To obtain the world-renowned delicacy, the people of Mexico have spent a considerable amount of time harvesting high-quality “flying eggs.”
In a shallow lake on the outskirts of Mexico City, a handful of farmers are tirelessly harvesting insect eggs to preserve a culinary tradition that dates back to ancient times.
Ahuautle is the egg of several insect species, primarily fly eggs, found along the shores of lakes, ponds, and wetlands, typically in central Mexico. It is also known by another name: “flying eggs.” This name comes from the locals who collect the eggs of flying insects that land on bushes and tree branches. While considered a very unusual food in many countries, it has a long history in Mexico.
In the past, “ahuautle” was a favorite delicacy of the Aztec emperors and the Mexican nobility. When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the 16th century, they were not only amazed by the architecture but also impressed by the cuisine of the Aztec, Toltec, and Maya peoples, which included specialties made from ants, grasshoppers, crayfish… and of course, “flying eggs.”
A Mexican farmer wading to harvest flying eggs.
Laborious Harvesting
Juan Hernández, a farmer from San Cristóbal Nezquipayac, states: “For me, harvesting these tiny eggs means preserving a tradition from ancient times.“
This 59-year-old man is one of only six people still engaged in harvesting “ahuautle” in the Texcoco area. They fear that one day, no one will continue this work.
Mr. Juan Hernández shares that many people think this is a difficult job, not clean, and nobody is willing to participate in this harvesting. Wearing a hat, long-sleeved shirt, shorts, and rubber boots, he wades through water up to his calves at Nabor Carrillo—a small lake in Texcoco—to collect the branches he had inserted into the muddy bottom of the lake the previous week.
Harvesting “flying eggs” is quite a labor-intensive task that not everyone is willing to take on.
These branches serve as a landing place for the insects to lay their eggs. Under the scorching sun and surrounded by the noisy calls of various birds, Hernández gently collects dozens of branches filled with eggs and places them on a foam raft.
This man shares: “We search for them along the lakeshore, where the insects are most active.“
After about two hours of wading through the water, Hernández harvested thousands of tiny “flying eggs.” It is known that he started this work as a young man. After a period of not finding a job, Hernández joined a group of people working at the lakes during the “flying egg” season, which typically runs from June to September.
Tiny “flying eggs” extracted from branches in the lake.
Creating Unique Dishes
While Hernández is busy collecting “flying eggs,” restaurant owner Gustavo Guerrero is hard at work serving customers unique dishes at his eatery in Iztapalapa.
One of Guerrero’s favorite recipes is to mix ahuautle with breadcrumbs and combine them with other ingredients to create croquettes. This dish is served alongside various special sauces made from Spanish ingredients.
Mexicans can also fry, roast, or make pancakes with “flying eggs,” using familiar seasonings such as cactus leaves, pumpkin flowers, and parsley…
Ahuautle can be prepared in many dishes.
Some simpler preparation methods commonly used by Mexicans include roasting ‘flying eggs’ on a pan or drying them, then wrapping them in tacos for a delicious meal. This simple cooking method helps highlight the unique flavor of ahuautle.
The most familiar dish made from ahuautle is dried insect eggs mixed with milk, poultry eggs, breadcrumbs, finely chopped onions, and cilantro, shaped into balls or pressed into patties and deep-fried until golden in hot oil. In ancient times, this was an offering to deities and the king.
Currently, Bar Don Chon, which has been open since 1924, is one of the famous establishments in downtown Mexico City that still serves the delicacy ‘flying eggs’ on its menu of unusual dishes.
At Risk of Disappearing
However, Guerrero admits that this dish is at risk of disappearing because younger generations are unfamiliar with ahuautle, and fewer people are harvesting it from the few remaining lakes.
Ahuautle also risks becoming a dish only for the wealthy: One kilogram of eggs can be sold for $50 (approximately 1.1 million VND).
At a restaurant called Ayluardo’s, owner and head chef Beatriz Ayluardo states: “Nowadays, not many people order the Ahuautle eggs. This dish is significantly more expensive than many of our other offerings, and not many people know about it.
As we inherited this family business, we want to honor the recipe that my mother-in-law taught us while also promoting the culinary culture we inherited. But this is not easy.
Insects, their eggs, and larvae have been a part of Mexican cuisine for hundreds of years. Edday Farfán, an entomologist, reports that there are over 430 edible insect species in Mexico.
There are not many places left serving ahuautle.
Farfán notes that local residents living around the lake have raised insect eggs as a protein source because before the Spanish conquest in 1521, they had very few domesticated animals or livestock.
But now, Farfán states, this dish has fallen out of favor: “There are many children and young people who no longer eat it; they do not like it. Now we just hope to keep ahuautle alive. I hope it does not disappear, as it is also a source of income for many others.“
Climate change and population pressure are burdening nature, forcing agriculture to expand, bringing in numerous harmful chemicals that contaminate the soil and water, leading to the extinction of many insect species. With no natural supply left, insect-loving residents are reluctantly bidding farewell to their ancestral delicacies.
Ahuautle may be difficult for many to eat because it consists of insect eggs, but it is clearly more nutritious than any other dish. The protein content of ahuautle is as high as 63.8%, which is 2.4 to 2.5 times that of cooked lean beef (26-27%). It would be a tremendous loss if such a traditional and unique food were to disappear.
