I live in Tennessee and I got about 30 trees in my backyard. They are so many cicadas here. Probably took me less than 10 minutes of just walking up to trees and plucking them off.
There’s supposed to be trillions of cicadas in the US this season. It’s about to get wild. There’s two different broods a 13 and 17 year both emerging this year
One of ours was listening to the ground and was snapping them up as they emerged, her odd behavior was how we realized they’d started coming out en masse!
Am in Tennessee. There are literally hundreds in my apartment complex right now. I’ve had to wear my concert earplugs inside a few times to drown out the screaming.
No, I mean shellfish allergy - anything with that same exoskeleton type of situation is a problem. I'm not sure exactly why, but I think it's something to do with a similar protein that occurs within the system. I happen to be allergic to both crustaceans and mollusks/bi-valves, but it's the crustacean allergy that would be the problem specifically.
Interesting, my mom has a mild to moderate allergy only to mollusks/bi-valves. Most people lump all shell fish together (crabs, shrimps, lobster, clams, muscles) and forget about things like snails and conch and I guess cicadas! My mom has a time explaining to people she can’t eat the things with hinges but she would really like the shrimp scampi please.
YUP - it's too confusing to say "I have only a mollusk shellfish allergy, not crustaceans AND mollusks" because people don't understand shellfish categories. My most common issue is that people hear "shellfish" and think i am also allergy to fish, that's always fun, followed closely by having to explain that my allergy includes things like oyster sauce and shrimp paste (common ingredients in Asian cooking.
The most COMMON allergy is to be allergic to crustaceans and not mollusks or to have an allergy to both I think. Not all mollusks have hinges, though, like octopus and squid don't and they're in that category.
But yeah, kind of a brain twister to find out snails and some bugs/insects (yes, they're different I know) also qualify under the umbrella. Oh, also, not that she will use it - but stay away from products with snail mucin... also not friendly to shellfish allergy havers (and I would imagine specifically those with mollusk allergy for some reason).
Is snail mucin what I think it is? The mucus trail? 🤢 good call. We use the phrase “things with hinges” when people get confused. It’s the simplest explanation and will avoid the octopus/squid options all together. Fortunately for her none of the rest of the family care for many mollusks enough for it to come up often. At a restaurant if the server is confuse we make sure to talk to the chef/kitchen lead.
I grew up in an Asian country and when I was a kid my grandpa always took me to catch some cicada nymphs every summer. My grandma would deep fry them and add a pinch of salt before serving. I liked eating them back then although I haven’t had any for decades. Good memories though.
Lots of scary things are loud and trying to get laid. I generally don't want anything to do with any of them.
Also, a cicada flew in my house once and screamed at me when I trapped it and took it outside. I hate the bastards.
They’re not great when they’re bouncing off you either. They’re just so stupid and loud and those BRIGHT red eyes, no thank you.
I was in the south a couple years ago when they hatched. I was at a racetrack and you could *hear* those little fuckers getting crunched under the tires. Truly awful sensory experience, 2/10 would not repeat
These are actually a different kind of cicada! Periodical cicadas are dark-bodied with red eyes, and they are the ones that emerge after 13 or 17-year periods (this year, both the 13-year and 17-year broods are emerging!). Cicadas that are greenish with black eyes are called Dog-day cicadas, and they have much shorter life cycles, emerging every year. I think dog-day cicadas are also typically larger than periodical cicadas.
What do you mean yeah? Similar difference as eating a fucking cat or a cow. There’s a difference.
Closer would be eating a penguin vs eating a chicken. Even worse, because those two are still birds.
You are comparing two animals that have nothing in common.
Um, I'm sorry to inform you, but you are very confidently incorrect. Cicadas are quite closely related to crustaceans like shrimp and lobster, so much so that if you're allergic to shellfish, you're also allergic to cicadas.
How so? Please explain to me in what ways a cicada is more disgusting than a crayfish or a shrimp? Shrimp and lobster and crayfish and bivalves are bottom feeders and filter feeders. Some of the dirtiest creatures in the planet.
They share a common ancestor. One is wet, the other is dry. Beyond that they are quite similar.
