Bugsgiving contestants compete at Museum of Idaho
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Participants from Idaho Falls competed to create the best Bugsgiving side dishes on Friday at The Museum of Idaho.
In this reality show style competition, three judges from the museum created a night centered around eating insects. They started by presenting the history of Thanksgiving and the facts about how often people eat bugs everyday. They kept the rest of the night interesting by auctioning off electronic cooking appliances with points they gathered by eating crickets, mealworms and black ants.
Contestants gathered a combinations of ingredients and in less than an hour prepared delicious dishes with different insects to add flavor and nutrients. They creates varied from hummus, stuffing and deviled eggs.
At the end, the judges took time to sample then critique each of the dishes. The first place winners made jalapeño cornbread topped with honey and crickets.
"So, basically what I'm looking for, is a flavor that kind of fully incorporates the insects flavor," said Kristina Frandson, the Curator at the Museum of Idaho. "So each insect has a slightly different flavor profile and depending on people's culinary skills, it will either blend really well with whatever they're using, or it will stand out really strongly."
