Eating Bee Larvae in Asia
The practice of eating insects is called entomophagy, and millions of people worldwide engage in it, mostly in Asia where it is a cultural tradition. We're rounding out the week this Friday with a few videos that are a bit extreme for many Westerners... they may 'stretch' your sensibilities. Eating bee larvae...
Bees are precious and have been under such a global survival threat for ecological and man-made reasons, it may be hard to watch bee larvae eaten in this way. But it is always good to know about other traditions and respect cultures that are different to your own.
BEE LARVAE HACHINOKO TASTE TEST
Hachinoko (bee and wasp larvae) has long been a popular delicacy in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan. Even the late Emperor Hirohito is said to have enjoyed eating fried wasps with traditional boiled rice, sugar and soy sauce. After the bee larvae are harvested from their nests, they are cooked in classic tradition of sugar and soy sauce to make candied bee larvae, a crumbling but crunchy sweet nutritious snack.
On “Emmy Made in Japan” she performs a 4:34-minute long taste test on hachinoko, the Japanese word for bee larvae. Her friend brought the jar back from Japan for her demo. They are often eaten on a slice of bread or over white rice and with seaweed. When she opens the jar, she finds there are some adult bees and body parts in the mix as well, not just larvae.
Find out how Emmy likes the taste in this Hachinoko Taste Test.
GRILLED BEE LARVAE (khmom ang) is a Cambodian Street Snack that is considered a real delicacy. For many people it will be very strange, for others a delight. Bee honeycomb with bee larvae that is grilled. It is said that you can’t find this anywhere outside of Cambodia. This video is by “Savi You” and is 3:02-minutes long.
YUMMY BEE HONEY EATING
This video is a mystery. We are not told anything about where it takes place, who the woman is, what type of plant she applies to her skin, or anything else. This 7:16-minute primitive living style video by Natural Lifestyle went viral. The savage, fearless woman is barefoot and unprotected. She preps for raiding the wild bee nest by rubbing a green plant all over her exposed skin before approaching the bees. It seems that she steals all the honeycomb from the nest and takes it a small distance away to eat, ripping it wildly apart with her teeth and eating savagely. She is undoubtedly a master at this, because she does not get even one bee sting. However, it is sad for the bees if she took all their honey and didn't leave them any.
Happy weekend and please stay safe. If you are in a part of the world where lockdown and restrictions are being lifted, use caution to keep yourself protected.
Bee careful out there! :)
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Katy - Bee Missionary
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