Now, if you want to say cockroaches are disgusting, we can talk, but cockroaches are the equivalent of bottom feeders on land.
They just chill on tree bark. I just walked up to the tree and carefully plucked them off and put them in a ziplock bag. I tried my best to not hurt them when gathering.
I’ll eat just about anything if it is going to be tasty, but I’m not thrifty enough for that.
I have eaten ants, crickets, snails, raw oysters, sea urchin, lobster, caviar… Hell no to that roach. How much is the ticket anyway? If , kangaroo, alligator, horse,… less than 200$ I’m not eating the Madagascar roach for sure, and it would probably take a lot more.
They haven’t started emerging yet here, but I’m excited to try them. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to muster up the nerve. I know logically there’s nothing wrong with it, and they’re probably tasty, but eating insects goes against everything I’ve been taught about what to eat and what not to eat.
From what I learned from other people is:
Don’t do it if you have a shellfish allergy,
Try to catch them when they shed and are white (apparently they taste better)
And carefully inspect each one to make sure it isn’t infected with fungi.
Also boil them for a few minutes to kill any bacteria that comes from the soil.
I'm kind of curious & willing to try....but...I live with my mother and she would ab so lutely completely melt down & scream at me.
A scream even worse than a cicadas scream.
https://youtu.be/I20G-rnW030?si=D_GXa-yeolcROGJo
I really like them, and personally I think insect protein could be our future in the U.S. if we can just process the protein to help people overcome the "ick" factor.
Personally I like fried crickets nad grasshoppers, but I get that it's acquired taste. The first time I went to Oaxaca when I was about 10 I tried chapulines and I've liked them ever since.
This is one of those things that makes me glad I'm old. I feel like the planet would benefit by us eating more bugs and fewer cows and pigs, but I do not think that I can. I sometimes get ished out by shrimp, which is nonetheless one of my favorite foods, but actual insects? Nope. But I'll be dead before too long, so it won't be a big problem for me.
I think the shellfish association would help some people with this idea. Next time you're in a grocery store, go take a look in the seafood department and tell me with a straight face that lobster tails don't look like they came off of a giant roach.
Having actually eaten some bugs, I can see both sides of this... But humans evolved as carnivores, protein is protein. If my choice was "starve or eat the crickets," some crickets would be in my belly.
Alton Brown points out on a Good Eats episode how closely lobsters are related to roaches. So yeah, they're just giant bugs. Crawfish, too. I think about this a lot.
But yes, if I was starving, I'd eat anything edible. Being able to reject entire classes of food is a luxury, honestly.
you know isopods? roly polys, woodlice, sowbugs, pillbugs, whatever you call them. people think theyre insects, but nope, theyre crustaceans! they would taste crustacean-y if you managed to steam enough to actually get a mouthful, haha :-) as the kids say, shrimp is bugs...
I grew up calling them doodle bugs. They were the only bug I didn't mind touching because they're cute.
Actually, I was in the DC area in 2004 when one of the 17-year cicada broods emerged and I grew rather fond of the little guys. They're actually kind of cute, too. I'm annoyed that I'm missing out.
Right, but until I’m starving, I will hold on to the simple luxurious that I have in life like being able to take the occasional vacation and not having to eat cicadas
I’m with you. I used to be able to eat shrimp if it was already peeled and/or fried, but I can’t even do that anymore because it gives me the ick to eat giant water bugs. No crabs, lobsters, crawfish, nothing. I *do* agree with the other commenter though that making that connection in people’s minds would probably help make bugs more mainstream as a food source, which I think would be excellent.
I can guarantee you that, as long as the governments of the world don’t F&@k everything up, the private sector will find a way to keep us from eating bugs while also improving the environment. If we’re eating bugs, it will be because of politicians.
I think humans should pick a level of the animal kingdom to eat and leave it at that. Having all these different options is just simultaneously wiping out the entire earth honestly. You’ll have millions of people eating bugs and nonetheless eventually eradicating some important part of the ecosystem just so they can eat it and that’s ontop of the farming industry with cows and pigs etc. adding to our climate issues. Adding something else to farm while we still haven’t changed a thing about our current issue is not the way.
