They’re he-e-ere! Brood X cicada spottings (and hearings — the swarms let out a deafening din) have been made in counties just north of the city. Which is another way of saying the likelihood of their making a stop in the Big Apple is next to nil.
While many readers living in the five boroughs will breathe a sigh of relief, others will emit the other kind of sigh — one that expresses their disappointment at missing out on what billions of people worldwide consider an epicurean feast.
So what do cicadas taste like? In an interview with the Associated Press, David George Gordon, author of “Eat-a-Bug Cookbook” and known as the Bug Chef, describes the taste as not unlike asparagus.
University of Maryland entomologist Mike Raupp goes further: “They have a buttery texture, a delicious, nutty flavor, probably from the tannins, from the roots of the trees on which they fed. And they’re going to be really good with a Merlot.”
Cicadas are said to be good for you — full of protein, gluten-free, low-fat, and low-carb — if you can get past the stigma.
Since you won’t be put to the test on this cycle, you can always dry your tears over a plate of chapulines, which are always on the menu at The Black Ant, here in the city. The English translation of that Spanish word? “Grasshoppers.”
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