In the Paraiba Valley, along the old road between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, you’ll find the town of Silveiras.
It’s a mere hundred kilometers from the largest city in the Southern hemisphere, but it’s always been a sleepy little place, about 6,000 people at last count.
The hills around Silveiras are known for their waterfalls.
And the town is known for the consumption of ants.
The custom goes back to indigenous times, when fish and monkeys were sometimes scarce, and people depended on insects for their protein.
Those early insect eaters discovered that one little creature had a minty taste they found quite delectable.
That creature is species of winged, queen ant they call the iça.
Up until just a few years ago, consuming iças was thought to be an embarrassing sign of poverty.
No more.
These days, they’re considered a delicacy.
During the short season ( only a couple of weeks a year ) when the iças begin emerging from the ground, the good people of Silveiras go out hunting them.
Then they prepare them by removing the wings, the feet, the stinger and the forepart.
The bulbous abdomen is consumed raw or, more commonly, fried.
And what isn’t eaten during the season is stored in two-liter, plastic soft drink bottles and then frozen for consumption during the balance of the year.
There’s a local restaurant that has a special part of its kitchen dedicated to their preparation.
And Brazilians have taken to driving hundreds of kilometers to give the local delicacy a try.
Ask the locals, and they’ll tell you that the iças aren’t just tasty. They’re also believed to have antibiotic properties and to function as an aphrodisiac.
You just have to be careful not to get stung while you’re harvesting. The little critters pack a powerful wallop.
In recent years, the pesticides used to protect eucalyptus trees planted to supply the local paper industry have been taking their toll on the iças.
Bom Apetite!
Leighton - Monday
