Grass hoppers as (protein) food source?

by **Biulu** Sun Oct 06, 2013 3:13 pm

For ages grasshoppers have been an important protein source for the poor rural population of Oaxaca, south Mexico. Nowadays it is considered more a local delicatessen which makes a delicious snack (botana) when served on a tostada with some avocado.

Today I was at the market and it is currently grass hopper season and since live food is so hard to find here, suddenly wondered whether the grasshoppers would make good food for my fish. They come in all sizes, from a few millimeters to several centimeters. Of course I would get the unseasoned ones, although the mollies as real locals might like the ones with garlic and chile!

by GaryE Sun Oct 06, 2013 3:49 pm

Fish eat grasshoppers, if they are of a size where the insect fits in their mouth. I've seen grasshoppers miss and hit the water, and not float for long.
If the grasshoppers are good enough for us, they should be good for fish. You'd just have to break them up, and give it a try.
Grinding them up with a grasshopper pestle?

by **Biulu** Sun Oct 06, 2013 4:22 pm

I am not sure whether it will be necessary to grind them as I can get them fairly small. Look at this picture; these are a bit mixed but the smallest I can get is like the size just right of the cent, left of the taller one.

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by **CAAIndie** Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:05 pm

Not appealing to me, but perhaps one's fish.

by alexmtl Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:22 pm

I guess it depends on how they were prepared. If they were cooked with oils and spices, I may have reservation. Garlic roast may be interesting, but then it becomes pretty hard to crack the carapace. Why not live grasshoppers cut into pieces with legs and wings removed (basically abdomen and thorax); the meat is pretty firm and will not milk out water.

by alexmtl Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:24 pm

Note to CAA Members : THIS POST MAY OFFEND THE SQUEEMISH : Biulu and I are aggies. I used to taste dirt to determine pH and soil-clay composition. Insects were my specialty but have not experienced eating grasshoppers yet...

by **Biulu** Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:30 pm

alexmtl wrote:Insects were my specialty but have not experienced eating grasshoppers yet...

Getting live grasshoppers will be difficult; I don't have the equipment to catch them on the alfalfa fields.... But I am sure that I can get some plain ones; I have enough contacts for that.
I normally bring some back to Mtl with me. What flavour would you like: salted, with garlic, or with garlic and chile pepper? Plus eating them has an additional advantage; it is commonly believed here that everybody that eats grasshoppers gets to visit Oaxaca or returns to Oaxaca!

by alexmtl Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:35 pm

Yum yum. Looking forward to meeting up with you.

Do you have crickets? Why not catch them and have them oviposit eggs in the soil in an old aquarium ? Crickets / grasshoppoers / katydids ... all class orthoptera to me would be excellent fish food, live without the legs of course.

by **Biulu** Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:41 pm

That is too much hassle for the time that I am here... If it weren't for the fact that my papers haven't come through yet, I would have been back in Mtl already!

by **CAAIndie** Wed Oct 16, 2013 9:29 pm

Have you tried your grasshoppers yet Biulu?

by **Biulu** Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:08 pm

I haven't and I won't for now as I will be coming back to Mtl on Friday! I will be bringing some though for the crowd in Mtl to taste....

by alexmtl Thu Oct 17, 2013 3:26 am

Looking forward to catching up with you Biulu. Hopefully at the next MAS meeting or over a coffee on the West Island

by JayB Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:45 pm

I don't think I'd care to taste grasshoppers. However, I wonder if Buddy, my turtle, would like them

Biulu wrote:I haven't and I won't for now as I will be coming back to Mtl on Friday! I will be bringing some though for the crowd in Mtl to taste....

I wonder what they'll think of them. You'll h ave to let us know.

by GaryE Thu Oct 17, 2013 3:24 pm

I like my beer hoppy, but not necessarily my supper...

by caoder Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:09 pm

well... I MAY try it... >_>;; I have seen it in mexico city when I went there once... never tried it though... great fish food for larger fish i would imagine.

by **Biulu** Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:37 am

Jay, if buddy likes avocado (which is green after all), he will love this! A tostada with avocado and grasshoppers are one of the best snacks I know to accompany a tequila or a beer!