Chapulines: what they are, taste and how to eat them

What is it?

Chapulines are edible grasshoppers of the species Sphenarium purpurascens, gathered in the milpas of Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala. They are eaten toasted on a comal with garlic, lime, pasilla chilli and salt, which gives them a characteristic reddish colour and a crunchy, smoky and slightly citrusy flavour. They constitute one of the most representative snacks of Oaxacan cuisine and are served in markets such as the Benito Juárez market, in the capital, alongside mezcal and pulque. The main season runs from May to October, coinciding with the rainy cycle and the maturity of the milpa, which historically made their gathering a practice of biological pest control in crops of maize, beans and alfalfa.

Origin and history

The archaeological evidence of the consumption of chapulines in Mesoamerica goes back to the Formative period, with remains in caves of Tehuacán, Puebla, dated more than 5,000 years ago by the ethnobotanist Richard MacNeish. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, in the Florentine Codex (16th century), describes several species of edible grasshoppers under the Nahuatl name chapolin (chapol = to jump), noting their consumption as an everyday and festival food. gob.mx and SADER recognise Oaxaca as the main producer, with more than 350 tonnes gathered by hand annually. Industrialisation is marginal: the gathering is done at dawn, with nets and skirts, by Zapotec and Mixtec families. In the 21st century, chefs such as Alejandro Ruiz and Pilar Cabrera have taken them into fine dining, while the chef Olga Cabrera maintains the traditional recipe in the region of the Central Valleys.

Characteristic ingredients

Sphenarium purpurascens is a grasshopper endemic to Mexico, between 1 and 3 cm. It is classified by size: small (newly hatched, more tender), medium and large (with wings and a harder exoskeleton). The traditional process involves purging them for 24 hours, toasting them on a clay comal with crushed garlic, lime juice, ground pasilla chilli and worm salt. They provide between 35% and 70% protein by dry weight depending on the stage of development, as well as iron, calcium, zinc and essential fatty acids, according to studies by the INNSZ and the UNAM. The small chapulines are used as a snack or a filling for quesadillas; the medium ones in tacos, guacamole and tlayudas; the large ones in moles and dishes. In Zaachila and Mitla salsas of mashed chapulín with tomato and costeño chilli are made.

Cultural significance

Chapulines are one of the gastronomic symbols of Oaxaca, alongside mole negro and mezcal, and form part of the dossier that led UNESCO to inscribe Traditional Mexican Cuisine as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010. Their gathering, sustained by Zapotec women, represents a crucial economic income for rural communities: a gatherer can obtain between 5 and 10 kilos a day in a good season. The FAO has highlighted chapulines in its reports on food security and entomophagy (2013), citing them as a model of sustainable protein with a very low ecological footprint compared to livestock farming. Festivals such as the Chapulín Fair in Zimatlán and the Guelaguetza include dishes based on this insect, and Oaxacan restaurants have created bottled salsas and chapulín powders that are exported to Europe and the United States.

Frequently asked questions