Entomology 

BIOL 409

BugFeast

8:00 am, Friday, 8 Dec. 2000

Rockwell Hall basement

Smiles Everywhere!

 (thanks Christie for the photos and for bringing your Andrew shown above)

What is it?

• A time to enjoy good high-protein food, good friendship, poetry, music.
• A time to learn how good eating can truly be, and to celebrate Entomophagy!

On the Menu

• Bienenstich (bee sting) -  a German "cake and coffee snack" containing no insects or insect parts - the sting is just how delicious it is!  This is a perennial favorite.           (thanks to Sabine for correcting me)
• Pakhoras - an Eastern Indian finger food containing mixed vegetables, potato cubes, chick-pea flour, a touch of curry, and of course, mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) that are then fried in oil.  This is a perennial favorite and a BugFeast challenge because the mealworms are fried live, and when cooked they are not hidden inside but rather protrude at 'jaunty angles'.

mealworm Pakhoras cooking (left) and being sampled (right)

• Chocolate Chirpie-Chip Cookies - a variation on the favorite American cookie that contains thinly disguised Acheta domesticus body parts.
• Insect shaped chocolate candies - containing no insects or insect parts.
• Bug juice - containing no insects or insect parts (as far as we know).
• And at the last moment, deep-fried grasshoppers (chiefly Meranoplus spp.) collected in the field earlier in the semester.  This was entirely the students' idea (but one that I was happy to encourage :-)

Our Entomophages were:

Sarah Erdos Kristen Gleason Eric Gorenz Sarah Ann Hill Tim Hines Jen Liberatore Emily Mancewicz Kristina Miller Sherrie Noonan

Emily eating a tasty bit

Adrienne Orris Paul Rooney Shawn Rummel Ellie Smith Peter Smyntek Chris Treter Jesse Twichell Sophia Wang others (see list below)

Your voluntary participation made this class event a mega-success!!!

Bravo to our other samplers:

• Dr. Harold Conder

• Mrs. Grace Hartman
• Mrs. Pam Jenkins

Special Guests and Thanks:

• Pam Jenkins, who despite having gall-bladder surgery earlier this week, prepared the Bienenstich, chocolate bug candies, and pakhoras, and she was the life of the party.  Take a bow, Pam (unless it will hurt too much to bend in the middle)!
• Dr. Linda Christie - for showing support for this bizarre effort, and for taking pictures.
• Andrew Christie - Dr. Christie's 9-year-old nephew, who got the day off from school near Pittsburgh, and came to the BugFeast to sample insect-impregnated foods, and to gawk at goofy grownups.
• Dr. Kevin Shaw - thanks for preparing the dough for the Chocolate Chirpy-Chip Cookies, and then hanging around for all the funny expressions.
• Dr. Chuck Kriley - for displaying moral support for this esoteric adventure.  Sorry that your recent surgery dampened your enthusiasm for actually ingesting the treats.

  A closeup of Emily's tasty bit!