Bottom Line: John the Baptist ate well in the desert.
Hieronymus Bosch’s St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness
We recently received a free sample of the Holy Locust Biblical Energy Bar from the manufacturer, in exchange for an honest review. According to the Bible (Matthew 3:4), John the Baptist sustained himself in the desert on locusts and wild honey. It should be noted that the locust is perfectly kosher to eat (Leviticus 11:22).
While locusts are still eaten in some parts of the world, they
have fallen out of favor in Western diets. But thanks to Israeli entrepreneur Dror Tamir, that’s changing. He founded Holy Locust to revive that lost Biblical food to feed the masses. He is in the midst of a 1000 day quest to replicate John the Baptist’s diet, and you can follow on Instagram. His company, Holy Locust, is making available locusts sourced from the banks of the River Jordan. Products include roasted whole locusts, Biblical protein shakes, and Biblical energy bars, consisting of dates, nuts, and locust protein. The protein used in the bars and shakes is locust flour, made from dried locusts ground into powder.
Trying the Holy Locust Bar
Of course, as soon as we heard of this innovative food, we wanted to give it a try. In exchange for our honest review, Holy Locust provided a sample, which arrived in the mail from Israel today.
As you can see from the nutrition facts above, the bulk of the product is dates, followed by peanuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, and ground cashew. Locusts make up only 2% of the product. At first, it sounded as if they were skimping on the marquee ingredient. But when we gave it some thought, it sounded reasonable. Before being added, the locusts were dehydrated and ground up. I couldn’t find definitive information as to the water content of locusts, but according to this article, the water content of another insect is 58%. Since most living things are mostly water, this seems reasonable. The locusts are there mostly for the protein, and they are apparently an excellent source of protein. So it seems reasonable that adding 2% of practically pure protein adds a huge boost to the other ingredients.
Most importantly, the Holy Locust bars taste great! You can watch the video below of my uboxing (unwrappering) of this unique product and my first taste.
The most prominent flavor, of course, is the dates. The snack tastes not unlike many “fruit and grain” bars. There was no particular taste from the locusts, but the overall flavor did complement the dates. Again, it tastes not unlike any other fruit and grain bar you might find in the snack aisle of your favorite supermarket.
The cost of the bars is $19 for a box of six bars. If you order one or two boxes, shipping is a flat rate of $14.95. If you order three or more boxes, shipping is free. So they are not currently a cheap snack, as we’re sure you can find a comparable product at a lower price at your supermarket. But they are certainly an affordable product, if you wish to try this sustainable protein source. For the full locust experience, a small jar of whole locusts, oven roasted, is available for $12. The net weight of that product is not shown, but it appears to be about a dozen individual locusts. Other reviews I’ve seen are positive, and it looks like one of these would also be a tasty snack, suitable for a salty component of trail mix.
If you wish to cut out the middleman and capture your own locusts, you can find some recipes on this page.
No, John Didn’t Eat Carob Beans
Invariably, when Holy Locust mentions their product, some troll comes along and announces that John the Baptist wasn’t really eating locusts. I have a feeling that some of these people ordinarily consider themselves to be biblical literalists, but they’re just too squeamish to accept the fact that insects could be a food. The competing theory is that when the Bible says locust, it doesn’t really mean locust. Instead, by some convoluted logic, it really means the beans of a carob tree pod. This argument is easily put to rest. In the original Greek, the word for locust is ἀκρίδες (akrides). This word appears one other place in the New Testament, Revelation 9:3, “And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.” It strains credulity to think that carob beans are going to one day descend from the sky and start attacking. It’s clear that when Matthew said locusts, he was talking about locusts. I’ve had carob before, and it’s a somewhat tasty alternative to chocolate. But it’s not what John the Baptist was eating.
Insects for Emergency Preparedness
Since one of the focuses of this site is on emergency preparedness, it hasn’t escaped our notice that during a food emergency, locusts and other insects might constitute an emergency food source. Among many reference works on the subject is Insects: An Edible Field Guide by Stefan Gates. While it would not be economical to stock up on locusts for use in an emergency, one might gain some confidence in the locust as a nutritious food item now. And a good way to do that is to try some from Holy Locust.
Bottom Line
We know that most of our readers are not squeamish. And even those who are squeamish might overcome this condition by trying this healthful and tasty snack. While they’re a bit pricey, keep in mind that they come with bragging rights that you ate the same thing as John the Baptist. Their high protein sustained him in the wilderness, and they’ll do so for you as well.
תהנה מהארוחה שלך!
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