Prepared chapulines, or grasshoppers, are one of the most popular and healthy snack foods in Oaxaca, Mexico. Although they are available year round in this southern Mexico state, in particular throughout the central valleys and in the city of Oaxaca, chapulines are best eaten when they are in season during the summer and autumn months when crops and grasses are tall as a result of the rains, thus providing ample nourishment for the insect.
Chapulines are most frequently consumed on the street when purchased from vendors in or near Oaxaca’s markets or from itinerate saleswomen who ply their product to pedestrians on the sidewalks and pedestrian corridors in downtown Oaxaca. However they are also a popular menu item in both middle-of-the-road and high-end restaurants, not only in Oaxaca but in other parts of Mexico.
How Chapulines Are Most Commonly Eaten in Mexico
In Oaxacan restaurants chapulines are usually served as part of a mixed appetizer plate along with one or two locally produced cheeses, Oaxacan sausage (chorizo), spiced peanuts and crackling pork fat (chicharrón). At fiestas, from the most humble rural function to the most lavish high-class event, a mixed botana plate that includes chapulines is commonplace, often expected and always enjoyed. The high-protein high-jumper has also become popular as an ingredient in more upscale Mexican recipes, such as in dips or stuffings. But it's by and large a Oaxacan tradition, not often practiced elsewhere in the country, to wrap a fresh baked, hand-made tortilla around chapulines and nothing else except perhaps a bit of salt and lime, and indulge.
Harvesting Chapulines in Oaxaca, Mexico
These grasshoppers tend to be harvested in the fields of Oaxaca either early morning or late afternoon. While more sophisticated operations call for the use of nets, small-scale family collecting is usually done by swooping a wicker or synthetic basket over the fields of green. Early in the season they are gathered from areas where herbs and grasses grow, then later or once the little critters have grown a bit bigger they are found nourishing themselves around crops such as corn and squash. Commercial production often uses alfalfa as a feeding ground for chapulines.
While chapulines are harvested and sold in all sizes, one can generalize and categorize them into three types. The smallest ones are harvested at the beginning of the season, followed by the medium sized chapulines pictured in the photos, and finally towards the end of their growth they are rather large. Most Oaxacans prefer small or medium chapulines since they're more tender. In addition, with the larger ones there's usually a bit of work involved; the legs are often removed to make the snack go down a bit easier. If the limbs are left on, they should be chewed well.
With the large operations there is less likelihood that insects other than grasshoppers, and unwanted grasses and small leaves will find their way into the nets. The same holds true of small-scale production later in the season when they are harvested from amongst vegetable crops. It’s small-scale early season harvesting of chapulines that results in the occasional trapping of other small creatures such as larvae, locusts and other unwanted guests as well as thistle, small weeds and leaves. When this does in fact occur more attention is required when preparing a healthy, no fat chapulín recipe.
Recipe for Chapulines in Oaxaca: One of the Most Popular and Healthiest Snack Foods in Mexico
Insofar as a picture is worth a thousand words, the following recipe is best supplemented with viewing the photo gallery at this link – harvesting chapulines in Oaxaca, and their preparation: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150329999553921.372282.651578920
This is particularly important so as to enable the cook to have a better idea of quantities, since this recipe, as is the case with many others that have been formulated in Oaxaca, is based on local tradition, which pays little attention to exact measurements.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of live chapulines, any size, or small local grasshoppers
- Several garlic teeth, ground in processor or molcajete with a couple of tablespoons of coarse salt
- Juice from a few good-sized limes
- A half bunch of (preferably) fresh epazote
Preparation:
- Bring water to a boil, then add chapulines
- Return to a boil, then simmer a few minutes at least until the chapulines are red
- Drain chapulines without adding additional water to the sieve
- Lay out on a large platter and remove any grasses, and foreign insects and what-not
- Place drained chapulines in saucepan over medium heat, stirring for a minute or two
- Add garlic mixture and lime juice, returning to a low simmer
- Add epazote leaves and thin stems
- Continue over low heat until epazote is no longer green
- Drain and place in bowl
- Serve or use as an ingredient in other recipes
NOTE: Since I have never tried this recipe with any insect other than chapulines from Oaxaca, Mexico, I’m uncertain as to whether small Canadian or American grasshoppers will turn red or have as agreeable a flavor. Regarding the latter, it all depends on the chapulín’s diet, climatic conditions and other environmental factors.
Alvin Starkman - Alvin Starkman runs Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast. He is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today (http://www.mexicotoday.org).
