PublishedPhaidon Press, May 2017 |
ISBN9780714873343 |
FormatHardcover, 336 pages |
Dimensions27cm × 20.5cm × 3.1cm |
The concept of eating insects has taken off in recent years in the West, with media coverage ranging from sensationalist headlines to passionate press pieces about the economic benefits. Yet little has been written about how they taste, how diverse they are as ingredients, and how to prepare them as food.
On Eating Insects is the first book to take a holistic look at the subject, presenting essays on the cultural, political, and ecological significance of eating insects, alongside stories from the field, tasting notes, and recipes by the Nordic Food Lab.
Bill is one of the founders of Boffins and has been involved in selecting the books we stock since our beginning in 1989. His favourite reading is history, with psychology, current affairs, and business books coming close behind. His hobbies are reading, food, reading, drinking, reading, and sleeping.
In Asia and Africa and even Central and South America, insects are part of many people’s diet. Not so in the West. However, as the world population grows, perhaps more of us will end up eating insects. This book is fascinating, and yet almost disgusting! The idea that insects might not just be edible, but may actually be appetising, is a bit hard to stomach. But I’m old enough and “true-blue” enough to have grown up when olives, or anchovies, or even squid weren’t on most people’s menus! But I love and eat them all now! So it probably won’t be me, but perhaps a new generation will lust for some of the recipes in this book.You can start with a pre-dinner drink – how about a Hornet Highball? Made with whisky, soda and a small amount of the liquor of the giant hornet, it sounds like it could really get you into trouble! If you like Mexican, perhaps you could follow it with a Bee Larvae Taco. It’s not Mexican street food, it’s quite a complicated recipe, but you’d sure impress or disgust your friends if you served that at a dinner party. This is a book that a real foodie will enjoy, because as well as the confronting recipes, there’s lots of very interesting discussion about the whole idea of eating insects. And, as you’d expect of Phaidon, the photography is stunning – literally!
