The protein intake from farm-raised crickets gain followers. Especially in Mexican food restaurants, in pizzas, but also as snacks, As a protein powder and even as fertilizer for planting, cricket protein has a growing market within the country.
Sebastián Espinosa, owner of the restaurant Carreta, Comida Mexicana, Located in the La Armenia sector, he says that in his four-year-old restaurant they serve cricket tacos and also lots of crickets as accompanied by a cebiche or portions only for adventurous palates.
It is that in Mexican food traditionally the famous “chapulines” which are toasted crickets or grasshoppers, he says. That is why it seemed very logical to him to use the Sargrillo product – a cricket breeding venture on a farm – for his dishes.
Espinosa loves various insects and that is why every time he goes to Mexico, for example, he asks for his little bag of grasshoppers or his little maguey sauce. She even thinks in a short time to make a specialty with the chontacuro worm, instead, typical of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
He says that his customers ask for more crickets in small portions, “to live the experience”. Others ask for them because they already know and like them. He explains that in the cricket tacos, the main protein is precisely the cricket with its little legs and all; In addition, it is combined with a refried sauce that has garlic, onion, chipotle chili, and avocado. The latter do not have as much output. They are also served as the crunchy of a cebiche.
The crickets taste toasty with a hint of lemon. They are crispy and delicate.
This confirms it David Sánchez, a student at the polytechnic who tried out some snacks of crickets at an entrepreneurship and innovation fair organized right in your educational institution. “It feels toasted, like little leaves that are melting in your mouth. The appearance is not so pleasant, you have to close your eyes; but I think it’s because of habit, ”he assures. Emily Ferrín prefers not to try them: “I’m very piqui for those things,” she says.
The snacks of cricket protein were being promoted by Diego Almeida Reinoso, the entrepreneur who devised Sargrillo, a cricket-farming program. He says that this project appeared seeking to be a food alternative for humans. Right now he has a farm in the Llano Chico sector, on the outskirts of Quito, where he produces the raw material with which he supplies restaurants; but also distributes them as snacks in various stores.
Diego Almeida indicates that his project was approved by the Ministry of the Environment and holds the management and commercialization license. He has worked with insects since 2004. Being a herpetologist, he first became interested in how to provide food for endangered frogs. However, he then got into the debate on how to generate protein food alternatives for humans. He explains that the intake of cow meat is becoming less environmentally viable. One hectare of land is required to raise one head of cow, and people consume not just one head, they are thousands. Currently the raising of cows is the third cause of greenhouse gas emissions.
So he presented his cricket breeding project. Thanks to the study and a process developed over several years, it has been possible for these insects to have 51.8% protein, which is a high percentage.
He explains, however, that it is not convenient for humans to eat wild crickets, because as they are omnivores there is no guarantee of what they might have eaten in the free environment. On the other hand, it is ideal to eat those that are raised on the farm, since care is taken about how they feed, their water sources and asepsis.
Almeida says that his crickets are also being sold as protein powder. This last product, which has a very pleasant taste on the palate, can be used for smoothies. The distribution channel is through social networks: “they look for me as Grillos Ecuador or Grillos Quito and the information is there.”
Additionally, he comments that the program is leveraged in the circular economy. For this reason, another of the products that is obtained in the process is organic fertilizer, from of cricket waste. These have presentations with biodegradable packaging. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