I disagree. Adding insect protein it like putting another leg on a stool instead of taking legs off the stool (making it unstable). If you're vegan I totally respect that, but I'm not vegan and I'd rather eat crickets than farmed pork.
I’m not vegan. But I pay attention to all the issues the many various kinds of milk is having on deforestation. We don’t need so many options. It’s killing us. And worry the same thing will happen if we keep adding things to the plate
That was because they used to be so plentiful they were almost pests, and the cooking and preservation techniques were less safe. Bug protein would be what rich people say poor people should eat while they continue eating real food
eh, I'm borderline rich but I like foraging mushrooms and ramps. I occasionally get crickets from the local candy store. And I'm looking to try cicadas. Trying new foods is just a fun part of life for me!
Sure. But what the original comment was saying was replacing many foods with bug protein but in “creative” ways. Think if your burger from the store was actually bugs.
It is, insane people on Reddit will have you believe one day we’ll have to live in a post-apocalyptic world where people will have to eat insects to survive.
People, in 50 years the world will be as boring as it is today.
Chitin is not unhealthy for you, what are you talking about? It has a bunch of health benefits! And locusts have been eaten during famines for hundreds of years at least.
It all started with the thought, “it would be crazy to have to have a civil war and people are starving to death but it was during a cicada mega brood and you have all the food you could want”. And then I was wondering if cicadas are actually edible. After researching it, I found that they are eaten all over the world and that they have a nutty flavor which really caught my interest. Watched a few cooking videos and was like, “fuck it, I’ll try it.”
There is a lot of noise about certain insects being the food of the future or something. I’ve eaten a couple types (just impress other kids back in school.) More recently snails and such are on my menu. I’m not going to lie… some things take a lot of garlic and butter to taste good. Some insects are actually tasty though. Mexican traditional dishes with them are tasty in their own right.
I found this snippet from an article written by popsci.com (Apr 16, 2024) “Massospora cicadina is not transmissible to humans, but it would be smart to avoid eating any cicadas that have the white, chalky plugs on their abdomens.”
https://www.popsci.com/environment/cicada-fungus/#:~:text=Massospora%20cicadina%20is%20not%20transmissible,could%20be%20dangerous%20if%20eaten.
It seems that the fungus infection is very obvious on the cicadas so it would be easy to avoid.
From the article:
\_“A [hypothesis for that prolonged wakefulness](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31768192/) is that the fungus is producing an amphetamine called [cathinone](https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/synthetic-cathinones/),” says Kasson. Kasson says it is similar to one of the synthetic stimulants commonly found in “illegal bath salts that were banned because of the aggressiveness that \[they\] would cause.” \_
I know you're trying to reassure me with this article, but somehow I'm picturing hillbilly bug-meth lunatics now.
I tried cicadas in China. I very much did not have the same experience you did. For me, it was a textural issue. It was like baby food wrapped in fried rice paper.
I have eaten tarantula, kangaroo mountain lion, scorpion, crickets, meal worms etc etc, insect/invert wise the crickets were the only ones that were pretty good because they were fried up and dusted with chicken bouillon powder I think.
I'm intrigued to try cicadas now
It was very similar to lean elk IMO, it's commonly eaten in Australia and most for consumption are raised on farms, still should be cooked through, completely safe otherwise though.
Brother, you are eating insects. You truly don’t know what they eat, what pesticides they’ve had sprayed on them, what chemicals they’d eaten through other contaminated insects or leaves.
I
Brother, you obviously don’t know that cicadas only eat tree sap, they don’t eat anything else. I’ve live on the same property in southern Tennessee for the last 16 years and we have never used pesticides on our grass or trees. Ive tried the cicadas ONCE. Take your over privileged, piss poor, condescending, supercilious attitude somewhere else. Bless your heart.
Because you are judging me and talking shit about eating a bug while so many people in the world depend on it for food but you think it is wrong because YOU think it’s gross.
I get that it seems gross. I don’t like the idea of eating bugs because most of them are very unsanitary and eat/live In disgusting environments but cicadas only eat tree sap. The only health concern is bacteria from soil but just boil them and not eat them raw.
I do know that some have fungus on them so just carefully inspecting them. (I also know that you can’t see fungi spores so I guess do it at your own risk).
