Critters as Haute Cuisine? University of Delaware Course Looks at Insects as Sustainable Food

What's full of proteins and vitamins and eaten by approximately more than 2 billion people worldwide? 

You might be surprised by the answer: insects.

At the University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), Michael Crossley, assistant professor and agricultural entomologist, has created a new course, Insects as Food, designed to introduce students to entomophagy, the practice of eating insects.

Over the course of the semester, more than two dozen students discovered how insects are harvested, farmed, and regulated. They each received small insect farms that allowed them to raise black soldier fly larvae on kitchen waste and superworms on grains and plastic. They also received hands-on experience cooking several dishes incorporating insects into the preparations.

“My biggest goal is to give students experiences to help them appreciate the possible roles insects can play in our food systems,” Crossley said in a University of Delaware news story.

During the Spring 2025 semester, Crossley imparted his knowledge about various insects and insect powders onto students who gathered in the test kitchen at Worrilow Hall. There, students prepared several insect-based creations, including black ant lemon scones and cricket granola, made with cricket flour.

“It really came together,” said Samuel Truluck, a senior marketing major. “I tried it before I added cranberries. At first, it didn't have all the pieces. But once I got it all together, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. A bucket of Chobani would totally destroy this.'”

According to the University of Delaware's report, other student favorites included a spicy waterbug pasta salad. During one of the course's most interesting days, students cooked Sago worm and black bean chili. 

“Consuming insects is not just grabbing a fly out of the air and popping it in your mouth. It's a lot more nuanced than that,” said Kevin Winton, a senior wildlife ecology and conservation major. “Most of the communities that eat insects have been doing it for years and years and passed it onto their children and grandchildren.”