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Monstrous little cicadas make for some fine dining as U.S. preps for invasion

Bug Appetit teaching how to serve up noisy insects as they prepare to erupt in the trillions
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Zach Lemann, curator of animal collections for the Audubon Insectarium, prepares cicadas for eating at the insectarium in New Orleans, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The insectarium plans to demonstrate ways to cook cicadas at the little in-house snack bar where it already serves other insect dishes. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

As the nation prepares for trillions of red-eyed bugs known as periodical to emerge, it香蕉视频直播檚 worth noting that they香蕉视频直播檙e not just annoying, noisy pests 香蕉视频直播 if prepared properly, they can also be tasty to eat.

Blocks away from such French Quarter fine-dining stalwarts as Antoine香蕉视频直播檚 and Brennan香蕉视频直播檚, the Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans has long served up an array of alternative, insect-based treats at its 香蕉视频直播淏ug Appetit香蕉视频直播 cafe overlooking the Mississippi River. 香蕉视频直播淐innamon Bug Crunch,香蕉视频直播 chili-fried waxworms, and crispy, cajun-spiced crickets are among the menu items.

stay buried for years, until they surface and take over a landscape. Depending on the variety, the emergence happens every 13 or 17 years. This year two groups are expected to emerge soon, averaging around 1 million per acre over hundreds of millions of acres across parts of 16 states in the Midwest and South.

They emerge when the ground warms to 64 degrees (17.8 degrees Celsius), which is happening earlier than it used to because of , entomologists said. The bugs are brown at first but darken as they mature.

Recently, Zack Lemann, the Insectarium香蕉视频直播檚 curator of animal collections, has been working up cicada dishes that may become part of the menu. He donned a chef香蕉视频直播檚 smock this week to show a couple of them off, including a green salad with apple, almonds, blueberry vinaigrette 香蕉视频直播 and roasted cicadas. Fried cicada nymphs were dressed on top with a warm mixture of creole mustard and soy sauce.

香蕉视频直播淚 do dragonflies in a similar manner,香蕉视频直播 Lemann said as he used tweezers to plop nymphs into a container of flour before cooking them in hot oil.

Depending on the type and the way they are prepared, cooked cicadas taste similar to toasted seeds or nuts. The Insectarium isn香蕉视频直播檛 the first to promote the idea of eating them. Over the years, they have appeared on a smattering of menus and in cookbooks, including titles like 香蕉视频直播淐icada-Licious香蕉视频直播 from the University of Maryland in 2004.

香蕉视频直播淓very culture has things that they love to eat and, maybe, things that are taboo or things that people just sort of, wrinkle their nose and frown their brow at,香蕉视频直播 Lemann said. 香蕉视频直播淎nd there香蕉视频直播檚 no reason to do that with insects when you look at the nutritional value, their quality on the plate, how they taste, the environmental benefits of harvesting insects instead of dealing with livestock.香蕉视频直播

Lemann has been working to make sure the Bug Appetit cafe has legal clearance to serve wild-caught cicadas while he works on lining up sources for the bugs. He expects this spring香蕉视频直播檚 unusual emergence of two huge broods of cicadas to heighten interest in insects in general, and in the Insectarium 香蕉视频直播 even though the affected area doesn香蕉视频直播檛 include southeast Louisiana.

香蕉视频直播淚 can香蕉视频直播檛 imagine, given the fact that periodical cicadas are national news, that we won香蕉视频直播檛 have guests both local and from outside New Orleans, asking us about that,香蕉视频直播 said Lemann. 香蕉视频直播淲hich is another reason I hope to have enough to serve it at least a few times to people.香蕉视频直播