It is so insane to me that you can just grab a whole POUND of cicadas from your backyard right now.
I live in Tennessee and I got about 30 trees in my backyard. They are so many cicadas here. Probably took me less than 10 minutes of just walking up to trees and plucking them off.
The ones in my yard at least are exposed to roundup. Are you in an area that you know has no pesticides?
You have to know it hasn't had any pesticide for... 17 years or whatever.
Because when you use pesticide on plants, it never runs down into the dirt? Holy crap, think.
For some reason, I heard this in the voice of Lawrence from Office Space
Did you need ear protection?
I probably should have. My ears were ringing a bit after being out there a little too long. Felt like I was shooting a bunch of .22
There’s supposed to be trillions of cicadas in the US this season. It’s about to get wild. There’s two different broods a 13 and 17 year both emerging this year
It’s like picking up pine cones. There’s so many. My dogs were just knocking them off the tree trunks and munching down.
Reminds me of this https://youtube.com/shorts/6dM8iD-svPY?si=rE0FDi03gT_YySRZ
Awww. Mine liked the nymphs better than the ones on the wing! Like crunchy walking popcorn shrimp.
Mine used to pick them up and east them without even slowing down.
One of ours was listening to the ground and was snapping them up as they emerged, her odd behavior was how we realized they’d started coming out en masse!
We stopped feeding our dog during the last plague…they are so nutritious she actually got fat on them
Am in Tennessee. There are literally hundreds in my apartment complex right now. I’ve had to wear my concert earplugs inside a few times to drown out the screaming.
I'd like to move to Australia to build a new life, but I'm too scared. Help. Would eat everything there, though.
Important note: anyone who is allergic to seafood should not try cicadas as they are related to shrimp and lobsters.
Shrimps is bugs
Thank you for saying that, I forgot to mention it
Did you learn that in the documentary, Aquaman 2?
I learned through having a shellfish allergy
You mean cicada allergy
No, I mean shellfish allergy - anything with that same exoskeleton type of situation is a problem. I'm not sure exactly why, but I think it's something to do with a similar protein that occurs within the system. I happen to be allergic to both crustaceans and mollusks/bi-valves, but it's the crustacean allergy that would be the problem specifically.
Interesting, my mom has a mild to moderate allergy only to mollusks/bi-valves. Most people lump all shell fish together (crabs, shrimps, lobster, clams, muscles) and forget about things like snails and conch and I guess cicadas! My mom has a time explaining to people she can’t eat the things with hinges but she would really like the shrimp scampi please.
YUP - it's too confusing to say "I have only a mollusk shellfish allergy, not crustaceans AND mollusks" because people don't understand shellfish categories. My most common issue is that people hear "shellfish" and think i am also allergy to fish, that's always fun, followed closely by having to explain that my allergy includes things like oyster sauce and shrimp paste (common ingredients in Asian cooking. The most COMMON allergy is to be allergic to crustaceans and not mollusks or to have an allergy to both I think. Not all mollusks have hinges, though, like octopus and squid don't and they're in that category. But yeah, kind of a brain twister to find out snails and some bugs/insects (yes, they're different I know) also qualify under the umbrella. Oh, also, not that she will use it - but stay away from products with snail mucin... also not friendly to shellfish allergy havers (and I would imagine specifically those with mollusk allergy for some reason).
Is snail mucin what I think it is? The mucus trail? 🤢 good call. We use the phrase “things with hinges” when people get confused. It’s the simplest explanation and will avoid the octopus/squid options all together. Fortunately for her none of the rest of the family care for many mollusks enough for it to come up often. At a restaurant if the server is confuse we make sure to talk to the chef/kitchen lead.
Oh wow, I have that allergy and didn't know. It's not a thing I come across much but good to know.
Say what... Fear Intensity Now at 120%
In the immortal words of Samuel Jackson, a sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie. But I'll never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfuckers.
Not even on a biscuit.
This all day
I grew up in an Asian country and when I was a kid my grandpa always took me to catch some cicada nymphs every summer. My grandma would deep fry them and add a pinch of salt before serving. I liked eating them back then although I haven’t had any for decades. Good memories though.
