An aphid on my plate
Who knew bugs can hide out in broccoli?
I didn’t until I almost fed some to my kids. In some cultures eating bugs is a delicacy. In my house, eating bugs is something straight from one of the Nine Circles of Hell from Dante’s Inferno. Just letting the word ‘bug’ roll off your tongue is enough to send my wife and kids ducking for cover. Every time they see a bug, Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones” starts playing in my mind.
That said, knowingly eating bugs is unconscionable in my household.
When I almost fed my kids bug-infested broccoli, I seriously thought I was going to need a GoFundMe page for alimony, child support, legal fees, and a change of identity. Thankfully, my kids didn’t actually eat the broccoli, but I still felt bad—mostly because I ATE some of the critter-filled broccoli and my wife was giving me a soul-shattering side eye. Before you all judge me, let me share my story and point out that bugs called aphids can commonly hang out in broccoli.
My story: How I almost fed my kids bug-ridden broccoli (imagine television sound effects for a flashback).
Earlier that day, on my way home from the hospital, I went to Whole Foods to grab some groceries for dinner. Since I practically had to donate a kidney on the black market to afford Whole Food’s broccoli, I thought I was buying some top-notch broccoli that only grows in the Garden of Eden. Sadly, this was not true (unless Eden has a bunch of bugs). The broccoli looked a little dark to me, but it didn’t seem bad. I came home and started making the kids homemade enchiladas and steamed broccoli.
That black pepper wasn’t black pepper
Everything was going fine. When the enchiladas were almost done, I started steaming the broccoli (after a thorough rinse). I ate a couple of raw florets while the broccoli was steaming—it tasted fine. Before I seasoned the broccoli, my wife grabbed some and put it on the kids’ plates. Feeding the kids unseasoned steamed broccoli would only fill up our garbage can, not their bellies. When I mentioned the lack of seasoning, my wife responded, “There’s cracked black pepper all over the broccoli!” That seemed odd, so I let out cool, subtle Jay-Z laugh and simultaneously went to that ‘sunken place’ from the movie Get Out. There wasn’t any black pepper on the broccoli, so something was NOT right. I stealthily checked out the plates and saw a dead, black bug on one of them (insert foul language here).
That was the first time I saw bugs in broccoli or any food I’ve prepared. Right then, I thought of those British posters from World War II with that slogan, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” I calmly grabbed the plates and threw the broccoli in the trash like a criminal trying to get rid of the evidence (I probably would have used a black light if I had one). I almost destroyed all of the evidence, but my wife saw one bug hanging out under the steamer basket in the pot I used to cook the broccoli—so close yet so far. To vindicate myself, I needed to explore two questions: How did the bugs get into my broccoli and what type of insect(s) did I accidentally eat?
How I felt after accidentally eating bug-infested broccoli.
How did the bugs get into my Broccoli? Well, the FDA says it’s ok for some bugs to be there.
After doing some research, I realized that buying organic pesticide-free produce has a downside—the possibility of bugs. It makes sense. If you’re eating foods that weren’t soaked in Round Up and other pesticides, bugs may set up shop in your produce #facts. That’s a small price to pay considering the potential adverse health effects of pesticides. Even as I write this, the EPA is loosening rules allowing the use of previously banned pesticides. Hence, I’m not advocating avoiding organic produce, but bear in mind that the FDA does permit an acceptable/expected range of bugs in certain foods.
The FDA has a book called The Defect Levels Handbook. It establishes the “maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods for human use that present no health hazard.” Regarding broccoli, the FDA allows an “average of 60 or more aphids and/or thrips and/or mites per 100 grams.” That’s the equivalent of 204 bugs in a 12-ounce bag of broccoli. That’s crazy!
Ok, the FDA says aphids and thrips are ok to ‘kick it’ in our broccoli, but what are they?
The bug in my broccoli was an aphid. After eating one, I had to look them up. Here’s everything you need to know (it’s really not much).
- They’re bugs
- They eat broccoli. Some only eat broccoli.
- They won’t kill you if you eat them, not that I’m advocating you eat them. I just want to point out that you don’t have to drink some activated charcoal, induce vomiting, pray, or go to the local ER if you eat one. Relax, you won’t birth an alien baby if you ingest one.
- They won’t cause an infestation in your house or refrigerator.
How do you decrease your risk of eating bugs in broccoli and other veggies?
- Simple: Thoroughly inspect your veggies after you rinse them. Regarding broccoli, bugs often hide within the florets. In my case, some of them probably tried to escape when I was steaming the broccoli. Don’t make my mistake.
Thanks man. Would love to get your knowledge some time on: organic vegetables, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, and non-organic vegetables (but still steamed). I’m a huge frozen vegetable guy, especially broccoli lol.
Hey Mike! Good to hear from you. I prefer organic veggies for a lot of reasons, mostly because of pesticides. There are some veggies that don’t require a lot of pesticides, so you should be good with the non-organic versions. Check out the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen from the environmental working group https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php#.WjarXVVG2u4. I’ll probably write an article about this. In terms of frozen vs fresh. Both are good. Just recognize that the freezing process may preserve some nutrients, but destroy others. Also, for fresh veggies, the nutrients deplete as the veggies are sitting on the shelf in stores or in transit. Canned veggies are ok if other veggies aren’t available. Find low sodium ones in bpa free cans or jars.
