A former Bishops’ Blue Coat CE High School student has won the Institute of Food, Science and Technology’s North of England Young Scientist competition with an unusual but protein-packed concoction – mealworm bread.
Baking with mealworms might not curry favour with Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, but it was enough to convince food scientists that Gemma Lamb, who is in the final stages of a food, nutrition and health degree at the University of Huddersfield, deserved the accolade for her recipe and the research that went into it.
The 22-year-old from Little Sutton was announced as the winner after being selected as a finalist and giving a presentation – which included the panel of judges sampling the bread.
Gemma was awarded £200 and a year’s free membership of the IFST.
The project that earned her victory is the basis of her final-year dissertation and has left her in no doubt that if people in the West overcame their prejudice, the insects could be a valuable and environmentally-sustainable source of protein for human beings.
'Distinctive smell'
She said: “The trend for protein is going higher and higher in the UK and in other countries, so we are going to have to start to think of alternative sources.
“When mealworms are farmed, they produce much less carbon dioxide and don’t need as much land as cattle.”
Gemma has eaten mealworms, which she says ‘don’t particularly taste horrible’, but admitted that they have a distinctive smell which can be off-putting.
So, to mask any unpleasant odours she included copious quantities of basil and garlic.
She conducted a sensory analysis test, serving her bread and a control sample without mealworms to her fellow students.
Analysis showed that ultimately there was no difference in the response between the two recipes, so she concluded that mealworms could be made more widely acceptable.
Gemma has been keen to pursue a career in food since her days at Bishops’ Blue Coat, where home economics was her favourite subject.
With graduation on the horizon, Gemma has already secured a job as a process technologist at sauce manufacturer New Ivory.