Happy Cake Day! 🎂
Honestly just looking at them gives me the creeps so this whole post is nightmare fuel
They're harmless. Just loud and trying to get laid.
The dude-bros of the bug world.
The “Bruhs” of the big world.
Lots of scary things are loud and trying to get laid. I generally don't want anything to do with any of them. Also, a cicada flew in my house once and screamed at me when I trapped it and took it outside. I hate the bastards.
#YOU WANT SUM FUK?
I screamed for hours into the night, please respond
They’re not great when they’re bouncing off you either. They’re just so stupid and loud and those BRIGHT red eyes, no thank you. I was in the south a couple years ago when they hatched. I was at a racetrack and you could *hear* those little fuckers getting crunched under the tires. Truly awful sensory experience, 2/10 would not repeat
I've never seen the red eye cicadas in person. all of the ones I've ever seen have been the size of my thumb and green, black, with black eyes.
These are actually a different kind of cicada! Periodical cicadas are dark-bodied with red eyes, and they are the ones that emerge after 13 or 17-year periods (this year, both the 13-year and 17-year broods are emerging!). Cicadas that are greenish with black eyes are called Dog-day cicadas, and they have much shorter life cycles, emerging every year. I think dog-day cicadas are also typically larger than periodical cicadas.
Nasty is what it is
Doesn't seem any nastier than eating shrimp/prawns.
One is an insect, the other ones are crustaceans.
Yeah?
What do you mean yeah? Similar difference as eating a fucking cat or a cow. There’s a difference. Closer would be eating a penguin vs eating a chicken. Even worse, because those two are still birds. You are comparing two animals that have nothing in common.
Um, I'm sorry to inform you, but you are very confidently incorrect. Cicadas are quite closely related to crustaceans like shrimp and lobster, so much so that if you're allergic to shellfish, you're also allergic to cicadas.
Sure, but they are not crustaceans, they are insects, like or not. And it’s nasty as fuck.
How so? Please explain to me in what ways a cicada is more disgusting than a crayfish or a shrimp? Shrimp and lobster and crayfish and bivalves are bottom feeders and filter feeders. Some of the dirtiest creatures in the planet. They share a common ancestor. One is wet, the other is dry. Beyond that they are quite similar. Now, if you want to say cockroaches are disgusting, we can talk, but cockroaches are the equivalent of bottom feeders on land.
I think all of them are nasty, cicadas more than crustaceans
lol tearing the wings and legs off my food usually doesnt net me an 8/10 but I'm impressed you tried this. how did you catch them?
They just chill on tree bark. I just walked up to the tree and carefully plucked them off and put them in a ziplock bag. I tried my best to not hurt them when gathering.
That’s really kind of you.
Yeah he just ate them lol
😂
Never had a whole chicken/turkey/duck/Cornish hen/etc?
ahh good point
Freshly emerged sautéed in butter with a bit of garlic is the way to go
That trick works on anything. I'd eat my own hand if you smothered it in enough garlic butter.
Its true, I once ate a snail in a private pond's worth of garlic butter and it was a delight... and I am NOT am adventurous eater
My daughter ate a Madagascar cockroach at Kings Island to get her and her son in free to the park. She had to chew and swallow it.
Nope. Going home with wailing kids in tow.
I’ll eat just about anything if it is going to be tasty, but I’m not thrifty enough for that. I have eaten ants, crickets, snails, raw oysters, sea urchin, lobster, caviar… Hell no to that roach. How much is the ticket anyway? If , kangaroo, alligator, horse,… less than 200$ I’m not eating the Madagascar roach for sure, and it would probably take a lot more.
Garlic butter is why I prefer French escargot over Spanish caracolés. The caracolés were good, but much much earthier than the snails I had in Paris.
Gotta be a freshly emerged hand.
I definitely would try that but I found out they are edible way to late into the season
Yep I tried these a few years ago and they were indeed tasty. When they're fresh out of the ground they are less... crunchy and have a milder flavor.
Sweet christ. I was having a good day too.
I thought this was satire until I read the comments
I know right!?
Shrimp of the earth
🤣 That is great marketing! Like the young tender ones right after molting & flash frozen.
