Texans Can Eat Cicadas, and There’s Even A “Delicious” Cookbook to Help

Have you heard the buzz? Those noisy Cicadas are actually safe to eat.

It's a hot summer day, you're listening to the hum of the Cicadas, you get hungry and decide instead of grilling steaks, you could just pop a Cicada in your mouth.

Ew, what?

Apparently, it's a real thing. There are people who eat Cicadas!

The folks at the University of Maryland happen to be big fans of Cicadas, and actually are excited for the emergence of Brood X. What's Brood X you say?

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According to the Cicada Crew at UMD, Brood X is "a group of periodical cicadas that synchronously emerges in a geographical area in the same year. There are twelve 17-year broods, and three 13-year broods. Each brood is assigned a roman numeral to distinguish them from each other. For example, Brood X last appeared in 2004 and reappears in 2021 in the same locations."

Brood X is set to emerge between May-June. Not all Cicadas are periodical. There are some that do appear annually.

Once again, the people at UMD really love Cicadas, and have even dedicated a cookbook with recipes to EAT Cicadas titled Cicada-licious. The cookbook features appetizers, main entrees, and even desserts. It's pretty similar to your average cookbook, except the "protein" is a lot different.

Professor Raupp at UMD stated to Washington 7 News:

"They're safe to eat, I'll certainly be snacking on cicadas, there are many recipes," he said. "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."

I know there are people who eat grasshoppers and scorpions, but Cicadas? Really? I've never had the urge to try one out, and I don't see that urge coming any time soon.