The gastronomic art of edible insects: Cooking methods and food innovation

Abstract

Edible insects are considered a promising and valuable food source with high potential nutritional value and environmental benefits. Better inclusion of edible insects into the daily diet could reduce the environmental burden and address food insecurity.Nevertheless, consumers often lack adequate knowledge and familiarity with insects, leading to low acceptance and negative attitudes towards insects. Therefore, this review focuses on the nutritional value of edible insects, cooking methods, and current applications of edible insect-based foods, aiming to help consumers and food industry learn and understand the utilisation knowledge of edible insects and better introduce them into the dishes, diets, and food products, thereby improving the gastronomic experience and consumer acceptance. Overall, this review could provide useful information for further innovation in the culinary use and gastronomic development of edible insects as well as ways to promote the utilisation of edible insects in the diet.