 Nick Schwartz of Fishkill, New York-based Plan Bee Farm Brewery recently joined CNN iReport and decided to share the story of his first-ever attempt at insect-based cooking back in June. During the Brood II cicada swarm of 2013, he spotted what he describes as thousands of the creatures hanging out in trees and making a buzzing sound comparable to that of a low-flying airplane. So many, in fact, that while he was fishing in Fishkill, he caught a brown trout that appeared to have ingested several cicadas in its belly. He also decided to pick a few cicadas and take them back to cook them. After marinating them in Worcestershire sauce for two weeks, he fried them up: "When we fried them, we ate everything. The wings just disintegrated in oil. When you cooked them, there was no sensation that you were eating them or that they were there. They were all fried up and crispy." Bathed in Buffalo sauce, Schwartz says they were a tasty treat. He describes them as a culinary "foil," or a kind of food that imparts little flavor on its own. "They almost tasted like nothing but what we put in them, but they were kind of crunchy. The thing I can compare them to is kale chips that you roast in the oven, or seaweed," he said. After savoring his meal, Schwartz says he almost certainly will attempt a bug-cooking project again. Share your cicada-based adventures on iReport Open Story: Abuzz about cicadas Previously: |
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Bugs have a lot of protein.:) You really need to be a bit crazy to have to eat bugs. I'm glad to hear that you could season them.Let us know about your next great adventure.
All of the recipies I've seen call for them to be picked as soon as they shed, while they are still white (like soft shelled crab). This guy went with full fledged adults. That must not have been much fun on the way out.
Shrimp are insects of the sea. Lobsters are a bigger version.
seafood is healthier
To be scientifically accurate, they are like spiders of the sea (arthropods).
Although many people refer to lobsters and crabs 'cockroaches of the sea' due to their scavenging behavior such as affinity for feeding on human corpses (no lie)
actually you are both right as insects, spiders, crabs, shrimp, scorpions, mites, centipedes, millipedes, horseshoe crabs, lobsters and many more animals I havent mentioned are all arthropods. i once read a stat that said 80% of animal life on Earth are arthropods. cant confirm how accurate that is tho...
I've heard of cicadas being referred to as lawn shrimp.
IIf someone can 100% certify that they taste the same then I'll jump on board. Until then no thank you.
Stories of eating bugs on CNN front page, daily.
Are we being prepared for something?
Should we be expecting to see a Mc Cicada Burger sometime soon??
Good source of protien and vitamins.
People eat grass hoppers, and even worms,....so, why not?
These things have been marinating in lawn pesticides, fertilizer, etc. for 17 years. you can have all of mine.
The same can be said for pretty much all livestock. Except they've been marinating in the commercial-grade herb/pest/insecticides applied to corn and grains.
Well, those and the ground-up livestock fed back to livestock in the US. A practice strictly banned in every other civilized nation.
Yep.
I hate flossing the legs out from between my teeth.
I thought the legs were for picking your teeth.
Ugh, you people have any idea what kinds of bacteria and parasites are in there just waiting to infect some poor sap? I mean i know it's safe but making thousand and thousands of those , there's bound to be a disease outbreak just waiting to happen! =(
I don't disagree, but the same can be said of just about any food source. There have been lots of recalls on meats and veggies.
"The insides were almost like a melted gummy worm. It wasn't really the taste, just the texture that was gross."
That"s DISGUSTING. Period.
But then again, my cup of tea, is someone else's cup of urine.
Still can't get over the yuck factor.
I would try it, I am seriously debating on adding more insects to my diet maybe they are the secret to how the people supposedly live hundreds of years ago in biblical times. I don't know for the longest time all this talk about them made my stomach churn but now a days as I get older I am getting a weird sense of craving for them, haha i am probably just wierd!
Seriously. Almost every day you have a post with a picture of a bowlful of bugs. Stop it. It makes me ill.
Have you tried them? Delicious!
ROFL
Things on internet make you cringe? Who would have thought that's possible? Internet isn't supposed ot hurt anybody's feelings, right?
I just like looking at pictures of yuimmy food, not icky bugs! And never the twain shall meet in my opinion! :D
Hey! No bugs today. Guess that means you can swallow again. ~_~