From Cricket to Flour

Cricket flour, which some prefer to call a powder is usually made with milled 100% whole human grade house crickets reared on domestic farms. The largest producer of crickets and cricket flour is Thailand, with a recorded 20,000 cricket farms. Not only is farming crickets popular in Thailand, the eating of crickets and other edible insect is also considered the norm. Not just in South East Asia is entomophagy (the eating of insects) accepted, but many areas of Africa, South America and Australia it is common practice, totaling 2 billion people regularly eating insects worldwide.

For western consumers entomophagy is a relatively new concept in comparison, but retailers and consumers are opening up to the idea of developing edible insects as a nutritional and sustainable alternative to traditionally farmed animal protein. Cricket flour has been a pioneer in this development and proven to be a popular method of including insects in food, avoiding the potential ‘yuck’ factor associated with eating whole insects, foods can be created that look familiar to western markets, such as in pasta and protein bars.

A growing number of people are excited about the potential of edible insects with an increasing number of start-up business revolutionising the food industry to include edible insects. A 2013 report from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation noted that insects like crickets, mealworms and grasshoppers are nutritional powerhouses, high in protein, fat and the essential amino acids; lysine and tryptophan, which are scares in cereal proteins.

In the domestic cricket farms selected by Bugsolutely the crickets are fed on a vegetarian diet, mostly consisting of rice bran and brewing yeast, with no chemical or medications used. Our selected cricket farms sign an agreement and commitment to carefully following a rearing protocol. The flavour of the flour can be influenced by the diet of the crickets during their growth so our crickets are fed on specifically chosen diet to achieve the desired flavour. Rice bran is the hard outer layer of rice grains, it is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains. Rice bran is used as it is particularly rich in dietary fibre and essential fatty acids and contains significant quantities of starch, protein and vitamins. Brewer’s yeast is a nutritional supplement and an excellent source of high quality protein, including all essential amino acids as well as rich in chromium, protein, selenium, potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, it is also a great source of B vitamins.

After 5 weeks the crickets can be harvested. The flour is made by drying and roasting the crickets, they are then milled into a fine flour. The flour is produced in a GMP certified facility, with an advanced drying process to maintain consistency and a balanced roasting process. The crickets are milled to a refined flour particle size, a standard colour and taste. The flour is then packaged in food grade aluminium bags filled with nitrogen for preservation. This methods helps prevent the loss of flavour and extends the shelf life of the flour. Nitrogen is widely used in the food industry for packaging (for example, crisps and crackers).

Why include cricket flour in your diet? Firstly, the taste, cricket flour usually has a mild and nutty flavour, one that compliments both sweet and savory foods. Chefs have taken to using cricket flour because it has such a neutral taste that is able to enhance the flavour profile while increasing the nutritional benefits of their food. The nutritional qualities of cricket flour class this flour as a superfood. The health and fitness industries have seen the greatest interest in the nutritional qualities of cricket flour, particularly the as a new source of protein for athletes and people who are looking for a more sustainable option. Cricket flour is typically 60-70% protein by dry weight, compared to 29% for sirloin, or 31% for chicken. The benefits of eating more high protein foods includes improved muscle mass, weight management, stabilised blood sugar levels, improved mood, healthy brain and heart function, and slower aging. Cricket flour is particularly high in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B12, vitamin B2, iron and calcium.

Beyond the nutritional benefits of edible insects there are many sustainability aspects that suggest cricket flour as a positive alternative to traditional forms of animal protein. Insects can be farmed on far less land and emit fewer greenhouse gases than traditional livestock. It is estimated that crickets are 20 times more efficient as a source of protein than cattle, require less feed and water than traditional farm animals. As the world’s population grows to a predicted 10 billion by 2050 so will the challenges facing food security, cricket flour poses as a sustainable solution for meeting our future needs.