Jumiles
Stink bugs native to Mexico
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Related on Lably
Through Iodine
Use as food
Jumiles are collected for their culinary value and may be roasted, fried, ground, or eaten raw. A salsa is prepared by combining fresh tomatoes, chiles, and onions with jumiles that have been mashed in a molcajete. The salsa is served with corn tortillas. The beginning of the jumil season on November 1 is the occasion of a large fiesta in Taxco. Fiesta-goers gather in the mountain park of Huisteco to collect jumiles and to crown a Jumil Queen. Jumiles are plentiful from November until February and become scarce after the first rains.
Jumiles have a cinnamon-like odor. They are considered an acquired taste due to their high iodine content, which imparts a bitter, medicinal flavor. Jumiles are also a good source of tryptophan and the vitamins riboflavin and niacin.

