Yesterday, I drove around a suburb of Phoenix searching for a Oaxacan café that served chapulines, fried grasshoppers.
The store had closed. I was disappointed, because I had wanted to write about people who eat chapulines for my book. Grasshoppers are eaten by indigenous Mexicans, and they’re a great source of protein.
I swear I’m not making this up, but the very next day I met a source for an interview. As he walked in the room, he carried a little plastic tub full of fried, salted chapulines. His dad had brought them up to Arizona from the Mexican state of Guerrero. Here is a picture I took of the tub of grasshoppers.
Photo by Terry Greene Sterling
The man told me that female grasshoppers taste better than male grasshoppers because female grasshoppers are fattier. This is a picture of a male and female grasshopper he picked out of the tub.
Photo by Terry Greene Sterling
“Eat one,” the man told me, ”but first pull off the legs because they are like splinters and get caught in the throat.”
“OK,” I said.
I chose the guy grasshopper.
It took me a couple of tries, but I finally got the little fellow in my mouth.
I forced myself to chew. The chapulín tasted clean, salty and crispy.
God, I love writing this book.
Awww, Terry, we should’ve made a video out of that one!
Terry
I cannot believe you actually ate it, and why the male?
When I first read the title I thought you had “Jumiles” but that is another insect, another Oxacan delicacies.
I think you need to warp your chapulin in a tortilla so you do not have the velcro like legs sticking to your throat.
Unfortunately I’m not an expert on Jumiles or Chapulines.
I grew up in Monterrey, Mexico and we are famous for carne asada or cabrito (goat).
Jose Vasconcelos said “La civilización termina donde comienza la carne asada.” meaning that nortenos were not very cultured people, to say it bluntly they were really unsophisticated.
To my fortune my parents were from the center part of Mexico and we had an incredible variety on our meals. We learned to appreciate food, specially the kind that has cultural significance.
I’m glad you tried them. They have been eaten for centuries by the natives.