No, really, how do you get rid of the aphids? I keep reading that you can soak the plant in salt water or vinegar and then rinse them away. I don’t think I could separate the aphids from the broccoli (home grown) without the aid of a pressure washer.
Soaking the plant water, then rinsing is all you really need to do.
Not true! Soaking the plant with vinegar and salt might get rid of a few bugs but they will be dozens more left! This is a dirty secret thats does not want attention. I no longer eat organic broccoli until a company steps up and grows it bug free. Yes, I am willing to pay triple the price!
I picked up some brocolli from my garden today. I saw the bugs and tried to wash them thoroughly. After about 3-4 times there were still bugs coming off. I tried hot water, combined with vinegar. The bugs were still coming off. I soaked it for hours, changing the water regularly. Now there are much less than before, but still some come out. I wonder if its worth it all this water waste… I also wonder if it is related to the age of the plant.
It’s frustrating. It shouldn’t have much to do with the age of the broccoli. Baking soda may help, but it’s going to affect the taste of the broccoli. You may have to look through the florets carefully and remove the aphids manually.
I work in a grocery store in the produce department and work on cut broccoli. I still see ions of gray aphid bugs hugging parts of the broccoli. I soak them in hot water and have seen aphids floating off, then rinse in cold water and some bugs are still left on there. The best remedy is I wear disposable gloves and I pick them off if time allows. I also see bugs in organic brussel sprouts and see slugs in organic celery. Another good plan is to not eat much broccoli.
Wow! Thanks for the tips.
This is the best article I have found on this subject! You had me hysterical. Thank you, this was very helpful and entertaining!
We grow veggies in our summer garden and if you harvest the broccoli early enough after maturity there should be little to no infestation. You can also use cheese cloth to cover the veggies while they mature!
I like the cheesecloth idea
I was thinking maybe cut the florets in to slices or cubes and then you can get them all out. Like cut them as much as you can just to make sure they are all out. I have stopped eating broccoli for a while cause the bugs put me off but maybe I should give it another go.
Give it another go. Broccoli is definitely healthy
Great story, thanks for sharing! My brother is an organic gardener and lucky for me, lives one block away; I discovered bugs in broccoli pretty much this same way. First time was a true shocker; but as you said, carefully washing while searching for them, is a fairly easy way to get them out. After routinely finding insects in his produce, I started researching which insects are not only edible but packed with nutrition. This book is a good place to start: “Edible: An Adventure into the World of Eating Insects and the Last Great Hope to Save the Planet.” There are dozens of similar works out there, some with recipes. Haven’t tried any, though, I think my Western World squeamishness always gets the best of me. 🙂 Peace,
I have to check out that book. Thanks for sharing
Hey, it was my first time today starting to wonder how many broccoli riding bugs I have eaten to date… After a microscope check the whole broccoli of today was QC ok to go to the bin. Thank you for sharing your experience and for reassuring humans aren’t tasty to them…
Thanks for the feedback
I just wanted to give you a GIGANTIC thank you! Tonight, we found aphids in our broccoli after steaming it. My 11 year old son, who has been identified as having Aspergers (Autism Level 1), went into quite the panic. He was perseverating on it., he was having a hard time eating any other food, and his panic even brought him to tears. I quietly pulled out my phone and opened the first search result for ‘bugs in broccoli.’ I found this.
The information you included, the tone of your writing, and the jokes that were placed throughout the writing calmed his fears quickly. You had him at “eating bugs is something straight from one of the Nine Circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno,” and he was completely sold by “[insert foul language here.]”
Anyhow- I just wanted to say thank you for being you because what you wrote and HOW you wrote it came together just perfectly for my son tonight.
Thank you, thank you, thank, you,
Sam
Thanks so much. I’m glad the article was helpful.
So, how nutritious are Aphids? My kale is covered with aphids. I found your article while researching to see if I can just eat the aphids along with the kale. It seems to me that they must be concentrating nutrients that I would wash away if I washed them away.
Grow up. Broccoli has aphids. If it doesn’t it has been treated with insecticide. So, eat the dead aphids or eat insecticide. Me? I’ll take the aphids.
Good point
That was a way friendlier reply to that comment than I would’ve given. 😅
Anyway, thanks for a great article! I am choosing to not “grow up” because I just found these bugs in my organic broccoli from the grocery store, freaked out, took videos, threw them in the garbage, and went to google. I appreciate your perspective and humor!
good thing I read this before inducing vomit after inhaling aphid-filled broccoli….. still ugh 🙁
Ha. I’ve been there before😂.
Funny article! I think you would be interested in the Orthodox Jewish perspective on this. Eating one bug would cause you to transgress no less than 6 different prohibitions, so Orthodox Jews take the washing and checking very seriously and actually have it down to a science. Broccoli is notoriously infested and hard to check – a simple rinse will never get rid of all the bugs. And most produce have bugs and need more than a simple rinse. Check out this guide if you want to be REALLY sure you never serve your kids bugs 🙂 https://www.star-k.org/checking
One correction. They can, indeed, cause an infestation in your refrigerator. 🙂 Speaking from experience. Quarantine your organic greens before they go in the fridge.
What’s the big deal? Blanche your broccoli before eating it. You’ll see lots of dead buggies floating at the top of the pot. Give it a second rinse post blanching and then roast it. Not only will it taste yummy but any left over bugs will be deader than doorknobs before you eat them.