each November. Big ones are 650-700lb, $1/lb hanging on the hook. One of the last few good butchers in the valley is in Valemount, 1hr+ on the highway. I had the last side hung for 14 days (lost 20lb water). $0.47/lb to cut, wrap, label and quick-freeze. I got steaks 1" thick, some roasts, stew meat and lots of burger. Hauled it home (so that's 4+ hrs driving).
For what I put in my freezer. it looked like $3.27/lb because he was done culling his herd and I paid the going price of $2.50/lb on the hook. Fantastic, grass-fed, organic. . . whatever you want to call it. Darn clean food, our joke here is that bison is Robson Valley sunshine. After 8+ years of doing this, beef does not taste good at all. We shot 50+ ruffed grouse. I'd like to buy a side of pork
but most around here is raised strictly for family. . . they claim there's absolutely no money in it.

Sometimes, it's convenient to get together with other people and take a whole critter/2 sides and divvey up the pile. Lots of people don't want to take the plunge and stock up on clean meat. . . . . " eeeuuuuuu, it's bison!"

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Well they ought to try it, it's fine.

It sounds like your situation regarding bison is good because it's a local thing. Out here, for a little driving and the price of a fishing license and the effort of building a smoke house, smelt are to be gotten 25 lbs a day. We let the neighbors' sheep graze here and get 2 lambs a day, for the price of a little grass we're glad to be rid of anyway. No grouse around here, a few pheasant, we do have doves galore and I'm considering building a dove cote sometime.