Hungry for a crunchy treat? Consider grasshoppers

If a pile of dead grasshoppers doesn’t get your mouth watering, maybe you haven’t tried the right recipe. In the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, they know just how to prepare certain species of grasshopper to create a beloved snack known as chapulines.

In his book Eating Grasshoppers, Ohio State Anthropology Professor Jeffrey H. Cohen tells the story of this regional favorite. Cooks often dunk chapulines in boiling water, like tiny lobsters, add lime juice for kick, then toast them on a griddle to finish that savory crunch.

Cohen worked in the Oaxaca region for years and grew interested in how these hopping bits of protein fit into the local economy. He learned to appreciate them as more than just as a curiosity. “The small ones, you can just kind of eat by the handful,” he says. “They’re really, really yummy.”

Chapulines have become a trendy dish for food tourists, labeled “food for the gods” by enthusiastic marketers. But Cohen writes of a much deeper cultural staple that provides a valuable addition to the diets of many thousands of people. The insects also offer women entrepreneurs, known as chapulineras, a business opportunity so lucrative they have been known to fund their kids’ college education.

Read on to see how chapulines stack up against other commonly eaten proteins.