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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 17 December 2021
kilkennyobserver.ie
News Opinion
The Fact Of The Matter PAUL HOPKINS
Ah, grasshopper, and the drop of port at Christmas MY psychologist friend from Magherafelt has invited me around to his place on Christmas morning. He says his good lady is trying out some new hors d’oeuvres with the port and Prosecco. Dried grasshoppers and dried yellow mealworm — larva from the Tenebrio Molitor beetle to you and me. I kid you not. The grasshoppers are the second ‘novel food’ to be approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which gave the green light earlier this year to your everyday dried yellow mealworm. The watchdog says so-called ‘migratory locusts’ — Locusta migratoria, or grasshoppers — can now be eaten in frozen, dried or powdered form. The legs and wings, I gather, are removed in the frozen and dried varieties. The EFSA says the insects have a high protein content and are “safe under the pro-
posed uses and use levels”. However, my psychologist friend says I might want to pass on the grasshoppers on Christmas morning if I am allergic to crustaceans, dust mites and molluscs — or if I’m gluten intolerant. Hmmm... Europe made the announcement following an application by Dutch firm Fair Insects BV, with its parent company Protix saying the ‘new snacks’ are “a promising ingredient to achieving a circular food system in balance with nature”. Protix also manufactures crickets, mealworm and flies as snacks for us humans. “It is up to consumers to decide whether they want to eat insects or not,” the Commission says. “Insects as an alternate source of protein is not new and they are regularly eaten in many parts of the world.” Apparently, the global edible insects market was estimated
at close to €873 million last year. Well, you live and learn, I say. The irony is not lost on me that the new snack foods come in the same week that a UN report tells us that more than one billion people, one in seven of the world’s population, are starving and that we in the First World annually waste a staggering one third of all food purchased. And another thing: we think nothing of eating veal or venison, pheasant or partridge, rabbit or rooster — indeed, anything that once was a breathing entity and mam or dad to a couple of kids. Anything but, eh, dried grasshoppers ... I remember as a teenager going to the art-house cinema to see a movie called Mondo Bizarro — about bizarre goings-on in a bizarre world — and seeing people dining at a long table somewhere in Morocco or Algiers. To the
MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre appeal
right of each person sat at the table was a small monkey strapped into a neck brace. Still alive, until their would-be consumer caved in their skulls with a large nutcracker and scooped out their still-warm brains and gobbled the lot down. With ne’er a hiccup. There’s no accounting for taste. I have never eaten monkey’s brains, nor have I any desire to do so. Sheep’s yes, and I have eaten my fair share of other animals in time. I have eaten, while travelling, lion, crocodile (excellent), warthog (wonderful), kudu, ostrich and buffalo. Frogs, snails, the aforementioned cicada, dung beetle and honeypot ants. Flying ants roasted with salt and lime and mopping worms which are dearer than beef in some places. Oh, and praying mantis. I never saw the little green guy pray so hard as I plucked him from his bush in Zimbabwe once and sent him
‘Reindeer is one of the leanest meats . .
”
acids. “Reindeer meat is very healthy,” Ammar Eltayeb Ali Hassan, a PhD candidate at the University of Trams in Norway, tells me in an email. “It contains more than double the values of some nutrients than other meats, and is comparable to chicken in fat.” I guess when it comes to food and individual tastes, it’s horses (sorry!) for courses. Despite all the culinary delights I have downed down the years, at the end of the day it’s hard to beat a good old smoked cod and chips — straight out of the bag. No dried grasshopper would keep me from that little post-pub indulgence. Meanwhile, I think I just might give my psychologist’s house a miss on Christmas morning. I was never a big fan of his good lady, and, anyways, I prefer a packet of ‘salt ‘n’ vinegar’ with my drop of port...
Trinity Merchants – reader’s preferred merchant of the year TRINITY MERCHANTS LTD topped the polls as Readers Preferred Merchant of the Year. The Campaign for this award was run across Plumbing & Heating Magazine Irelands social media platforms, where their readers gave top marks to Trinity across the board for their customer service, technical knowledge and extensive product range. Trinity Merchants was set up with the aim of giving customers the best service and product range at
MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre’s annual toy appeal is back! The annual campaign sees the Centre team up with local charities Newpark Family Resource Centre, Amber Women’s Refuge and Kilkenny Helping the Homeless to provide toys to families in need to enable them to fully enjoy the magic of Christmas! Donations (big and small!) are now being accepted in MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre, simply drop off your gifts at the Customer Service Desk. Food donations for St Vincent de Paul are also being accepted, contributions can be left in the donation trolley outside Dunnes Stores. Thank you for your support this Christmas.
straight down the hatch. It was for a dare and I have lived with the guilt. Speaking of Christmas, reindeer is one of the leanest meats and compares favourably with fish when it comes to omega-3 and essential fatty
the keenest prices, the company originated out of the idea that, transparent pricing, customer service and product quality are the three most important factors in gaining the trust of Trades and Public alike - whilst delivering excellent customer satisfaction, delivering top class service and meeting client’s expectations. Trinity Merchants opened its doors for the first time just a few months before the initial lock down. The Company faced difficult challenges
resulting from the almost complete shutdown of the sector and the following supply and logistical knock-on effects it caused including the challenges of Brexit, all very trying times for any business let alone a fledgling enterprise. This meant receiving such a prestigious award from the readers of Plumbing & Heating Magazine Ireland much appreciated and provided a much-needed lift in moral. Trinity Merchants would like to thank all its customers for their much appreciated and valued business over the last two years - Business and support that was instrumental in us achieve this Award and we will continue to do our utmost to provide you with a 1st class service, quality Heating, Plumbing Tile and Bathrooms products in the future.
