Jumiles

Jumiles (Spanish: [xuˈmiles] (listen)); (Nahuatl languages: Xomilli), are small stink bugs native to the Taxco region of the state of Guerrero in Mexico. Any edible Hemiptera from the families Coreidae or Pentatomidae may be considered jumiles as well.[1] Their diet includes the leaves of the encina (Quercus ilex) tree.[2] Chumiles are a smaller, similar hemipteran of the same region (southern Morelos and northern Guerrero). Both jumiles and chumiles are insects of the order Hemiptera and family Pentatomidae. Pentatomids are commonly called "stink bugs" in English. Both are used as food.

Use as food

Jumiles are collected for their culinary value and may be roasted, fried, ground, or eaten raw. A salsa is prepared by combining fresh tomatoes, chiles and onions with jumiles that have been mashed in a molcajete. The salsa is served with corn tortillas.[2] The beginning of the jumil season on November 1 is the occasion of a large fiesta in Taxco. Fiesta-goers gather in the mountain park of Huisteco to collect jumiles and to crown a Jumil Queen. Jumiles are plentiful from November until February and become scarce after the first rains.[1]

Jumiles have a cinnamon-like odor. They are considered an acquired taste due to their high iodine content, which imparts a bitter, medicinal flavor.[3] Jumiles are also a good source of tryptophan and the vitamins riboflavin and niacin.[4][5]

In the Globe Trekker TV travelogue episode "Ultimate Mexico", Justine Shapiro is shown eating a live jumil. Andrew Zimmern can also be seen eating jumiles on his television show Bizarre Foods, where he claims they taste just like tutti-frutti chewing gum.

References
  1. De Foliart, Gene. "3. The Use of Insects as Food in Mexico". The Human Use of Insects as a Food Resource. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012.
  2. Hosking, Richard, ed. (2006). Wild Food: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 2004. Totnes: Prospect Books. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-903018-43-9.
  3. Menzel, Peter (November–December 1999). "Why I Eat Bugs". Utne Reader.
  4. DeFoliart, Gene (1992). "Insects as Human Food". Crop Protection. 11 (5): 395–399. doi:10.1016/0261-2194(92)90020-6. Archived from the original on 2015-04-23.
  5. Massieu, H. G.; Trigo, M; Cravioto, R.O.; Calvo de la T., J. (1950). "Sobre la applicación del Metodo de Thomas a la dosificación de tirosina en algunos alimentos Mexicanos". Ciencia e Investigación (in Spanish). Argentina. 6: 424–428.

Further reading

Bukkens, Sandra G.F. (1997). "The nutritional value of edible insects". Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 36 (2–4): 287–319. doi:10.1080/03670244.1997.9991521.

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