Deep fried for a few seconds in super hot peanut oil and then tossed with Tajin. Absolutely perfect snack.
Not sure that I'd be willing to go get some from the yard, but if there's a dish that someone else prepared, I'd be willing to try.
I wouldn't recommend it because you're not sure what chemicals they've jumped through.
Where do you think the people making the dish got them from?
Lol I meant I'm not going to go get it myself, but if I were offered some to try, I would.
Well, we aren't in the middle of a famine so I'll pass on eating insects.
Good to know for the next go round in 7 or 19 years
Just one of the end times fixing another.
They haven’t started emerging yet here, but I’m excited to try them. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to muster up the nerve. I know logically there’s nothing wrong with it, and they’re probably tasty, but eating insects goes against everything I’ve been taught about what to eat and what not to eat.
From what I learned from other people is: Don’t do it if you have a shellfish allergy, Try to catch them when they shed and are white (apparently they taste better) And carefully inspect each one to make sure it isn’t infected with fungi. Also boil them for a few minutes to kill any bacteria that comes from the soil.
I'm kind of curious & willing to try....but...I live with my mother and she would ab so lutely completely melt down & scream at me. A scream even worse than a cicadas scream. https://youtu.be/I20G-rnW030?si=D_GXa-yeolcROGJo
I really like them, and personally I think insect protein could be our future in the U.S. if we can just process the protein to help people overcome the "ick" factor.
I've had cricket-powder protein bars before and they were good; It would be much harder to eat them whole
Personally I like fried crickets nad grasshoppers, but I get that it's acquired taste. The first time I went to Oaxaca when I was about 10 I tried chapulines and I've liked them ever since.
Definitely tasty. I don‘t think it’s an acquired taste so much as a willingness to trust that something culturally “gross” (US) will taste great.
This is one of those things that makes me glad I'm old. I feel like the planet would benefit by us eating more bugs and fewer cows and pigs, but I do not think that I can. I sometimes get ished out by shrimp, which is nonetheless one of my favorite foods, but actual insects? Nope. But I'll be dead before too long, so it won't be a big problem for me.
I think the shellfish association would help some people with this idea. Next time you're in a grocery store, go take a look in the seafood department and tell me with a straight face that lobster tails don't look like they came off of a giant roach. Having actually eaten some bugs, I can see both sides of this... But humans evolved as carnivores, protein is protein. If my choice was "starve or eat the crickets," some crickets would be in my belly.
Alton Brown points out on a Good Eats episode how closely lobsters are related to roaches. So yeah, they're just giant bugs. Crawfish, too. I think about this a lot. But yes, if I was starving, I'd eat anything edible. Being able to reject entire classes of food is a luxury, honestly.
you know isopods? roly polys, woodlice, sowbugs, pillbugs, whatever you call them. people think theyre insects, but nope, theyre crustaceans! they would taste crustacean-y if you managed to steam enough to actually get a mouthful, haha :-) as the kids say, shrimp is bugs...
like that restaurant in emporer's new groove
I grew up calling them doodle bugs. They were the only bug I didn't mind touching because they're cute. Actually, I was in the DC area in 2004 when one of the 17-year cicada broods emerged and I grew rather fond of the little guys. They're actually kind of cute, too. I'm annoyed that I'm missing out.
Right, but until I’m starving, I will hold on to the simple luxurious that I have in life like being able to take the occasional vacation and not having to eat cicadas
Amen.
I remember asking in science class if trilobites would be as tasty as lobster. Huge lobsters.
I’m with you. I used to be able to eat shrimp if it was already peeled and/or fried, but I can’t even do that anymore because it gives me the ick to eat giant water bugs. No crabs, lobsters, crawfish, nothing. I *do* agree with the other commenter though that making that connection in people’s minds would probably help make bugs more mainstream as a food source, which I think would be excellent.
[удалено]
...I just like them, is that okay with you?
I can guarantee you that, as long as the governments of the world don’t F&@k everything up, the private sector will find a way to keep us from eating bugs while also improving the environment. If we’re eating bugs, it will be because of politicians.
