Cicadas — billions of them — are arriving for the first time in 17 years, and Michael J. Raupp, a professor at the University of Maryland in the Entomology Department says says they’re edible.
In fact, the University has even put together an entire cookbook of recipes devoted to the noisy insects.
“They’re safe to eat, I’ll certainly be snacking on cicadas, there are many recipes,” Raupp tells Pennsylvania TV station WJAC-TV. “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.”
A good place to start, he says, is the 2004 cookbook written by Jenna Jadin and the University of Maryland “Cicadamaniacs,” known as Cicada-licious, which includes some “interesting recipes for preparing cicadas.”
“You might find ‘El Chirper Tacos,” Rauub suggests. “I’m going to make some ‘Emergence Cookies’ this weekend, so it might be fun to try.”
Something Raupp says he can’t figure out is why the same people who don’t give a second thought to eating oysters and clams somehow find the thought of eating cicadas disgusting .
“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,” he says. “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.”
For more information or resources on cicadas or Professor Raupp, click here for the University of Maryland’s cicada website.