Chapulines (Grasshopper) Taco

Chapulines are grasshoppers eaten in certain parts of Mexico. They are popular in Oaxaca, Cuernavaca, Puebla and Tepoztlan. They have been eaten for a long time, with a historical record going back to the mid-1500s and the Spanish Conquest. 

The grasshoppers are cleaned and washed, toasted on broad, flat cookware with garlic, lime juice and salt containing extract of agave worm, which gives a sour, spicy, salty taste. 

We were near Puebla in Cholula, visiting a church, when our guide, Arnold Pedrosa, pointed out some street vendors selling chapulines right outside the church, along with some other colorful products. We bought some in a baggy and carried them with us until we ate lunch in Puebla. 

The chapulines are the dark items in the front row. 

There I put guacamole on tortilla, emptied the chapulines on it, and some salsa, and enjoyed. After trying caterpillar tacos, these were pretty tame, not much in the way of mind games at all. 

They are crunchy, salty, have a hint of lime and are not bad.