
Photo by Marcelina Wellmer. Insnack’s edible insects. Protein bars and roasted crickets in a variety of flavours.
Eco-friendly eating doesn’t have to be plant-based. Just ask 26-year-old co-founder of edible insect start-up Insnack, Marc Timothy Schotter, who claims that farming crickets uses fewer resources and emits less greenhouse gasses than comparable protein rich foods. And nutrition-wise, crickets are hard to beat, containing more than 60 percent protein compared to beef at 29 percent and tofu and quinoa at just 5 percent. The Moabit-based venture started out with protein bars (available in coffee, apricot and physalis, and matcha and sesame) which are sold at selected Edeka and Rewe supermarkets and online (€1.99). But with only 4 percent cricket flour, these are only an intro to a full-blown critter-based diet. Last month, Insnack started rolling out their roasted crickets – not for the squeamish eater! Available in salt, paprika, ‘garden herbs’, chilli and onion, the 40g bags are priced at a steep €6.99. The six-legged creatures are reared on a Finnish indoor farm where, on reaching maturity, they are frozen (ethically, Schotter says, since wild crickets also freeze in winter), then roasted, packaged and shipped to Germany. Insects themselves don’t taste like much, so it’s all about the crunch and the seasoning. Our tips: shun the bland paprika in favour of the chili (spicy!) or onion (pungent!) or stick with the plain salted. Don’t look too closely and don’t mind the antlers getting stuck in your teeth. They also make a perfect addition to your salad – crouton style!