Deep-Fried Insects, Anyone?

For most people, the words "edible" and "insect" should not be used in the same sentence. For others, though, a little taste of the local creepy crawlies really hits the spot.

Many insects are edible. In fact, according to www.eatbug.com, an entomophagy (insect eating) website, most people inadvertently have consumed more than a pound of insects in their lifetime. Flour beetles, weevils, and other bugs that infest granaries are milled along with the grain, finally ending up as those tiny black specks in your slice of bread. Small grubs and other tiny insects can be found in fruit and vegetables, and bugs are especially common in canned and other types of processed foods and beverages. "We unknowingly eat insects all the time in cereal and other grain products," points out Beth Reames, a researcher with the Agricultural Center's Cooperative Extension Service, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.

Chris Carlton, assistant professor of entomology at LSU, maintains that there are several insects that not only are edible, but even can be called "appetizing." He maintains that "Crickets, of course, are edible; corn-ear worms--those nasty-looking worms you find in the ends of ears of corn--are very tasty when they're deep-fried and salted. The corn-ear worms are nice and nutty; the only problem is the bristles get caught in your throat. Cicadas, if you catch them before molting, are also edible and good when deep-fried. Crickets are good deep-fried, but I didn't care for...