Locals try to save threatened, traditional ‘Mexican caviar’

BY FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ
Associated Press

CHIMALHUACAN, Mexico (AP) — In a shallow lake on the outskirts of Mexico City, a handful of farmers are trying to keep alive a culinary tradition dating to the Aztec empire. Caviar is typically associated sturgeons swimming the Caspian Sea. But the Mexican version is made from the tiny eggs of the an aquatic insect known as the “bird fly” because of its popularity with birds.  Similar bugs are often known as “water boatmen” in English. For farmer Juan Hernández, cultivating and collecting the insect eggs known as “ahuautle” is a way of life.