![]() ![]() Then Hojun Seo, a graduate student on Cho's team, compared the flavors that developed as larvae were cooked with different methods. For example, raw larvae had wet soil-like, shrimp-like and sweet corn-like aromas. While there were some differences in the individual compounds, all of the stages primarily contained volatile hydrocarbons, which evaporate and give off scents. They compared mealworm aromas throughout its lifecycle, from egg to larva to pupa to adult. The research team's first step was to understand this insect's flavor profile. Cho says that to get more people to regularly eat mealworms, a sneakier approach might be in order-hiding insects in the form of seasonings inside easy-to-cook and other convenience products. Although some companies are trying to change people's minds by selling cooked whole mealworms as crunchy, salty snacks, consumer acceptance is not widespread. In many parts of the world, eating insects isn't common, and people can be squeamish about munching on them. ![]() "Insects are a nutritious and healthy food source with high amounts of fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, fiber and high-quality protein, which is like that of meat," says Cho, whose team is at Wonkwang University (South Korea).īut mealworms suffer from an image problem, she says. So, more sustainable sources of protein are needed. In addition, cows are a substantial contributor to climate change, releasing copious amounts of methane in their burps. And feeding them all with animal meat-especially cows, pigs and sheep-will require larger amounts of food, water and land resources. The global population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 and nearly 11 billion by 2100, according to the United Nations. "Recently, eating insects has become of interest because of the increasing cost of animal protein, as well as the associated environmental issues," says In Hee Cho, Ph.D., the project's principal investigator. The researchers will present their results today at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
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