A bowl of chapulines in Oaxaca City
Chapulines and chili flavored peanuts at an artisanal food market in Colonia Roma, Mexico City

Chapulines, plural for chapulín (Spanish: [tʃapuˈlin] ⓘ), are grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium that are commonly eaten in certain areas of Mexico. The term is specific to Mexico and Central America, and derives from the Nahuatl word chapolin [t͡ʃaˈpolin] (singular) or chapolimeh [t͡ʃapoˈlimeʔ] (plural).

They are collected only at certain times of year (from their hatching in early May through the late summer/early autumn). They are toasted on a comal. Often they are seasoned with garlic, lime juice, chilies and/or salt.

One of the regions of Mexico where chapulines are most widely consumed is Oaxaca, where they are sold as snacks at local sports events and are becoming revived among foodies.[1] There is one reference to grasshoppers that are eaten in early records of the Spanish conquest, in early to mid 16th century.[2]

Besides Oaxaca, chapulines are popular in areas surrounding Mexico City, such as Tepoztlán, Cuernavaca and Puebla. They may be eaten individually as a botana (snack) or as a filling, e.g. tlayuda filled with chapulines. The Seattle Mariners successfully introduced chapulines as a novelty snack in their 2017 home games.[3]

Health risks

A fried chapulín
Fried egg with Oaxacan chorizo and chapulines

In 2007, several American media reported concerns over lead contamination in products imported from Zimatlán, a municipality in Oaxaca, including chapulines.[4]

Taco made from nopal tortilla, fried beans and chapulines

Contaminated chapulines which were found for sale in California were also identified in samples from Zimatlán.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chapulines and Food Choices in Rural Oaxaca". Jeffrey H. Cohen, Nydia Delhi Mata Sanchez, and Francisco Montiel-Ishino. Gastronomica. Vol (90)1: 61-65, 2009.
  2. ↑ Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, General History of the Things of New Spain: Florentine Codex, Book 11 Earthly Things
  3. ↑ Vinh, Tan (17 April 2017). "Get your fried grasshoppers here: the big hit at Mariners home games". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  4. ↑ American Journal of Public Health, May, 2007
  5. ↑ International Journal of Epidemiology, December, 2007
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