What Do Cicadas Taste Like?

Beginning in late April, trillions of periodical cicadas will begin to emerge from the ground in an event that hasn't happened since President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France.

Thanks for that one President Jefferson.

We already found a delicious recipe for "Soft-Shelled Cicadas" if you're feeling brave enough to try it.

That recipe got us thinking...what the heck do cicadas even taste like?

Two cicada groups, Brood XIX and Brood XIII, will soon be emerging from the ground in an event that hasn't happened since 1803.

Because these two broods are on different life cycles, one 13 years and the other 17 years, it's very rare when their emergence syncs up.

When the soil temperature at approximately 8 inches underground reaches about 64°F, the nymphs begin to emerge, usually in late spring to early summer.

Out of all of the states that will be affected by the “cicadapocalypse”, parts of Illinois will see the most cicada activity due to both the broods emerging at the same time, in the same places.

What Do Cicadas Taste Like?

A couple of weeks ago we found a "Louisiana Recipe for Soft-Shelled Cicadas".

From the original post -

Ingredients

1 cup Worcestershire sauce
60 freshly emerged 17 year cicadas
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups flour
Salt and pepper to season flour
1 cup corn oil or slightly salted butter

Directions

Marinate cicadas, alive in a sealed container, in Worcestershire sauce for several hours.

Dip them in beaten egg, roll them in the seasoned flour, saute them until golden brown.

Yeild:
4 mail dish servings

The recipe for "Soft-Shelled Cicadas" seems like a fine recipe if you're looking to cook up some cicadas, but...what do cicadas even taste like?

We often hear that insects like crickets taste nutty, almost like roasted almonds.

Some people say crickets taste a little like popcorn.

The texture of crickets can be crunchy, making them a popular snack when dried and seasoned. They are also used in various forms like cricket flour, where their taste becomes more subtle and can easily blend with other ingredients in recipes like protein bars or baked goods.

Did you know that cricket flour was even something that existed?

Apparently, according to what we found on-line, cicadas taste like a few different things.

From popsci.com -

"Cicadas kind of taste like shellfish like shrimp or lobster. It’s got kind of a crunchy, shrimpy flavor.

It doesn’t have the same consistency because cicadas have more shell and most recipes typically fry up the shell. With lobster or shrimp, you typically take the shell off."

Cicadas are also described as having a mild flavor, often compared to nuts like almonds or a mild version of asparagus.

When cooked, they easily take absorb the flavors of the ingredients they are cooked with, such as garlic or butter.

Some people say that cicadas have a texture similar to shrimp when cooked.

Cicadas are also considered a delicacy in various parts of the world where eating insects is more common, sought after for their protein content.

So there you go. Cicadas taste like shrimpy, nutty asparagus.

Would you be willing to try cooked cicadas?

Read more at popsci.com.