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Turning crickets into flour
Aug. 16th, 2014 02:47 pmIt's pretty hilarious to see this getting picked up in the popular press: Startups pitch cricket flour as the best protein you could eat. But I mostly find it hilarious because it ties into a couple of elements that have grown familiar to me: the idea of using insects as a good nutrient source, and the idea of swapping in high-protein flours in baked goods, in place of less nutrient-rich ingredients.
It's pretty funny that moms are a target market sector for cricket flour products, but I can understand it based on what's said here about the AA composition of crickets vs. soy flour.
Just as a note: if you've ever contemplated trying this stuff out, realize that cricket flour should be treated like other super-dense flours (mesquite, chickpea, and soy come to mind): you can swap out up to one-fourth of the regular flour in a recipe for one of these higher-protein alternatives. My dad has been doing this with soy flour for decades, making our family's baked goods pack a bigger nutrient punch (they also contribute to a feeling of fullness, so you stop eating cookies before you've eaten the entire batch).
It's pretty funny that moms are a target market sector for cricket flour products, but I can understand it based on what's said here about the AA composition of crickets vs. soy flour.
Just as a note: if you've ever contemplated trying this stuff out, realize that cricket flour should be treated like other super-dense flours (mesquite, chickpea, and soy come to mind): you can swap out up to one-fourth of the regular flour in a recipe for one of these higher-protein alternatives. My dad has been doing this with soy flour for decades, making our family's baked goods pack a bigger nutrient punch (they also contribute to a feeling of fullness, so you stop eating cookies before you've eaten the entire batch).
