Traditional Amazon village serves tourists giant grubs for snack

Chontacuro worms are a staple part of the Amazonian diet. Many indigenous people eat these grubs to increase protein in their diet. Some communities even farm them by cutting chontaduro palm trees and laying them out on the ground to encourage the beetles to lay their eggs in the centre. After two months, the larvae of the beetle will have completely hollowed out the palm tree core and the villagers harvest the grubs for food. The worms can be eaten raw, but most tourists who are adventurous enough to eat them prefer them grilled on bamboo skewers like a kebab. The worm has a rubbery texture like well-cooked squid, and a greasy quality like warm bacon fat, or melted butter. Similar in taste to a shrimp, the grubs are surprisingly pleasant to eat. It's no wonder that the people on the amazon consider them to be a sustainable source of food.