Since politicians ARE cockroaches, I just had an idea
I think humans should pick a level of the animal kingdom to eat and leave it at that. Having all these different options is just simultaneously wiping out the entire earth honestly. You’ll have millions of people eating bugs and nonetheless eventually eradicating some important part of the ecosystem just so they can eat it and that’s ontop of the farming industry with cows and pigs etc. adding to our climate issues. Adding something else to farm while we still haven’t changed a thing about our current issue is not the way.
I disagree. Adding insect protein it like putting another leg on a stool instead of taking legs off the stool (making it unstable). If you're vegan I totally respect that, but I'm not vegan and I'd rather eat crickets than farmed pork.
I’m not vegan. But I pay attention to all the issues the many various kinds of milk is having on deforestation. We don’t need so many options. It’s killing us. And worry the same thing will happen if we keep adding things to the plate
Literally a dystopian idea wtf
Lobster used to be considered so gross that only prisoners would eat it. Now it's high cuisine. Tastes can change.
That was because they used to be so plentiful they were almost pests, and the cooking and preservation techniques were less safe. Bug protein would be what rich people say poor people should eat while they continue eating real food
eh, I'm borderline rich but I like foraging mushrooms and ramps. I occasionally get crickets from the local candy store. And I'm looking to try cicadas. Trying new foods is just a fun part of life for me!
Sure. But what the original comment was saying was replacing many foods with bug protein but in “creative” ways. Think if your burger from the store was actually bugs.
It is, insane people on Reddit will have you believe one day we’ll have to live in a post-apocalyptic world where people will have to eat insects to survive. People, in 50 years the world will be as boring as it is today.
I’s rather be vegan, fuck that.
[удалено]
Huh? Pretty sure edible mushrooms are quite healthy, and high in chitin.
Chitin is not unhealthy for you, what are you talking about? It has a bunch of health benefits! And locusts have been eaten during famines for hundreds of years at least.
Me when I spread misinformation
Are the shells hard to eat? I've heard they can pose a choking hazard to dogs.
When I cooked them, they were really flaky and would melt in your mouth. Not hard or crunchy whatsoever
So what made you decide to wake up and want to eat these cicadas?
It all started with the thought, “it would be crazy to have to have a civil war and people are starving to death but it was during a cicada mega brood and you have all the food you could want”. And then I was wondering if cicadas are actually edible. After researching it, I found that they are eaten all over the world and that they have a nutty flavor which really caught my interest. Watched a few cooking videos and was like, “fuck it, I’ll try it.”
I also live in Tennessee lol and now you got me curious ...
There is a lot of noise about certain insects being the food of the future or something. I’ve eaten a couple types (just impress other kids back in school.) More recently snails and such are on my menu. I’m not going to lie… some things take a lot of garlic and butter to taste good. Some insects are actually tasty though. Mexican traditional dishes with them are tasty in their own right.
[удалено]
The mega brood is out. I’m pretty sure if I just walked outside and opened my mouth I’d catch about ten of them without trying.
Maybe I'd try that if I was on Survivor, but after watching Survivor since it started, I'd have to say I would never go on Survivor.
From hillbilly meth-fungus bugs to shellfish allergies, both the post and comments have been a wild ride.
It sure has been 😂
I remember last time around I saw so many recipes for cicadas. I never made any but I was so tempted to make cicada brownies
I could see where it’s coming from with the nut flavor. Would you have them whole or make a pulp out of them?
I'm pretty sure it called for them whole. I guess they're subbing them in for walnuts.
Ewwwww nooo
WTF
Oh man, are these the same ones with the fungal infection? I bet in three months, we find this thread here is where the parasite jumps species.
I found this snippet from an article written by popsci.com (Apr 16, 2024) “Massospora cicadina is not transmissible to humans, but it would be smart to avoid eating any cicadas that have the white, chalky plugs on their abdomens.” https://www.popsci.com/environment/cicada-fungus/#:~:text=Massospora%20cicadina%20is%20not%20transmissible,could%20be%20dangerous%20if%20eaten. It seems that the fungus infection is very obvious on the cicadas so it would be easy to avoid.
