17 year cicadas, would you eat 'em?

[Dawgluver]

I saw on the news that some call them "land shrimp," and find them delicious, and the UN is suggesting people should eat more bugs, as they're an underused protein source. We don't get the 17 year guys here, but we get our fair share of other cicadas. Would (or have you) eat(en) them? How would you prepare them? How do they taste?

 

[forty_caliber]

Ummmm..... NO. Use them for bait. Eat the fish.

.40

 

[Hoot]

I was expecting an emergence around here. I either missed it, (which I 'spect would be moderately difficult) or it didn't happen. I was gonna give 'em a try...maybe next time.

 

[FrankZ]

I'd try em I suppose. Though I was under the impression they were supposed to be eaten just before they emerge.

 

[Dawgluver]

I think they can be eaten after they emerge, the entomologist on the news offered to demonstrate, but they turned him down pre-breakfast. I did see an article about not letting your dog eat too many because of the chiton....

I would maybe give it a try if they were cleaned and nicely breaded.

 

[vitauta]

i think it would take a necessity for me to overcome my revulsion, and eat cicadas or other insects. but i hate it that i am that way. i wish i wasn't....

 

[Aunt Bea]

I would give them a try!

I have always looked forward to trying various fish, game and plant life.

In my hippie daze I was a big fan of Euell Gibbons.

Better to try them now than wait until an emergency!

 

[GotGarlic]

Most people in the U.S. have no problem getting enough protein. I sure won't be eating bugs.

I haven't seen them yet, either, but I thought they were supposed to be out in June.

 

[GotGarlic]

I think they can be eaten after they emerge, the entomologist on the news offered to demonstrate, but they turned him down pre-breakfast. I did see an article about not letting your dog eat too many because of the chiton....

I would maybe give it a try if they were cleaned and nicely breaded.

I seriously don't see how they can be cleaned enough.

 

[vitauta]

i don't understand my own prejudices. i love snails, love the earthy flavor of them. and there is probably nothing i wouldn't gamely try to eat that comes from the sea....

 

[Oldvine]

It would depend how severe the famine is.

 

[MrsLMB]

Abso-friggin-lutely NOT !!

OMG I shudder at the thought .. I can't even get close to those creepy nasty looking things and I hate when they are here.

I don't eat anything like that ... DH says he would but then he was raised different and they ate squirrel .. cute little squirrels

If we get in a situation where we are scrounging I still wouldn't do it .. I'd starve first.

 

[Andy M.]

Of all the things I've watched Andrew Zimmern eat, insects are the one category that I can't handle. That includes crunchy fried ones with hard shells and soft gushy ones.

 

[Steve Kroll]

There are very few things I wouldn't try, including insects. I remember a project for home economics class in high school where we had to make foods that included insects. We baked earthworms, salted them, and sprinkled on top of a pizza. It wasn't a whole lot different than eating bacon bits.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

There are very few things I wouldn't try, including insects. I remember a project for home economics class in high school where we had to make foods that included insects. We baked earthworms, salted them, and sprinkled on top of a pizza. It wasn't a whole lot different than eating bacon bits.

Your earthworms must have been different than the earthworm I ate. It was the most revolting flavor that I have had to date. And I'm over a half century old. Don't think I'll try them ever again. If I had the chance to try edible insects, by someone who knew how to prepare them, I'd give them a try.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Zereh]

I'd like to think I'm adventurous but I just can't see myself voluntarily sticking cicadas in my mouth.

But if you served them up to me saying "oh, this is a family favorite" without divulging exactly what it was ... I'd try them.

Not sure why it makes me shudder to think about eating them, I mean, we eat all kinds of things that are equally gross if you think about (crawdads, snails, mussels, cows, pigs, etc....) LOL Mind over matter just isn't working for me on this one though.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Your earthworms must have been different than the earthworm I ate. It was the most revolting flavor that I have had to date.

Chief, here's the trick: they must be purged of all dirt before you cook them. Put them in damp oatmeal in the fridge for a couple of days and they will quite literally eat themselves clean.

 

[buckytom]

in younger days i liked to challenge myself by seeing if i could survive alone in the wilderness. movies like jeremiah johnson , the outlaw josey wales, deliverance, dances with wolves and others were my guides.

yeah, i was pretty stupid.

in my 20's, i took survival courses in the pine barrens of jersey, and hiked through the jungles of the yucatan in mexico with my buddy with little more than a bed roll, firestarter, and machete. and some liquid and combustible courage.

what i learned is if you're really hungry and really hurting, make a stew by grinding bugs and lizards so they're palatable. just about any kind that are non-poisonous.

but nothing with hair. hairy bugs are bad.

i wonder if cicadas are bitter. a lot of bugs are bitter. i guess it keeps them from being candy.

 

[FrankZ]

I don't eat anything like that ... DH says he would but then he was raised different and they ate squirrel .. cute little squirrels

I like squirrel.

 

[GrillingFool]

At the Natural Science Museum in Raleigh NC, they have an annual Bugfest.
One of the attractions is a tasting buffet of a few dishes made with bugs.
We used to go every year and give them a taste.
The problem was that the dishes the bugs were in generally were not
very tasty, just mediocre cooking in general. Which was bad, because
most people would, I think, associate the bad with the bugs, not the food.
They've had ant enchiladas, mealy bug cookies (yummy), scorpion stir fry,
water bug casserole, and a few other bugs. The only ones I didn't like were
the water bugs and other larger bugs that still had "goo". All the others
ranged from palatable to downright tasty.
I don't have a problem with eating bugs, and the more I watch Bizarre Foods
the more I want to go out gathering!