The Basics

What is cricket flour?

Cricket flour, or cricket powder, is made of whole roasted crickets that have been milled into a fine powder.

What does cricket flour look like?

See above photo! Cricket powder has a light brown color and has an appearance similar to that of brown sugar.

What does cricket flour taste like?

Hazelnut, cocoa powder and quinoa flour all have certain similarities in taste to cricket flour. The mineral content in crickets is very high (iron, potassium and calcium specifically) and cricket powder is very concentrated stuff because crickets lose 80% of their weight when roasted, so it’s definitely “earthy”, not in a bad way - but in a “this must be really healthy” kind of way.

Why is cricket powder being used in food?

Because it’s amazing source of complete protein and other key nutrients, while being extremely sustainable. Cricket protein requires only a tiny fraction of the resources to produce compared to other animals proteins. Find out more here.

How much protein does cricket flour contain?

Cricket powder is usually around 60% protein by weight. To put that into context, pound for pound, that’s:

• 2x more protein vs. beef*, chicken* and pork*.
• 3x more protein vs. salmon*
• 5x more protein vs. eggs*

* Based on USDA Food Composition Database. All foods in cooked form.

What is the quality of cricket protein?

Cricket protein is complete, meaning it’s made up of all nine essential amino acids, like other animal proteins. These amino acids can’t be produced by the body so they must be consumed through diet. Cricket protein is similar to the protein from crustaceans, which are also arthropods.

Below is a lab analysis showing the essential amino acid content of cricket powder, also showing the percentage of amino acid daily requirement for a 155 lb (70 kg) adult:

For an adult of this size, 1 oz (28 g) of cricket powder provides around half of essential amino acid daily requirement, and just over one third of daily required protein.

Other than protein, what nutritional benefits does cricket powder provide?

Vitamin B12

Cricket flour is an excellent source of vitamin B12, also called cobalamin, a vitamin that is not found in plants. It’s critical to brain and nervous system health, to the conversion of food into energy, and to DNA synthesis and red blood cell formation among other things. Based on a set of lab samples, cricket powder contains 2-3 mcg of vitamin B12 per 10 grams. To put that into context, gram for gram, that’s:

• 8x more B12 vs. beef*
• 56x more B12 vs. chicken*
• 7x more B12 vs. salmon*
• 20x more B12 vs. pork*
• 17x more B12 vs. eggs*
• 36x more B12 vs. milk*

* Based on USDA Food Composition Database. Meats and eggs cooked.

In the US, the vitamin B12 daily requirement is 6 mcg. In Canada it’s 2 mcg. In the UK it’s 1.5 mcg. Based on these references, 7.5-30 grams of cricket powder provide the total B12 daily recommended intake.

Minerals

Cricket powder is high in iron (more than spinach), calcium (more than milk), and potassium (more than bananas).

• Iron: 2x more vs. spinach*
• Calcium: 2x more vs. milk*
• Calcium: 3x more vs. bananas*

* Based on USDA Food Composition Database. All foods in fresh form.

Fiber

It’s pronounced kītin and it’s what the exoskeleton of arthropods like insects and crustaceans is made of. In crustaceans like lobster it’s too hard to eat, but in crickets it’s soft, like in soft-shell crab. It turns out chitin is an amazing prebiotic fibre, which feeds the good bacteria in your gut. Chitin is even sold as a (pricy) supplement in powder form

Where is cricket flour from?

Notably, crickets are being farmed in Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America, and Thailand, among other countries. Crickets are most often processed into flour at or near the farms, so cricket flour originates from these same countries.

How can cricket flour be used? Can it be used as a regular flour?

Cricket powder should be used as a fortifier, not as a regular flour. We recommend replacing around one third of the regular flour in a recipe with cricket flour to provide a very significant boost in nutrients.

What does cricket powder weigh?

1 cup of cricket flour weighs around 100 g or 3.5 oz.

Can cricket powder be organic?

Yes. Actually, Crickstart uses certified-organic cricket powder. This means that the powder is made from crickets that were farmed on organic feed only.

What products is cricket powder being used in?

Crickstart makes bars, crackers, and smoothies with cricket powder, and other delicious nutrient dense ingredients like superseeds, fresh veggies, fruits and spices.