Shakin' Out the Bugs...

I'll bet that most of you have never had to shake the bugs out of your popcorn or beans. Here, it's just part of the territory.

After I got back in January, I went to the little store in the mercado that sells the big bags of popcorn. It's where we buy the 100 pound bags that we use in the Center. Normally, I just buy some of the popcorn out of a new bag when the ministry gets one. However, the Center was still closed and they wouldn't be buying any for a while, so I bought 5 lbs. of popcorn. I got home and got out my colander to shake out the bugs. I knew that there would be some of the little weevils in the popcorn that also show up in the beans. I call 'em "bean bugs", but they are a weevil of some type.

It didn't take long to shake out the popcorn and get it put in the cupboard in a couple of Tupperware containers. But it doesn't stop there. About two weeks ago, before popping some corn, I figured it was time to shake out the bugs again because more of the weevils would have hatched. I was right. I spent a few minutes shaking out the bugs before popping more corn. And tonight I did the same thing.

But tonight, I expanded the search and destroy mission. I had half a bag of store bought red beans in the cupboard and figured that they should probably be shaken out, too. I was right. Although store bought bags of beans don't typically have as many weevils as those we buy up near the lake, I knew that there would still be some larvae in the beans when they were picked, sorted and bagged.

Store bought beans are typically cleaner, with very few pebbles in them, but the flavor of the beans we buy at the side of the road up near Lago de Yojoa is far superior. The downside, of course, is that the Lake beans have way more bean bugs and need to be shaken out and sorted much more diligently than their store bought counterparts. For me, the trade off is worth it.

All that shaking and sorting tonight got me thinking... I'm sure that the Honduran women are not quite as meticulous when it comes to sorting their beans. I know they work to get rid of the pebbles and dirt clods, but I'm sure that lots and lots of weevils make it into the pot. Extra protein? I guess I shouldn't think about it too much!!

On a whim, I just googled 'bean weevils'. Lots of info there. Go ahead, give it a try.