Gusanitos de maguey

People in this country seem prejudiced against the idea of eating insects—until they taste the haunting, smoky Salsa de Gusanitos. Unfortunately you will not be able to find these delicious tidbits unless you travel to Oaxaca or ask a friend to bring them back from there. They are the specially dried, smoked larvae of a tiny insect that lives on the maguey plants. I have not given up hope that an importer will recognize the value of gusanitos as a seasoning and make them available to a wider public. Meanwhile, travelers should look for them in herbal remedy stalls in the market. They are sold in strings of 100.