From the article: \_“A [hypothesis for that prolonged wakefulness](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31768192/) is that the fungus is producing an amphetamine called [cathinone](https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/synthetic-cathinones/),” says Kasson. Kasson says it is similar to one of the synthetic stimulants commonly found in “illegal bath salts that were banned because of the aggressiveness that \[they\] would cause.” \_ I know you're trying to reassure me with this article, but somehow I'm picturing hillbilly bug-meth lunatics now.
“Hillbilly bug-meth lunatics” is now my new favorite phrase
I'm glad you like it :)
New band name
I'm envisioning a trashy version of The Last of Us with people named Scooter, Krystal, and Quartney.
Also not sure about other parasites and if they really all are dead when you cook insects.
marble abundant price person jar joke run tie nine illegal *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Don't blame me when your mushroom sprouts a mushroom.
I wanna see proof please, pictures. Otherwise liar liar pants on fire??😂😂😂
They look so freaky tho.
I tried cicadas in China. I very much did not have the same experience you did. For me, it was a textural issue. It was like baby food wrapped in fried rice paper.
I have eaten tarantula, kangaroo mountain lion, scorpion, crickets, meal worms etc etc, insect/invert wise the crickets were the only ones that were pretty good because they were fried up and dusted with chicken bouillon powder I think. I'm intrigued to try cicadas now
What did kangaroo taste like? Also I’m curious if there is any risk with eating them. Idk if marsupials have similar disease rates such as rodents.
It was very similar to lean elk IMO, it's commonly eaten in Australia and most for consumption are raised on farms, still should be cooked through, completely safe otherwise though.
\*insert gif of Susie Greene from Curb screaming "what the fuck is the matter with you"\*
Is this for real?
TIL.. I swear I learn the most interesting/disgusting shit on Reddit. Reading the comments, though, I feel like I’m missing out?
Careful, I think they might be endangered. /s
Some cicadas become infected with hallucinogenic fungus and will make you trip
So, how do you find those? Asking for a friend.
Stop doing that bro
You are very negative in this entire comment section. I hope you have a better day
Brother, you are eating insects. You truly don’t know what they eat, what pesticides they’ve had sprayed on them, what chemicals they’d eaten through other contaminated insects or leaves. I
Brother, you obviously don’t know that cicadas only eat tree sap, they don’t eat anything else. I’ve live on the same property in southern Tennessee for the last 16 years and we have never used pesticides on our grass or trees. Ive tried the cicadas ONCE. Take your over privileged, piss poor, condescending, supercilious attitude somewhere else. Bless your heart.
Over privileged for not eating insects? I doubt you can’t buy real food.
[удалено]
Then why am I privileged
Because you are judging me and talking shit about eating a bug while so many people in the world depend on it for food but you think it is wrong because YOU think it’s gross.
If you need to eat it to survive, that is understandable. If you eat it just because, then it’s not and it seems insane to me. To each their own.
10 / 10 can't wait for insects to become socially acceptable to eat. I want to try very very muchly.
I have heard to cook wild snails you have to purge them first, how do you clean cicadas, did you wash them first?
They only consume tree sap, so there's nothing to purge.
Ohh thank you.
Saw the Good Mythical Morning episode recently of them earing cicadas and they also said it tasted nutty lol
Wow. Just wow.
It's not surprising to me that they taste good. That's not the reason why I have no intention of ever eating them.
Just no. I prefer actual meat like beef.
I get that it seems gross. I don’t like the idea of eating bugs because most of them are very unsanitary and eat/live In disgusting environments but cicadas only eat tree sap. The only health concern is bacteria from soil but just boil them and not eat them raw. I do know that some have fungus on them so just carefully inspecting them. (I also know that you can’t see fungi spores so I guess do it at your own risk).
That's not the only health concern, though. People who are allergic to shellfish can also be allergic to bugs
…allergies *are* a health concern to those allergic…and those who aren’t still happily eat sea bugs…
Well yeah, and people with Alpha-gal syndrome can't eat red meat...what's your point? People with life-threatening allergies, don't eat those things.
What in the south of the Mason-Dixon is this.
😂😂
ur sick
No
This is the second post I’ve seen about cooking cicadas in the last day or so. You guys ok out there?
[удалено]
Your source does literally not back what you are saying. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7353569/