Taste 'em once! Mopani Worms!!
67Try them once! Mopani worms!!
Everywhere in the world, there is an interest to taste new dishes and delicacies. Some food stuffs are interesting to taste as well. Crickets, ants, scorpions etc. have been tried by many around the world. If somebody went to Africa, always ask them this question - " Have you tried Mopani worms ?"
African ladies sell them :
Mopani worms - these worms are either cooked or dried. Ladies in Africa sell these worms which look like live Caterpillars or Maggots . If you ask one of them, they'll tell it is not cooked, but just sun dried and eaten. But if someone want to cook, they can do that also.
Source of Protien :
Africans like to eat these worms because they are highly nutritious and are a good source of protien.
Mopane worms are often hand-picked by children and women. When a caterpillar is picked, it is pinched at the tail end to rupture the inwards. The picker then squeezes it like a tube of toothpaste or lengthwise like a concertina, and whips it to expel the slimy, green contents of the gut.
Preservation technique :
The traditional method of preserving these worms is to dry them in the sun or smoke them, giving additional flavour. The industrial method is to can these caterpillars (usually in brine), and tins of mopani worms can be found in rural supermarkets and markets around southern Africa.
Mopani trees :
Mopani worms are harvested from Mopane or Mopani trees. Mopani trees grow in hot, dry, low-lying areas, 200 to 1,150 m, in the far northern parts of southern Africa,into South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Angola and Malawi. Mopane wood, one of South Africa's heaviest timbers, is very tough to work because it is very hard. This automatically makes this tree termite resistant.
Apart from timber, the tree is traditionally used to provide twigs to chew as tooth brushes, bark to make twine and for tanning, and leaves for healing wounds. The tree is a major food source for the mopani worm, the caterpillar of the moth Imbrasia belina.
Contribution to rural economy :
The sale of these roasted or dried mopani worms can contribute significantly to rural economies.
Anyway, don't forget to try them once if you go to Africa.
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Interesting. I have witnessed this on some TV shows. I would have no problem as a chicken, but I'm an old rooster, don't do worms as I leave those morsels for the ladies. We roosters have our pride you know?
Ralwus....as you mentioned here, we do have better and more tastier things to eat. So most of us don't like to eat it. But people in some parts of Africa are used to this kind of food.
In my country but different island also have unique food by eating kind of this worm. For me, Thanks I always choose my rice.
prasetio30..Environment and food habits change from place to place. Getting adjusted to it is a great thing. I have got used to the Veg food diet since 10-11 yrs. Eventhough my home members eat fish and egg sitting with me, i never get tempted to eat it. I am a pure vegetarian.
Mmmm mopani worms:D I grew up in an english expats household in South Africa and discovered these babies in my teens. They taste amazing, meaty and slightly oriental but more filling ...or they can taste terrible if you get some prepared poorly. But if you ever get a chance I highly reccomend them generally. Yummy!
Thanks for the Yummy comments, Mr.Rapzz. These babies are now contributing to the economy of some African countries. That's great. Isn't it?
Mopani worms are tasty really honestly although they look disgustingly scary and i enjoy them. Not all Africans eat them but in South Africa there's some part where they are a delicacy (in Limpopo pronvince). And by the way in some parts of the world people eat sneaks, dogs , cats, horses, scorpions, brains, animal genitalia...etc. So i dont know what is freakier than the other.
radhikamaji 2 years ago
Oh! i can't believe it. These Africans will eat of course anything..god save them. Amazing topic this one.