Mmmm, Crunchy!
December 16, 2015 Hey, kids! Do you know what day it is?!
It's Chocolate Covered Anything Day!
;)
[Kermit flail]
YAAAAAAAY!
Yep, today is the day when you can take anything and everything and cover it in CHOCOLATE!!!
;)
And you thought chocolate-covered bacon was awesome.
Caught a fish on your camping trip?
;)
Cover it in chocolate!
Wolf Spider crawling on you in the middle of the night?
;)
COVER IT IN CHOCOLATE.
There's literally no end to the things you can cover in chocolate!
Right, guys?
;)
Ew.
Um...
;)
Hang on.
Dipped or sculpted?
[grabbing baker by lapels]
DIPPED OR SCULPTED?!
Well, whichever it is, you're going to larva this one:
;)
*hurk*
Okay, seriously. Japan? We need to talk.
[putting arm around Japan]
Look, I get it. You're fun! You're kooky! Hello Kitty and tentacles and all that. But chocolate covered beetles? Really? Is that even a thing?
It is?
*sigh*
Well, could you at least make them a little less creepy?
;)
Apparently not.
Thanks to Kristina M., Cattie P., Jessica C., Amy M., & D.L., who will never look at that chocolate fountain in Golden Corral the same way again.
*****
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Reader Comments (39)
I shall cover my eyes in chocolate and I will be at peace.
Not going to lie, I'd still eat whatever that first one is.
I love chocolate but ewww Dx
What is the first something covered in chocolate? There are some ominous lumps on top of an otherwise delicious and well-made dessert.
Please someone explain what Japan is doing with the beetles. It surely has some cultural significance that we American's just don't understand and are too lazy to look into for ourselves.
I think the beetle cakes were started by Komatsuya Honten. If you google, CNN has an article.
"Cover it in chocolate!" is the new "Put a bird on it!"
I don't get the bug eating over there in Asia. That's so gross. Throwing chocolate on it doesn't make it any better.
John, thank you for reminding me that I once almost bought what I thought was a box of assorted chocolates at a fancy schmancy chocolate shop, until I was told to be sure and read the box more carefully. Yep, there is was in tiny print "Contains chocolate covered ants, baby bees and grasshoppers". No thank you! No more fancy schmancy chocolate shops for me, I'll stick to Hershey thank you. Talk about having a creepy crawly feeling after eating one of those choco-insect delights! ugh!
JoJo : apparently, insects are the future of food. Since our overconsummation of meat is endangering the environment, insects will eventually be a solution for getting proteins we need.
And since Japan is the vanguard of everything on this planet, they took a step ahead by covering them in chocolate. Bon appétit!
@Carrie, That would make a great "Portlandia" sketch. Gotta keep Portland weird.
@SueBee, That might just be my new motto :^ )
Hmmm...much as I adore chocolate, I think today I will instead celebrate both Jane Austen and Beethoven's birthdays. And, I'm with @Moira -- what the heck is that first thing supposed to be?
I'm with SuBee ^^
I kinda like them...
Beetle collecting is a very popular hobby in Japan (it's what inspired Pokémon) so that's probably why the beetle cakes are a thing.
I am reminded of the chocolate covered cotton in "Catch-22".
The beetle one with the larva and tag that says "Merry Christmas" was very well done. Sculpted insects, I'm fine with. The fish and the pig's head, however, are straight to Nopeville. The pig head is very well sculpted, to be sure, it's just a situation where one thing should not be connected to the other.
And the fish? Nightmare fuel. It looks like they dragged a legit fish through Hershey's chocolate syrup and put it on foam. Nope nope nope.
Ha--"Kermit flail" Love it.
One word: urp.
Your photo comments just crack me up! Thanks for the laugh!
"You're going to larva" bahah, I died when I read that!
Wow. I had no idea what that second one was, and even the mention of bacon didn't make it any clearer. It wasn't until I read the comments that I realized it's a pig head. Now I see it, and it's really quite obvious. Before, I was focusing on the nostrils, thinking they were some kind of evil-looking eyes, and the ears looked like some kind of weird wings. I thought it might be some kind of deformed, evil bird.
Either way, I wouldn't want to eat it.
Those beetles are sculpted. Elephant beetles (the one with horn a could be a horn beetle) I believe poisonous and others (jen's "dipped or sculpted) I think are representative of dung beetles. (I say this because they DO design such cakes...)
Perhaps someday I shall be forced to voluntarily consume creepy-crawlies, or go hungry. Before that day, I will be desperately trying to grow pinto beans, and begging my chicken-keeping friends for eggs. Long, long, LONG before I eat a beetle, and I hope to heaven IT"S NOT A DUNG BEETLE!! *hurk*
@Athena: I saw that Ted Talks too. I may overconsume meat, scarf down a steak, or chomp some chicken. However, I will not overconsummate meat. I love it, but not in *that* way.
Slimey yet satisfying!
Mmm. Nothing says "Christmas" like chocolate beetles and larvae.
So I saw "chocolate" and "Kermit" and my brain went straight to "Crunchy Frog". :-P
AnotherJenn, I caught the Lion King reference. Love it.
The first one looks to me like Kirk Douglas playing a Cyclops.
Stag beetles are a good luck symbol in Germany, used on Christmas cards and decorations. I think the Japanese baker is German-inspired.
The Japanese beetle thing is because they actually keep beetles as pets. Stag beetles and similar ones are hugely popular as a pet for little kids and are frequently even classroom pets in kindergarten and elementary school, like hamsters or gerbils are in the U.S. I used to teach over there, so I got to do a lot of "admiring" of my kids' pets.
Worst part, the beetles eat this jelly thing that is packaged exactly like some other jelly candies intended for human consumption. It's even sold in grocery stores. I was very very glad I was able to read Japanese BEFORE I moved there!!
I can honestly say chocolate does NOT go with everything. I wouldn't go near those creepy things even for a million bucks lol. Eww
@ JMixx -- I LOVE a careful reader (missed that).
to be fair I LOVED the first cake and I love chocolate heehee.
Oh, how horrifying!
Here in Switzerland, we get chocolate beetles in spring. They're called Maikaefer (May Beetle), but they're made from molds, so they're hollow. They're delicately decorated and look nothing like real beetles. Here though, I'm not so sure of that.
BTW, adore the blog!
"Japan? We have to talk..."
Several guffaws. Thnx
Maybe it's a (s)carob beetle? Mwaahaha! *hangs head* Sorry.
Having spent weeks of classes trying to learn to temper chocolate properly, I have a newfound admiration for the two very shiny beetles in the last two pictures. Admiration, not desire to possess, however.
The first actually looks pretty tasty.
LOL!! "Overconsummation". I don't think that word means what you think it means.