The health benefits of eating winged termites
I have always been the type who gets irritated at the sight of any insect not to talk about eating them: whether roasted,cooked,fried or raw I just cant.But during my university days in the eastern part of Nigeria,when I travelled to my village I saw the way everyone both old and young rushed to catch those winged termites during the rainy season using a bright light which attracts the termites and then using brooms or their hands to get them to fall on the floor or inside a basin of water.In my local dialect (Igbo)it is called "Aku","Akebe" or " Nwakebe"
Termites are prepared in various ways for eating. In my
village, it is popular to remove the wings,lightly fry the termites in their
own fat over a low heat and add a little salt,onion and pepper. Fried termites are tasty after
being dried in the sun and they can be consumed for a
rather long period of time(it hardly gets spoilt). In some areas, termites are
used as gifts for marriage. Raw termites are also
frequently eaten.
High protein content
Entomophagy—eating insects—is generally
received with grimaces and gag reflexes by Westerners.
But globally speaking, chomping on bugs is the same as
devouring lobsters or chicken wings. From
grasshoppers to cockroaches, creepy crawly things are
consumed for their "high protein content", appealing
crunchiness, and straight-up taste. In many societies,
insects are considered a delicacy. In the epoch, the
concept of insects as food has been and has slowly
been gaining ground recently.These insects can provide various other beneficial nutrients to the human body.
Now back to me,after my Aunt roasted those termites and put them in a tray and left for the market,I crawled into her room took some in a plate and ran back to my room to see how they taste.After reluctantly chewing them little by little:about 2-3 pieces at a time, I actually found out it was so tasty and started eating a handful(I had to close my eyes so as not to look at what I was eating ...Lol).So right now once its the rainy season I usually send some money for her to package and send them to me.And yes...most people sell them in the local markets for profit.Try them out and you would be glad you did.
