The consumption of insects is not rooted in traditional Western culture, which creates a barrier to integrate insects into our diets, especially among preadolescents. This study was executed during a Danish science outreach week to educate children on eating insects through educational activities. 11–13-y.o. children were invited to taste six different types of whole roasted or deep-fried insects (grasshoppers, cricket, bee larvae, wax moth larvae, buffalo worms and mealworms), asked to rate their liking (15-point hedonic scale) and describe the sensory properties for each insect (50 sensory attributes using Check-All-That-Apply format). Food neophobia was assessed using the Food Neophobia Test Tool to explore the link between food neophobia and hedonic responses of insects. Results showed significant differences in sensory and hedonic responses (p < 0.0001, respectively) between insect types. In general, insects showed low mean liking. They were distributed in two significantly different groups. Mealworms (6.9), buffalo worms (6.6), and bee larvae (6.4) had higher mean liking compared to crickets (5.2), wax moth larvae (5.1), and grasshoppers (4.7). Furthermore, 19 descriptors discriminated between insects demonstrating that insects vary in sensory characteristics. “Crunchy” was significantly associated with liking, highlighting the importance of this sensory attribute when promoting the consumption of edible insects in preadolescents. Insect liking decreased with increasing levels of food neophobia, which was also affected by age- and gender. The study offers new insights into the acceptance and sensory properties of commercial insects that can be used to promote insect consumption and for future product development targeted at this group.

昆虫的消费并不植根于传统的西方文化，这为将昆虫融入我们的饮食中造成了障碍，尤其是在青春期前的饮食中。这项研究是在丹麦科学推广周期间进行的，旨在通过教育活动教育儿童如何吃昆虫。11-13岁的孩子被邀请品尝六种不同类型的烤或油炸昆虫（蚱蜢、蟋蟀、蜜蜂幼虫、蜡蛾幼虫、水牛蠕虫和黄粉虫），并要求他们评价自己的喜好（15分享乐等级） ）并描述每种昆虫的感官特性（使用 Check-All-That-Apply 格式的 50 个感官特性）。使用食物恐吓症测试工具评估食物恐吓症，以探索食物恐吓症与昆虫的享乐反应之间的联系。结果显示昆虫类型之间的感觉和享乐反应存在显着差异（分别为 p < 0.0001）。一般来说，昆虫的喜好程度较低。他们分布在两个显着不同的组中。与蟋蟀（5.2）、蜡蛾幼虫（5.1）和蚱蜢（4.7）相比，粉虫（6.9）、水牛蠕虫（6.6）和蜜蜂幼虫（6.4）的平均喜好度更高。此外，19 个描述符对昆虫进行了区分，表明昆虫的感官特征有所不同。“松脆”与喜好显着相关，凸显了这种感官属性在促进青春期前食用昆虫消费时的重要性。随着食物恐惧症程度的增加，昆虫的喜好度降低，这也受到年龄和性别的影响。该研究为商业昆虫的接受度和感官特性提供了新的见解，可用于促进昆虫消费以及未来针对该群体的产品开发。