New food companies are hoping Americans can overcome the ick factor, introducing cookies and snack bars made with cricket flour. A video on YouTube promotes the Chapul Bar.
“We thaw them out, we rinse them, we throw them on the sheets then we cook them and mill them down to a flour that goes into our energy bar,” said Pat Crowley, Chapul Bar.
The bars each contain up to 40 dried, ground crickets. According to the bar manufacturers, cricket flour has two times more protein than beef and 15 percent more iron than spinach.
In a blind test, Consumer Reports food experts answered the all-important question – how does it taste? They sampled six snack bars from two manufacturers, as well as some cookies. Could they detect any traces of insect?