YECH!!!

Are grasshopper snacks the next big delicacy?

by Eliyahu Galil

Israel Hayom
August 9, 2019

Amit Eitan, 26, a visual communication student at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem says that a paper cone of fried grasshoppers she placed in two-week exhibit would have to be refilled every two days because people were eating them.

For her final project, Eitan came up with an entire marketing initiative that would encourage the Israeli public to eat insects. She named the project "Hagavit," from the Hebrew word for grasshopper, hagav.

"The world can't keep pace with population growth and people are looking for new sources of food, like insects," Eitan explains.

"Grasshoppers are eaten in third-world countries, but the West is less open to the idea of eating insects, which carries negative cultural baggage. … When I researched the topic, I found out that grasshoppers are kosher, so are a foodstuff that meets almost everyone's needs. The fact that they're kosher makes them sound more edible. In Yemen and Morocco, there is a history of eating grasshoppers, and that piqued my interest," she says.

Eitan added that many Israelis who have traveled in the Far East are familiar with grasshoppers being sold as snacks in markets.

"The problem is that there, it really doesn't look appetizing. I come from the world of design, and I tried to think about how branding could be used to change social perceptions and cause people to eat grasshoppers more readily. I went with a 'street food' concept, but I took it to a more tempting place in terms of a pleasant, colorful design with a young vibe that sorts of references the Far East.

"The result was Hagavit – a food truck. The Hagavit reaches everyone – like locusts move from place to place – and spreads the word of grasshoppers as it offers different products. The basic product is Hagachips, whole fried grasshoppers that are sold in a paper cone. The simplest, most down-to-earth thing."

To wash down the Hagachips, the food truck offers Hagmitz (fruit-flavored grasshopper juice); Hagshuk (a grasshopper snack made with dried zucchini, beet, and tomato; Hagcao (milk, dark, or white chocolate with bits of grasshopper); Hagbis (a single grasshopper dipped in a sweet coating such as pistachio crème); and Hagtea (herbal teabags that contain pieces of grasshopper). Mmm, delicious.

Eitan bought the grasshoppers from a farm owned by Yagel Kochavi, an agronomy student who is working to encourage the consumption of insects. She fried them in a pan that belongs to the apartment she shares with her roommates.

"My friends dealt with it well. It was even funny, and there are still grasshoppers in the freezer," she says.

Responses to her grasshopper initiative were mixed. "Some ate them, and there were others who were disgusted and refused to try them, but there were people who eventually tasted them after swearing they never would. … I even know vegans who support eating grasshoppers because raising them causes less environmental damage [than raising animals]."

Has Eitan sampled her own wares?

"I knew I couldn't market grasshoppers without tasting them myself, so I was very open to the idea. But when you look at the plate and see the creature in front of you – eyes, legs, everything – it was hard for me. After 10 minutes, I put one in my mouth and after the first grasshopper, it's easy to eat the rest. They're crispy and the grasshopper takes on the flavor of the seasoning."

EDITOR’S NOTE: Again, yech!!!