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Earnmore Chikavaza takes a bite of the fried beetles and munchies happily, gulping down the crunchy snack with a sip of water.
It lacks superlatives to sum up the benefits of a healthy, tasty, organic and – a particular advantage in a poor country – absolutely free food.
The delicacy is the chafer, also known as the Christmas beetle, a dark red Zimbabwean bug that thrives in the southern hemisphere country at this time of year.
Insects are high in protein and, a plus in a poor country, absolutely free. By Jekesai NJIKIZANA (AFP) “You don’t spend anything on the beetles. They are free,” the slender 28-year-old told AFP.
“All you have to do is go out into the bush and shake them or pluck them from musasa trees and they come in summer when other forms of taste are scarce.”
In Zimbabwean towns, food tastes have become westernized, but in the countryside there remains a centuries-old tradition of eating insects, mopani worms and white ants – the richness of rich soil and lush vegetation.
The recipe is simple – the beetles are boiled until tender, then fried until they reach the desired level of crunch. By Jekesai NJIKIZANA (AFP) Chikavaza lives in Mhondoro, a village about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of the capital Harare.
Three weeks of heavy rain has made it too dangerous to venture into the mining tunnels, so he spends time with a bowl in hand shaking beetles from the trees for food.
Chikavaza brings her harvest to a local lady, Winnie Chikaonda, 72, who helps her cook the insects.
The June beetle thrives in the southern hemisphere country at this time of year. By Jekesai NJIKIZANA (AFP) The recipe is simple – the beetles are boiled until tender, then fried until they reach the desired level of crunch.
“As children, we would go out into the bush to harvest them,” Chikaonda remembers.
“God created them knowing they were safe to eat. It’s a shame the city children don’t like them. They see them as scary creatures that bite.”
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