In the search for another appealing source of future food to cover the increasing need for nutrients of a growing global population, this study reviewed the potential of insects as human food. Most previous reviews have dealt with insects as a group, making it difficult to evaluate each individual insect species as food because of the generalized data. This study assessed some common edible insects, but concentrated on mealworms. Insects, especially mealworms, have a similar or higher nutritional value than many conventional food sources. For example, the protein content of mealworm larvae is reported to be almost 50% of dry weight, while the fat content is about 30% of larval dry weight. Mealworms can be cooked by different methods, such as hot air drying, oven broiling, roasting, pan frying, deep frying, boiling, steaming, and microwaving. Oven broiling in particular gives a desirable aroma of steamed corn for consumers. Changes in the flavor, taste, and texture of mealworm products during storage have not been studied, but must be determined before mealworms can be used as a commercial food source. Factors controlling the shelf-life of mealworms, such as their packaging and storage, should be identified and considered with respect to the feasibility of using mealworms on a commercial scale.

Varying processing conditions can strongly affect the microstructure of mayonnaise, opening up new applications for the creation of products tailored to meet different consumer preferences. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of emulsification intensity on sensory and instrumental characteristics of full-fat mayonnaise. Mayonnaise, based on a standard recipe, was processed at low and high emulsification intensities, with selected sensory and instrumental properties then evaluated using an analytical panel and a back extrusion method. The evaluation also included a commercial reference mayonnaise. The overall effects of a higher emulsification intensity on the sensory and instrumental characteristics of full-fat mayonnaise were limited. However, texture was affected, with a more intense emulsification resulting in a firmer mayonnaise according to both back extrusion data and the analytical sensory panel. Appearance, taste and flavor attributes were not affected by processing.

The use of insects as food is a sustainable alternative to meat and as a protein source is fully comparable to meat, fish and soybeans. The next step is to make insects available for use in the more widespread production of food and meals. Sensory attributes are of great importance in being able to increase the understanding of insects as an ingredient in cooking and production. In this pilot study, mealworms were used as the main ingredient in a model system, where the aim was to evaluate the impact on sensory properties of changing particle size, oil/water ratio and salt content of the insects using a factorial design. Twelve different samples were produced according to the factorial design. Further, the effect of adding an antioxidant agent was evaluated. Sensory analysis and instrumental analyses were performed on the samples. Particle size significantly influenced the sensory attributes appearance, odor, taste and texture, but not flavor, whereas salt content affected taste and flavor. The viscosity was affected by the particle size and instrumentally measured color was affected by particle size and oil content. The addition of the antioxidant agent decreased the changes in color, rancidity and separation.