Earthworms

Earthworms, Lubricous terrestris, a fisherman’s favorite. This little creepy crawly has been used around the world as a food source and medicine. You can eat it raw but it is suggested to prepare them first by purging then boiling. Medicinally, it has been used for a large variety of ailment. Currently it is being studied as a treatment to dissolve blood clots, boost the immune system and prevent cancer.

Recipes:

DEEP FRIED EARTHWORMS  by Green Deane, Eat the Weeds

Chop a sweet apple fine then put in with worms for a day. Chill worms. Roll in flour with paprika, salt and pepper. Deep fry until crisp.

EARTHWORM SAUTE by Christopher Nyerges, Urban Wilderness: A Guidebook to Resourceful City Living, 1979

1 cup earthworms

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup water

1 bouillon cube

1 cup yogurt or sour cream

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup mushrooms

Flour for coating

Wash earthworms thoroughly and place in boiling water for three minutes. Pour off water and repeat the boiling process twice. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Roll the worms in flour, brown in butter, add salt to taste. Add bouillon and simmer for 30 minutes. Saute onions and mushrooms in butter. Add onions and mushrooms to the worms. Stir in sour cream or yogurt. Serve over rice or noodles.

EARTHWORM PATTIES (By Matthew Stewart, The Incredible Edible Wild)

1 1/2 lbs. ground earthworms (Place live worms in damp cornmeal for 24 hours to purify, boil for 10 minutes, then grind. Yes, they are used wet)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated

11/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 cup dry bread crumbs

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup sour cream

Combine earthworms, melted butter, lemon rind, salt, and pepper. Stir in soda water. Shape into patties and dip in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in heated butter and cook for 10 minutes, turning once. Place patties on hot serving dish. Serve with heated sour cream on top.

Here is a recipe from cooks.com for the kids, NO REAL EARTHWORMS, I promise!

DIRT PIE

1 large bag oreo cookies 1 c. 10x sugar 1/2 stick softened butter 1 (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese 2 boxes instant vanilla pudding 3 1/2 c. milk 1 (12 oz.) container cool whip Chop Oreo cookies in food processor until cookies look like dirt. Mix butter, cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Blend pudding, milk and Cool Whip together. Combine pudding and cream cheese mixture together until lumps are smooth. In 9 X 13 pan, layer cookie mixture then pudding mixture, leaving enough cookie mixture for the top. Decorate with gummy worms on top. Submitted by: Rita

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!

 

 

Earthworms Sources:

Another Health Blog. Earthworm as A Great Natural Medicine. Web

Cooper, Edwin, Ph.D., Sc.D., Lumbrokinase Has Anti-Platelet, Anti-Thrombotic Activity, an Oxford University Press journal

Deane, Green. Earthworms. Eat the Weeds. Web

National Geographic, Common Earthworm. Web

Olson, Miles. 11 Edible Insects and How to Eat Them. Mother Earth News. Web. May 30, 2013

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Earthworm.Web