Munching and Crunching to an African Beat in the UK. Ick.
SA Logue went to London recently – and brought back a few bits and pieces of South Africa! See more with our SA in UK tag.
One of the latest crazes to hit London appears to be the self-infliction of Fear Factor-style thrills, via the mouth. A company called ‘Edible’ has set up displays inside large department stores like Selfridges, which purvey the latest in chic gross-out goodies, such as bottles of water with real scorpions at the bottom (stings removed!) , and packets of this crunchy treat:
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Yes, you can now get Mopani worms in the heart of Britain. My favorite part of this exercise in post hoc globalized marketeering is the middle bullet point on the packaging. “A delicacy of South African and Botswanan Native’s!” (Sic!) SA Logue will leave it for others to unravel the tight ball of psycopathic complacency that, based on that bullet point at least, underlies the entire ‘Edible’ edifice – not to mention the issues that must plague their customers.
It is true, though, that Mopani worms are an important source of protein for those who live in the region of the Limpopo River (especially its middle section). The caterpillars are prepared for consumption in many ways – sun-dried (as above), fried, or even munched “raw”. I’ve had the fried version, and found it most – but most – disagreeable. Needless to say, I didn’t walk out of Selfridges with a packet of Mopani popcorn!