'Going to be a delicacy': If you've ever wanted to eat a cicada, your time is coming
When you think of cicadas you might not think 'yum, I'd eat that!' But, if you were wondering, you can and many people do.
And with an influx of the 17-year bugs reappearing, it may just be the opportunity for you to try them for yourselves.
In fact, the University of Maryland has even put together an entire cookbook of recipes just for cicadas.
"Cicadas have one of the longest lifespans of any insects - termite queens are actually longer, they can live 20 years - but in terms of time underground, 17 or 13 years, as far as I know, is the longest period of development of any insect, the longest developmental period of any insect," Professor Michael J. Raupp says. ...
Raupp is a professor at the University of Maryland in the Entomology Department and runs his own website, 'Bug of the Week.' ...
"They're safe to eat, I'll certainly be snacking on cicadas, there are many recipes," he said. "One of my favorites, of course, is the soft-shelled cicadas. Just after they mold, their skin is soft like a soft-shelled crab, and to me, that's a pretty good way to sample what a cicada tastes like."
Raupp says a good place to start is the cookbook written by Jenna Jadin and the University of Maryland 'Cicadamaniacs,' known as 'Cicada-licious,' which was written in 2004 and includes some "interesting recipes for preparing cicadas." ...
He adds that he doesn't understand people who find eating cicadas disgusting but eat food like oysters and clams.
"I wonder if you know what oysters and clams do for a living - they sit at the bottom of the bay filtering you know what out of the water, and I find it bizarre that somebody would eat that thing raw, but they wouldn't eat a cicada nymph that's been sucking on plant sap for 17 years," he said. "What is that about?" ...
