Mopane worms

On holiday again, so I'll have a few things to blog about.

I've occasionally seen Mopane worms on menus here - but didn't have the courage to order them. (On the other hand I've had crocodile a couple of times, which is pleasant enough - a bit like slightly fishy chicken.) A few days ago I was offered a dried Mopane worm to eat and seized the moment before instinctive revulsion could take over - a dried "worm" (really a caterpillar) looks much like a large bird dropping so the instinct not to put it in your mouth is quite strong. The initial impression is nothing much except crunchy dust, but then a beefy taste builds up which is not bad at all. However I admit I spat out the still crunchy pulp that I ended up with. I'd be up for a Mopane worm stew now, though. I think.

This opens up a whole discussion about how foodstuffs are very much culturally defined - there's no particular objective reason why we shouldn't eat anything that gives us some sort of nutrition. In northern Italy one of the best things you can give growing children is horse steak - I used to live next to a butcher that sold only "carne equina". And no-one in the world outside of the UK seems to be able to stand Marmite.... (although you can buy it in SA - but that presumably is an unfathomable remnant of colonialism....)

Above: the half of the worm I didn't eat.