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'I tried I'm a Celeb bushtucker trial insects which could become part of UK's diet'

Tag：daily diet Crickets Grasshoppers 2021-08-23 13:32

Experts think the type of bugs in I’m A Celeb’s Bushtucker Trials may soon be part of our daily diet.

Fans of edible insects say they are a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals and eating them will reduce our carbon footprint.

Environmental scientist Dr Alexandra Jellicoe said: “Insects need far less land and feed than beef or chicken. They can be added to our diets in all sorts of ways.”

With companies such as Eat Grub and Crunchy Critters delivering insects to our doors, we decided to put some snacks to the test… Grub’s up! Time to test how insects taste.....

Eat Grub Company - Grasshoppers

Not reading the packet before eating my first grasshopper was a big mistake. I ate it all, raw, including the wings and legs you’re supposed to remove.

The pack suggests sprinkling with salt and pepper, before roasting in foil and mixing through a stir fry. Still not remotely appetising.

Rating:2/10

Crickets
Eat Grub recommends mixing its crickets with soy sauce, white pepper and chilli powder, which makes them a lot more palatable.

I’m not sure I’d choose them on a menu but I could at least stomach them, which is more than can be said for the grasshoppers.

Rating: 5/10

Buffalo Worms
Just looking at them made me feel queasy. I was pleasantly surprised when they didn’t turn my stomach, but they tasted of nothing.

The pack suggested making them into a smoothie with red berries, spinach and natural yoghurt to benefit from the bugs without their chewy texture.

Rating: 5/10

Crunchy Critters - Bean and pea critter crunch
This snack consists of mealworms covered in sea salt and cider vinegar.

The insects were all a bit chewy and I wasn’t a huge fan of their crispy texture. When they are mixed with fava beans and peas though, it improves the flavour a lot.

Rating: 5/10

Crunchy mixed critters
A bit of an insect cocktail. This snack contains buffalo worms, mealworms, crickets and locusts.

I can’t say I was a huge fan, though. This was perhaps because there were no other ingredients to distract me from the insects, which all tasted dry and brittle.

Rating: 4/10

Easily my favourite of all the snacks, perhaps because it contained chocolate.

Add in apricots, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and you hardly notice it contains mealworms at all. I think this is the only snack on the list I’d eat willingly.

Rating: 6/10

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