Scary Halloween Treats

Just in time for a true Halloween scare, Giant Toasted Ants, part of a line of equally disturbing edible insects, are now available from England (www.edible.com; about $25 per 8-ounce bag). Made with real ants that are toasted and then packaged in attractive pouches, they’re considered an aphrodisiac by the Guane Indians, who harvest the ants in the Colombian Amazon. Also available are Mopani Worms—a diet staple in Southern Africa. The worms are handpicked or shaken off trees, and then local collectors squeeze them to remove their bright green guts. They’re cooked in salty water until the liquid has evaporated, then sun-dried. 

If this whets your appetite, you won’t want to miss next year’s Bugfest in Boyertown, Pa., where vendors serve insect-filled delights for up to 1,000 guests at the local farmers’ market. This year, at the second annual Bugfest, Chef John BenJohn, who studied at the Culinary Institute of America, offered Cricket Cakes, buckwheat pancakes with frozen crickets floating in the batter; Crawlin' Eggs, cheesy scrambled eggs with mealworms mixed in; and Cream o' Creepies, a cauliflower-insect soup.—Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.

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