Edible Caterpillar · Limpopo Delicacy
Mopane Worms (Masonja)
Photo: Mark Marathon / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dried mopane worms are around 60% protein by weight, roughly two to three times the protein content of raw beef.
Large caterpillars harvested from mopane trees, boiled with salt then sun-dried or fried crisp with onion, tomato and chilli, and served with pap. Vendors sell them dried or grilled by the container at Limpopo markets and as padkos at roadside stalls.
Why it's made this way: Masonja have long been a prized wild-harvested protein source across Limpopo, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana, especially valuable in rural communities where they supplement diets during the harvest season.
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