The Takeout's roots are deeply entrenched in From a detailed primer on to the ever-raging debate on the merits of , we are dedicated to exploring the region's culinary idiosyncrasies. This summer, the area has become home to a limited-time-only delicacy — the periodical cicada. This type of cicada spends the majority of its lifecycle buried underground, emerging to mate every 13 or 17 years.
Illinois is where the 13-year and 17-year cicadas have overlapped the most this year, and the state's residents have not been letting this historic bounty go to waste. In fact, for a few weeks, there was a bar in Chicago serving up cicada-infused Malört shots. But for the most part, people are eating cicadas.
Yes, that is happening — it's even going viral on TikTok. Cicada enthusiasts have been beer battering and deep frying the bugs, roasting them, and topping pizzas with them, the . Some people say cicadas have a nutty, almond-like taste while others have said they have a more savory, vegetal flavor.
Either way, these little critters only come around once in a blue moon, so it's no wonder people aren't letting them get away without a little seasoning. And not just in Illinois — people are eating these bugs across their range, which covers most of the eastern and midwestern U.S.
What's with all this cicada talk? Eating an insect that only appears every couple of decades or so might seem odd. But, for some, this is the only way to deal with the wave of cicadas that has come to the.
