Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-24
AFTER, bring me bowl of
locust soup and an order of
M fried grasshoppers
10 or,f 4
1t is on the way, tn

II Is On the way, tnlS KING
of order; in fact, 1t Is here
now. for some advanced members of the
community, by dint of experimenting, have
made the discovery that the addition of in
sects to the menu is destined to give men
new epicurean delights.
A chef of one famous eastern hotel knows
all about how bugs should be cooked, and
1t is rumored that he often enjoys them as
a part of his own meals.
This chef admits that he has not yet had
any calls for this kind of diet from the
guests of the hotel. but says the time is
bound to come when the America people
will learn the lesson well known in China,
the West Indies and parts of Africa, where
grasshoppers, locusts, moths and even cat
erpillars are regarded as food staples.
"Why shouldn't they be?' he demands.
They have all the flavor, are Just as clean
as any form of food, cleaner than most in
fact and are healthful and readily digested.
What more could anybody ask?'
Take grasshoppers for example. Fry
them in butter, and you won't tell the diff
ference between them and shrimps. In my
home I have tried the experiment, and
friends who have eaten and reveled in fried
grasshoppers have admitted afterward that
they never tasted anything better. Nothing
but a foolish prejudice keeps folks away
from a desirable addition to the menu.
Every now and then we read of some local
plague of grasshoppers that brings great
famine and trouble to section. This is a
visitation with a redeeming feature, if folks
could be turn into DEMONSTRATING dish
till the plague abated itself"
"How do you cook grasshoppers?"
''They can be prepared in number of
ways in fact, you can hardly go wrong on
tbor, oil he chatting dish to
soup. Grasshoppers roasted in numbers
and pressed into cakes, to which has been
added proper mixture of salt, make a
food that is very delicious, can be kept for
a long while, and does not lose its sustain
ing power even after months
ezra shopper soup is very good and
readily made, and repays the trouble, too.
1t is first necessary to get your grass
hoppers, of course. Boil them over brisk
fire, adding salt, pepper and grated nut
meg. Then remove them from the liquid,
and pound the mass in a mortar with
bread fried brown. Next return them to
the saucepan; heat and serve the mixture
as broth, straining it first. The result is
fact, can hardly be distinguished from it.
Once it was ever in general vogue, chefs
the country over would find it excelling in
popularity any potage on the Dill or rare
"Grasshopper croquettes, something for
epicures to rave over, are made much In
the manner of any other croquettes after
the grasshoppers have been converted INTO
a sort of meal. Another fayor1te or NINE Is
grasshopper curry.
Understand, there is nothing really new
about the idea of eating grasshoppers. In
some countries they have been favorite
for centuries, and in the Bible itself is
found testimony in their favor. Moses
directed the children of his people to eat the
locust, the beetle and the grasshopper, by
which bit of wisdom the prophet proved
that his knowledge of subjects relating to
food was just as great as his information
on all other matters.
"In South Africa, the natives build huge
fires in advance Of flying swarms of grass
hoppers thus causing the long-legged In
sects to fall to the ground by the millions.