Finding a bug in your juice would usually be cause for complaint, but one Danish company wants you to pay for the privilege.

InsectKBH is the company behind new juice product Fenten Farekyllinger, which literally translates as fifteen crickets. Fenten Farekyllinger contains apple, ginger, and lemon and, you guessed it, the equivalent of fifteen crickets.

Eating insects, or entomophagy, to give it its proper name, is a widespread practice in many corners of the globe. Now bugs are slowly creeping their way into western cuisine. If the thought of crunching on a cricket is leaving you gagging, have you tried offering your grandma a sushi roll recently? Chances are the thought of eating raw fish for lunch would not appeal to her. Much of western cuisine has been lifted from other cultures and has slowly become a mainstay of western diets, with younger generations generally more open to trying new types of foods.

Bug protein already has a foothold in the world of sports nutrition with fitness fanatics consuming cricket flour and insect protein bars in recent years. Crickets are an excellent source of protein, calcium, iron and vitamin B12. InsectKBH hope to expand this niche market and bring edible insects to a mainstream audience.

Produced in partnership with Bugging Denmark, the first Danish farm to produce insects for human consumption, InsectKBH are keen to point out the nutritional value of their product. According to the company website one bottle of Fenten Farekyllinger will provide you with over half your daily intake of B12.

Tastes better than it looks

You might expect nutrition to be the main draw to crunching on a creepy crawly but apparently taste is a big factor too. Bugging Denmark maintains that its crickets take on the taste of whatever they are fed with endless flavour options possible. Chilli-flavoured crickets, anyone?

While crickets may be one of the most common forays into the world of edible insects, the bug bus does not stop there. There are those who promote the virtue of a range of insects’ natural flavour, especially when it comes to alcoholic beverages. You are probably familiar with concept of a worm in a bottle of tequila but are you prepared to start seeing ants in your gin? 

For UK-based Anty Gin it is the natural flavour of the red wood ant that gives its product a distinctive edge. The producers add the distilled essence of approximately 62 wood ants to each bottle of gin. They claim that the reaction between the formic acid, produced by the ants, and alcohol captures the flavour of the bug. The gin is produced in small batches, each of which has sold out. Only time will tell if it’s a gimmick or a flavour that keeps consumers coming back for more.

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