Termite season is here! Indeed, termites are found on the menus and mouths of Cameroonians during the dry season. During this season, fried termites are sold in streets and roads at CFA100 per tablespoon. It is sometimes sold in unusual restaurants such as «Le Sorento» in Douala where crocodile aux termites is on the menu. Well, while some will say "Eww", others, however, will say “miam miam"; it depends on your taste.
Anyway, the love of fried termites is ever increasing and Yaoundé’s cooks are buying termites at Mvog Ada and Mfoundi, two markets, to satisfy this growth. A cup of termites is sold at CFA300. Some of them even go hunting for termites at termite mounds and, they use different techniques to farm the termites.
Farming techniques
Rachèle, 28 years old and nostalgic, relates "when we were kids, we used to wet a big bowl and wait near a termite mound waiting for termites to fly out of the mound. When they did, hop, their wings were stuck to our already wet bowls”.
Some people insert fire into the mound to chase out their residents. Doing so, they can be easily caught. The end result is the palate’s satisfaction. In that regard, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) encourages people to eat edible insects in order to alleviate pressures on fish and meat. So, insect eaters are free to eat termites.
Here is the cooking techniques: