Can you eat grubs?

Whether you are a survivor, a hobby cook keen to experiment or interested in new, ecologically justifiable ones Food sources - there are reasons for consuming insects, maggots and other rather untypical animal species many. Nevertheless, the experience can be worthwhile, provided the animals are actually edible. But what about scarab beetle larvae? Can grubs be eaten?

White grub and nutritional value

Regardless of the motivation for consumption or of possible feelings of disgust or scruple, grubs are not to be dismissed as a source of food. Depending on whether you have the larvae of Cockchafer, Rose beetles or garden beetles, the nutritional values ​​of the animals can vary slightly. Overall, a look at the essential ingredients shows a very good suitability as a food:

• Around 50 to 60 grams of protein
• 30 to 40 grams of fat
• Unsaturated fatty acids
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Energy value around 500 calories

(all information based on 100 grams of live weight)

The high nutritional value of the larvae is primarily due to the fact that, on the one hand, the animals themselves naturally eat very high-quality things from a human point of view, namely raw vegetables and other protein-rich insects. In addition, as the development stage of the later beetle, the grubs collect energy reserves that they need for pupation and metamorphosis to the finished insect. Humans make direct use of these reserves when eating the larvae.

INFO: It has been proven that almost all indigenous peoples have insects and maggots, which include the grubs, on their diet. The knowledge about the high nutritional values ​​of these animals is therefore not a new knowledge, but much more traditional, temporarily forgotten knowledge.

Toxic or not?

In fact, there are individual insects whose developmental stages protect themselves from predators using toxins. But grubs are not included. What usually prevents people from eating is much more socially acquired disgust and disgust. If these are overcome, the caterpillars are easily edible.

The taste

The pure nutritional value does not mean that people like to eat certain foods. The taste is certainly also a decisive factor. It is often described very generally as nutty and sometimes associated with smoked foods in the case of fried maggots.

The consistency

Another topic besides the taste is likely to be the consistency of the animals for many who are undecided. As insects, they have no supporting skeleton whatsoever, while the end-stage chitin shell has not yet formed. Instead, their body is made up of a very reduced musculoskeletal system and one besides the outer skin small head mainly from the digestive tract and the already created energy reserves in the form of fat and Protein. You can eat grubs with it, but they do not correspond to the usual eating sensation with animal products.

The preparation

One way to change that is how the beetle larvae are prepared. Basically, of course, the animals can be eaten raw at any time. On the other hand, the preparation in fried form appears a bit more “humane”. A few minutes in a very hot pan, or alternatively cooked on a grill rack, the caterpillars die in seconds without long suffering. The texture afterwards resembles the usual food of animal origin with a crispy shell and the ingredients are retained through the short cooking process.

TIP: Because of the high water content, the caterpillars tend to "jump" when heated in the pan. A splash guard or cover helps to avoid traumatic experiences caused by maggots flying low.

White grubs as carriers of parasites

Another advantage of the cooking process is its potential activity as a host animal for parasites. Above all, scratch worms from the ground can be used by the larvae as intermediate hosts on the way to the ultimate host, i.e. humans or animals. As an intestinal parasite, the worms adhere to the intestinal wall and make it permeable. Unrecognized and untreated, such an infestation can cause considerable problems in the long run. If, on the other hand, the grub is completely cooked through, the worm's eggs or larvae are also killed and can be eaten without any problems.