Sunday, September 12, 2010

Asian Cuisine: Autumn Olive and Bee Larvae



Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is an ornamental introduced from China and Japan that's escaped cultivation and become invasive. The berries are good fresh and as jam, juice and fruit leather. Once you learn to recognize it, you'll see it everywhere this time of year.





Bee larvae might be a little more difficult to come by. Having read that bears prefer larvae to even honey, and that they're considered a delicacy in Thailand, we decided to try some from our hive. Picked them out of the comb with a toothpick and ate them raw. Can't describe the taste because there really wasn't any. Might try stir-frying some next time.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are those drone larvae there? Wonder if there is a taste difference between drone and worker larvae?

Oblio13 said...

Those are indeed drone larvae. You can tell by looking? Good eye. I'll give workers a try next time a hive is open.