Chocolate ice cream made with crickets is not something most people expect to see on a menu. However, an Indonesian student’s food experiment has brought this unusual combination into the spotlight, prompting social media users to share their thoughts. While some are curious about its taste, others have expressed doubts about trying a dessert made with insects.
Why did Andrea Zefany use crickets in ice cream?
Andrea Zefany, a student at i3L University in Jakarta, Indonesia, developed the recipe as part of her thesis project. She chose crickets because of their protein content and their availability in the laboratory. She also wanted to explore their use in dairy products, where she said they had not yet been commonly applied.Explaining her decision in an Instagram video, Andrea said, “Making chocolate ice cream from crickets. Today I’m going to show you my thesis project, which is making chocolate ice cream from crickets. I chose crickets because it has the highest protein content in insects, and it’s easily found and bred in the lab, and also is not applied yet in dairy products like ice cream.”
How did the student prepare the crickets?
Andrea shared the preparation process in her video. The crickets were first blanched and then dried in an oven for several hours. After that, they were placed in an incubator overnight.Describing these steps, she said, “After blanching, we’re going to dry the crickets in the oven. We are gonna wait for three to five hours for them to completely dry, and today we dried them in the oven for a few hours. They have dried, so we continue drying them in the incubator for one night.”
Social media users react to cricket chocolate ice cream
The choice of ingredient drew a variety of responses. One user pointed to the protein content and commented, “If protein content is high, so it looks like, I can make it at home in my backyard.”Another shared their experience with eating insects, writing, “You guys should stir fry ants; it’s very tasty, especially the red ants eat it with rice.”Some viewers were not convinced by the idea. One person wrote, “I’m never eating chocolates again.”Another user was more open-minded about the experiment, commenting, “Seems weird but hey I’m not judging weird doesn’t judge weird.”For one viewer, tasting the dessert might be possible as long as the insects remained out of sight. The comment read, “I would love to try the ice cream BUT DON’T LET ME SEE THEM CRICKETS.”Another person seemed to suspect that the video might be a prank, writing, “Me waiting for her to say April fools or guys it’s a prank.”
What does cricket ice cream taste like?
A viewer asked Andrea whether the ice cream had a nutty taste. She agreed and added that the crickets themselves tasted good.Disclaimer: The Times of India has not independently verified the claims made in the social media post. The views expressed in the comments are those of individual users and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication.Thumb image: Instagram
