Most people consider Beetle larvae, such as mealworms, to be creepy, crawly nuisances. However, these insects are edible and could be a healthful alternative to traditional meat protein sources. Today, scientists report that they’ve cooked up mealworms with sugar, creating a “meat-like” flavoring. S
The researchers presented their results last week at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society . The meeting features nearly 11,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.
According to the United Nations, the global human population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 and nearly 11 billion by 2100. Feeding them all with animal meat — especially cows, pigs, and sheep — will require larger amounts of food, water, and land resources. Additionally, cows are a substantial contributor to climate change, releasing copious amounts of methane in their burps. Therefore, more sustainable sources of protein are needed.
The first step for the research team was to understand this insect’s flavor profile. They compared the aromas of mealworms throughout their lifecycle, from egg to larva to pupa to adult. Although there were some differences in the individual compounds, all of the stages primarily contained volatile hydrocarbons, which evaporate and give off scents. For example, raw larvae had wet soil-like, shrimp-like, and sweet corn-like aromas.
Based on these results, the researchers expected that additional reaction flavors could be produced from the protein-rich mealworms if they were heated with sugar. Reaction flavors, sometimes called process flavors, are produced when proteins and sugars are heated together and interact.