Would you eat a meal that uses cicadas as the protein source? A Brooklyn eatery hopes the answer is yes.
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(Brooklyn, NY) – Ah summer, a time when we expect to hear the buzzing of cicadas overhead. Now, a Brooklyn chef is hoping to create a buzz by serving the bugs for dinner.
Joseph Yoon of Brooklyn Bugs tells the New York Times he uses whole cicadas in place of shrimp in his recipes. Apparently, they have a mild woody flavor from slowly growing underground. Another chef from Chicago says the bugs are high in protein and contain fats, carbohydrates and a number of organic compounds.
Other cultures around the world have eaten bugs for centuries given their high protein content. Some researchers would like to see the practice become more widespread, given the potential for ground up crickets to be used as a high protein powder. It could be a gamechanger for people living in developing areas where food is scarce.
Here in the states, bugs are more of an intriguing delicacy at times. That includes the grasshoppers that are sold at Seattle Mariners home games — one of the ballpark’s most popular delicacies. Of course who could forget the worm at the bottom of the tequila bottle. And who hasn’t eaten a few hundred gnats while walking across a grassy field? As for the cicadas in place of shrimp in Brooklyn — we aren’t holding our breath on that becoming a major winner. But who knows — everything in possible in the Big Apple — including “buzzy” bugs taking over and becoming the hot new culinary trend.
