Chapulines (cha-pooh-lee-nez) are a small grasshopper as delicious as their name is fun to say, and while they’ve been enjoyed in Mexico since the days of comida prehispanica, they’re only now beginning to reach the western market. But it’s not a big leap to say that once you try them, you’ll be hooked!
How can I be sure? Well, in 2017 fried chapulines were introduced at Safeco Park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners. I distinctly remember people sending me the ESPN article and commenting that they didn’t believe it’d work, because people “don’t want to see bugs in America, they’ll only eat them in powder form”.
I disagreed, I thought it was brilliant, and I believed that it’d only take a few brave (and perhaps slightly drunk…) souls to pop those crunchy riquisimo nuggets of ento-goodeness into their mouths, and then faster than you can sing Take Me Out To The Ballpark, everybody’d be eating them.
And that’s exactly what happened – they sold more in the first couple weeks at the stadium than the Mexican restaurant had sold in their location, the entire year previous. It was, to put it succinctly, a big hit. No, a smashing success! A HOME RUN!
Ok, ok, I hear you crying foul – enough with the wordplay. 😆
Why do people love chapulines?
Well, they’re small, bite-sized and crunchy, and they pack a wallop of flavor! It’s partly their natural taste, and partly the way they are prepared – but they’re a bit salty, with a bite of tangy-ness, and the mouth feel from them being muy crocante is just as good as any packaged snack you’d buy at Whole Foods.
You won’t find them at typical grocery stores just yet, but you can buy them on EntoMarket.com or on Amazon. They’re quickly becoming a favorite with bug-eaters – just one bite and you’ll understand why!
Beyond the out-of-this-world flavor, though, chapulines are quite healthy as well, especially for a snack food that tastes this yummy. Like the cricket, chapulines are high in protein, with one big serving of the dried bugs being equivalent to a small chicken breast!
They also contain fiber, which is beneficial for digestion, and minerals like iron, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc. Chapulines are high in essential fatty acids – which are healthy for your body, so don’t let anyone whine that “they have a lot of fat“. Basically, these little insects are big on taste and packed full of important nutrients for human health.
So next time you’re at a baseball game in Seattle, or on vacation in Mexico, make sure you find a market with vendors selling chapulines, and give them a try! If that’s not in your plans anytime soon though, you can easily get chapulines online, and enjoy an authentic Mexican food that’s been eaten for centuries. Mmmm, gracias – muy rico!
Love your planet.
Love your body.
Love your food.
#EatBugs
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