Eating bugs might sound disgusting to most of us today, but some people used to love it!
Maybugs or Cockchafers used to be a great nuisance to crops in Europe. People were encouraged to hunt them down to lower their population. There’s even a French song about hunting Maybugs called Il était un petit homme (There Was a Little Man).
Interestingly, some people would eat Maybugs and Maybug Soup in France and Germany. The bugs were eaten like shrimp with the outer shell discarded and just the inside body eaten. Here’s a recipe I found from the early 1900’s:
‘Take the May bugs or cockchafers, beat them well and throw them into a sieve. If you wish to make a weak soup pour hot water over them. If you wish a strong, fatty soup, boil and strain the insects. This soup is delicious and has a flavor that delights a true gourmand.’
Dr. Gastier, a member of the French legislative body, eats cockchafers while they are still alive. He picks them as one picks shrimps. In the Spagmire these living insects are a delicious dish. -Cincinnati Lancet and Clinic, Volume 45 (1900)
This seems to be an old custom and I’m sure most people in France or Germany would never eat Maybugs in today’s world.
Cuisine, like beauty, is all in the eye, or mouth, of the beholder!
Mama Lisa
Image: Wikipedia
This article was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014 at 2:20 pm and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Cuisine, France, French, French Cuisine, French Kids Songs, German, Germany, Languages, Recipes of the World, Soup, Unusual Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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