Insects by Stefan Gates

Author:Stefan Gates
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473550735
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

PALM WEEVIL LARVAE

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus

This is the red palm weevil’s larva, also known as the sago worm. It’s a species of snout beetle larvae that causes devastation to palm trees (making it the arch-enemy of the palm oil industry). I first encountered them in a snack shack outside a train station in Cameroon, where the deliciously grumpy woman behind the grill poured a plastic carrier bag full of them into a hot, dry pan, and they cooked and hissed and wriggled for a while. When they wriggled no more, she skewered them and threw them on to a plate in front of me, along with a warm glass of sweet Guinness, as I tried to work out whether I was in culinary heaven or hell. The larvae are long: mostly around 5–6cm (and occasionally larger), and they delight in feeding on the soft fibres found inside palms. The female palm weevil can lay 300–500 eggs at a time, forcing them into the palm flesh with remarkable strength (and can even shove them into sugar cane, which is extraordinarily tough). Interestingly, the larvae are also fond of a banana.

Taste: Gutsy, squishy (due to their high fat content) and creamy, with a rich underlay of umami taste. When well salted they are almost bacon-like, with a similar heady savouriness.

Country: Hot countries worldwide. These larvae have spread as far as the Mediterranean and are eaten in many places, especially central Africa, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

Habitat: Chop down your rotting palm tree (and occasionally banana, sugar cane, apple or squash) and hack out the crumbling innards to find these bugs after they have destroyed its flesh.

Dangers: None if well-cooked.

How to cook/prep: Wash in fresh water, then dry-fry or grill over charcoal.

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