Are Ants the New Caviar?

Are Ants the New Caviar?



Does
the idea of eating bugs bug you (HAR HAR HAR)? For the past
few years, insects have slowly made their way into the diet of
westerners. Many predict them to be the future of food, as their
high level of protein and low carbon footprint could be the answer
to feeding the 9 billion inhabitants expected to populate our
planet in 2050. But do they actually taste good?

While some cringe at the thought of ingesting the creatures, a
few Michelin-starred chefs have decided to take on the challenge of
incorporating them into their dishes.

Here are 3 you may, or may not, want to try.

‘Beef tartare and ants’ at Noma René Redzepi –
chef-owner of two Michelin star Copenhagen restaurant Noma, which
was crowned the world’s best restaurant in 2014- is a big fan of
cooking with insects. You may be wondering how he thought of fusing
ants with beef tartare? Redzepi only uses local ingredients in his
cuisine and since lemons don’t grow in Denmark, he’s cleverly
decided to use ants instead, as they supposedly bring a crispy
acidic touch to the meat.

‘Abacaxi com formiga amazônica insect bite’ at D.O.M Former Brazilian punk rocker and
DJ Alex Atala inadvertently became a chef by applying to a culinary
school in Belgium in order to get a visa. Fast-forward some years
later and he now owns D.O.M in São Paulo, which is currently ranked
7th in ‘The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants
list. Like Redzepi, Atala uses native ingredients in his dishes,
but some come straight from the Amazon. ‘Abacaxi com formiga
amazônica’ comes on a platter that holds two unseasoned, raw ants
placed over a one-inch cube of pineapple – and it is supposedly
delicious. These Brazilian ants are said to taste like lemongrass
and ginger. Tempted?

‘Baby corn with powdered chicatana ant, coffee, costeño
chile mayonnaise, kale chicharrón’ at Pujol
With its 27 expert chefs working their
magic in the kitchen, this Mexican restaurant is bound to be
delicious; and since head chef Enrique Olvera likes to experiment
with insects, it’s audacious too. In this dish, fresh baby corn is
smoked in a dried gourd fruit and glazed in a creamy sauce made
from coffee and red ants.