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I remember them from my years in Arizona and on the west coast. Pretty yukky when they’re buzzing all over everywhere.

When I asked my daughter if she remembered the cicadas, she shared that she “met (and ate) some of their tasty relatives a few years ago when they came out from underground in [Washington] DC.” (Brood X emerged above ground in 2004, having last been seen in the DC area in 1987.) Beth then recommended I “see if these cicadas are edible…” and then referred me to recipes published in the Washington Post at the time. Oh my.

The Wisconsin State Journal shared that cicadas “can be eaten before their exoskeleton hardens. Immediately blanch them in hot water, then savor their earthy, potato- or asparagus-like taste sauted, on pizza or in pasta.”

Here’s the Washington Post article. For those of you in Southeast Wisconsin, it’s a must read, as is this great cicada recipe collection from The Kenosha News. And Phil Pellitteri, UW-Madison entomologist, tells me these cicadas are (with “a little butter and garlic”) very edible indeed. So, get into a couple of these culinary suggestions:

Native Americans dry roasted [cicadas] using fire-heated rocks. [Simulate that by] laying a few dozen on a cookie sheet and baking them in a 350-degree oven for five minutes. Then serve with toothpicks and a selection of condiments for dipping, ranging from sweet to savory: chocolate sauce, honey, melted cheese, ketchup, mustard. Voila: cicada fondue.

Some purists simply boil cicadas for a minute or two, in order to better appreciate their flavor. Other entomophages recommend stir-frying them; they will absorb the flavors of the rest of the dish. Some aficionados like their cicadas battered and deep-fried.

The females, loaded with eggs, are more of a bite than the males, whose abdomens are largely hollow, in part because of the anatomical structures that allow them to make noise. Zyla likens the dry-roasted males to an "air-puffed Cheeto."

Kenosha News brings you even more great ideas - Shanghai Cicadas, Cicada Stir-fry, El Chirpier Tacos, Cica-Delicious Pizza. Sounds like a cicada-gathering trip to the southland is a must.

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