We asked Mikamo Kissa, who was in charge of developing collaborative products such as "Cricket Soft Cream", about their impressions of using cricket powder, dried crickets, and cricket extract as raw materials.

 

first encounter

It was triggered by a word from a regular customer who always comes. A frequent reader of the Nikkei newspaper, he showed me an article about cricket ramen developed by Mr. Tamura and Mr. Grilas. He called out to me and said, "It seems that crickets are popular, so how about adding them to the menu at a coffee shop?" At that time, I had an image of a cafe, so I was quite reluctant, but the regular customer (who first approached me) continued to enthusiastically recommend it, so I was very pleased. I took a look at the homepage.

When I saw it, I was surprised that it was completely different from the image. It is impressive that he is seriously working on "crickets" in cooperation with academics, looking at major issues such as environmental problems and food loss. And this collaboration has arrived.

Impressions of using it as a raw material

C. Tria's cookies and crunch were the only ingredients that came to my hand, and I could use the cricket powder and cricket extract as ingredients without any discomfort.

If you use powder, the taste will be richer, and the extract itself is rich in umami ingredients, so it's interesting to try using it to create a taste that you've never had before. There was no difficulty in developing a new menu. It can't be helped that customers have preconceived notions, but now I want to overcome that with deliciousness! It's burning.

Reaction to the first cricket software

It's just been released, but the family was ordering it yesterday too. I have a feeling that we will be able to be accepted not only by people who are highly conscious of the environment, but also by a wider range of people than I had imagined.

For restaurants considering cricket powder

I myself didn't originally have a positive image of eating insects, and the same was true for the staff working at the store. However, it is a simple and delicious ingredient that can be used to create new flavors. You can use it without any hurdles, so please give it a try.

Message to consumers

First of all, I want people to know what kind of meaningful contributions crickets are making and what kind of problems they are solving. Keywords such as “world” and “environment” may seem distant, but eating deliciously is actually connected to solving environmental problems. I would be very happy if you could feel just that through this new collaboration product!