Chew On This: Critters Make Yummy Food

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Massimo Francesco Marcone admits to growing squeamish at the sight of cockroaches. But that doesn't stop the professor of food science at the University of Guelph in Canada from sinking his teeth into a whole host of foods -- many of them involving insects -- that many people might find repulsive.



Marcone explains this penchant for unusual foods in his recent In Bad Taste: The Science and Adventures Behind Food Delicacies, published earlier this year by Key Porter Books. In it, Marcone makes his way through the jungles of Indonesia, the arid expanses of Ethiopia, and the bat-infested caves of Malaysia -- all in the name of discovering why some of foods we Westerners may consider bizarre are also the most coveted.



His journey begins with a request from the Discovery Channel to investigate the mystery shrouding the world's most expensive coffee, Sumatra's Kopi Luwak coffee. Upon learning that this brewed delicacy is produced from beans picked from the excrement of the "Luwak," or civet, a tropical catlike animal common to the region, Marcone responds with disbelief. And after completing tests in his lab, he is intrigued all the more, and heads to Indonesia to explore further.



Clues in the Swiftlet Nest

Marcone's story is part science journal and part travelogue. "I had shed my distinctive white lab coat for camouflage, mystery, and subterfuge in the dead of the night," Marcone writes of his encounters with corrupt patrol officers, dangerous landslides, and wanderings in the jungle on limited water and food supplies.



But Marcone is at his best when outlining scientific findings, often uncovering the food's biological and chemical underpinnings. Witness his discovery that the coffee bean is effectively cleaner after passing through the civet. "When I incubated the sub-samples, allowing ample time for bacterial growth, I was shocked to see that the Kopi Luwak beans had one hundred times fewer bacteria than the corresponding control samples," he writes. "Unbelievable! Impossible!" He also uncovers how progression through a civet's digestive system chemically alters the bean so that it produces a different, richer flavor.



And so Marcone proceeds from country to country, melding cultural and historical context with his scientific inquiries to challenge preconceived notions of what's acceptable to eat. He also both shatters and ratifies myths behind some of the most sought after dishes. In an analysis of swiftlet nests, used to make soup in parts of China, Marcone identifies the primary component as a protein similar to those found in eggs and cites studies showing that this kind of protein combats the growth of bacteria. The findings corroborate the traditional Chinese belief that the bird nests have medicinal properties.



The sweet sound of maggots

In his role as mythbuster, on the other hand, he shows that the most expensive and rare type of bird nest, the red "blood" nest, contains no blood and instead is the result of a simple chemical reaction. Further, in his study of white and black truffles [morels] he questions the commonly held assumption that white morels, which are rarer and more expensive, are also more desirable in taste. When a tasting panel establishes a preference for the black variety, Marcone asks an important question: "Does rarity alone make a food desirable?"



Marcone's narrative loses momentum in some of the final chapters, as the process of discovery and scientific analysis becomes more cursory. For example, his discussion of one of the most interesting foods, the maggot-infested Casu Frazigu of Italy, is short on detail. Marcone can overdo the melodrama, calling a bumpy car ride in Ethiopia "torture inflicted on us" and repeatedly referring to mishaps as near-death experiences.



Still, in small doses, Marcone's wide-eyed wonder and occasional bad puns are endearing. "I went back to bed and listened to my maggots," he writes of the noisy, jumping larva in samples of his Casu Frazigu cheese. "It was like listening to a baby's breath on the baby monitor."



Overall, In Bad Taste is a fun and fascinating read that helps impart an important lesson. Some oft-ridiculed traditions may be more rooted in scientific fact than they appear. A few chapters in and you might just find yourself hankering for a cup of Kopi Luwak coffee.