Sprouts with grasshopper
Insects contain a lot of healthy protein and are environmentally friendly. But that wisdom from Wageningen is not enough to get the Dutch to feast on insects en masse. For that we need tasty recipes, with insects as a meat substitute, says PhD candidate Grace Tan Hui Shan.
Tan investigated which psychological and cultural factors underlie eating insects. To this end, she compared the considerations of several consumer groups in Thailand, where insects are part of the culinary tradition, and the Netherlands, where they have only recently become available for sale.
The Thai know many edible insects and often know how to prepare them properly, but not all inhabitants of Thailand eat insects. That differs per province, explains Tan. The Thai mainly eat local food and reject unfamiliar food. The Dutch consumers to whom she served an insect bite were much more open to new dishes, the PhD student from Singapore found out.
The Dutch can also be divided into (beginning) insect eaters and non-insect eaters. The first group has usually been introduced to insect snacks at special events and find the edible insect a sustainable alternative to meat, Tan's research showed. The non-insect eaters think the insect bites look gross, but don't let them down when they shove down an insect bite with a mixture of disgust and curiosity, Tan noticed during the taste test. Most insect avoiders found the taste surprising, but are now not going to put insects on the menu, they indicated in focus groups.
The rational sustainability argument is not enough to get insects on the Dutch menu, Tan concludes. Following Thailand's example, there must be strong recipes that do justice to the insect's own taste, so that the insect is known as a delicacy. For example, the Thai find certain larvae of ants and the Giant Water Bug, a type of water cockroach, particularly tasty in specific dishes. For example, there must also be recipes in the Netherlands in which insects add flavour. An additional requirement is that the insects have a texture similar to meat, as we consider insects to be a meat substitute.
Even then, we may not like to see whole locusts in our soup. That is why it can sometimes be good to disguise the insects beyond recognition, says Tan, so that we pay particular attention to the taste of edible insects.
Source: Resource, magazine for students of Wageningen University
I can eat insects, and I'm convinced they might have healthy protein, but I'd still rather eat a meatball. And the latter really doesn't just have to do with psychology, but simply because I find it more appetizing.