Kosher locust


Kosher locusts are varieties of locust deemed permissible for consumption under the laws of kashrut. While the consumption of most insects is forbidden under the laws of kashrut, the rabbis of the Talmud identified eight kosher species of locust. However, the identity of those species is in dispute.

Yemenite tradition

According to Yemenite tradition, the edible locust referred to in the Torah is identified by the figure resembling the Hebrew letter chet on the underside of the thorax. The most common of these in Yemen was the desert locust, whose color ranges from yellowish-green to grey, to reddish in colour when it reaches maturity. In Yemen, the locust and the grasshopper share the same Arabic name, although Jews in Yemen recognize the differences between the two.
In spite of the reference of other edible locusts in the Pentateuch, such as the Chargol, and the Sal'am, the tradition of recognizing and eating these specific kinds had been lost in Yemen, prior to their emigration from Yemen in the mid-20th century CE. Only certain species of the Chagav were still eaten in Yemen, such as the species now known as the greyish or brownish Egyptian locust, thought by some to be an edible grasshopper, even though it was known in Arabic by its generic name al-Jaraad.
In 1911, Abraham Isaac Kook, the chief rabbi of Ottoman Palestine, addressed a question to the rabbinic Court at Sana'a concerning their custom of eating grasshoppers, and whether this custom was observed by observing their outward features, or by simply relying upon an oral tradition. The reply given to him by the court was as follows: "The grasshoppers which are eaten by way of a tradition from our forefathers, which happen to be clean, are well-known unto us. But there are yet other species which have all the recognizable features of being clean, yet do we practice abstaining from them. : The clean grasshoppers about which we have a tradition are actually three species having each one different coloration , and each of them are called by us in the Arabian tongue, ğarād. But there are yet other species, about which we have no tradition, and we will not eat them. One of which is a little larger in size than the grasshoppers, having the name of `awsham. There is yet another variety, smaller in size than the grasshopper, and it is called ḥanājir."
The Jews of Yemen did not follow the halakhic ruling of Maimonides, where it was made sufficient to merely recognise their features before eating them. Instead, they ate only those locusts that they acknowledged in their own tradition as being edible, namely, the desert locust, and which they called in Yemenite Jewish parlance, ğarād.

Manner of preparation

Several methods were applied in the preparation of locusts, prior to eating them. One of the more popular ways was to take the locusts after gathering them and to throw them into a pot of boiling salt water. After cooking for a few minutes, they were then removed from the pot and placed within a heated oven in order to dry them, or else spread out in the sun to dry. Once dry, they would take up the locusts and break off their heads, wings and legs and discard them, eating only the thorax and abdomen. Another method was to stoke an earthenware stove and, when fully heated, to cast them while alive into the cavity of the stove. Once roasted, they were taken out and a brine solution was sprinkled over them, before spreading them out in the sun to dry, usually upon one’s rooftop. Those with refined tastes saw it as a delicacy.

Djerba tradition

In the Jewish community of Djerba, Tunisia, the consumption of locusts was forbidden by a takkanah of rabbi Aharon Perez mid-18th century. According to his letter to Rabbi David Eliyahu Hajaj, eating locusts was still an accepted practice in Tunisia at the time. Although a consumer of locusts himself, he quit the habit after reading Rabbi Hayyim ben Atar's book Peri To`ar, and moved in favour to prohibit consumption. However, as the practice was still widely accepted in the city of Tunis — the rabbinical court of which was considered to have the higher authority — he kept his decision to himself without making it public. After a prohibition against eating locusts was finally declared in Tunis, Aharon encouraged to prohibit the practice in Djerba as well.

Normative practice

The Halakha regarding locusts, and all kosher animals for that matter, is that one is allowed to eat a specific type of animal only if there is a "continuous tradition" that affirms that it is kosher. It is not enough that the locust seems to conform to the criteria mentioned in the Torah. This does not mean that one must possess a 'personal tradition' in order to eat locusts. If one travels to a place where the people do have a tradition, the new arrival would also be allowed to eat them. The Yemenite Jews and some others had such a continuous tradition.
It is also worth pointing out that the common names used in the Bible refer only to color and broad morphological generalities shared by many Middle Eastern species. Also, although it is often useful for identification, the geographic location of these locusts in the text is unclear. Using primarily color to identify insect species is a notoriously unreliable approach. Insects that come to adulthood will have slightly different colors based on season, diet, and prevailing climate. Which species of locust are actually being referred to in the text is therefore nearly impossible to ascertain. This will further complicate adherence.
British Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz says in his commentary on
"None of the four kinds of locust mentioned is certainly known. For this reason also, later Jewish authorities, realizing that it is impossible to avoid errors being made declare every species of locust to be forbidden."

Jews who live in consonance with ritual laws normally consult a rabbi when questions on ritual practices arise.

How and by whom Kosher locusts were eaten

The author of the Aruch HaShulchan points out that locusts were not considered a delicacy—rather they were food for the poor.
A midrash describes the pickling of locusts before their consumption:
John the Baptist ate locusts.