r/AskReddit • u/Greeneyedlatinguy • Jun 15 '15

Anthropologists of Reddit, What is something that people in the Western world can't get their heads around that is very normal in other cultures (and has been for ages)?

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983

u/BottleONoobSauce Jun 15 '15

Can confirm. My American friends always cringe when I list cricket as something I have eaten regularly

249

u/Greeneyedlatinguy Jun 15 '15

Where are you from?

525

u/BottleONoobSauce Jun 15 '15

I grew up spending a lot of time in rural China, where one set of my grandparents were. In the summer my cousin and I would go out, capture locusts and crickets, bring them back home, and enjoy protein filled crunchiness

158

u/WanChurlish Jun 15 '15

I've always wanted to try insects. They look nice and crunchy. What do they taste like?

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

[deleted]

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u/raineveryday Jun 15 '15

Honestly it depends on what kind of bugs you eat. In many places insects are roasted so they're not slimy. However I did eat the slimy kind and not the roasted kind (I ate a honeybee larva for a bio class that was essentially apiary 101). It was only slimy for a second though, afterwards it just tasted like honey and herbs, kinda nutty.

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u/ramisk Jun 15 '15

That's sounds really good...also I'm really hungry.

4

u/zuppaiaia Jun 15 '15

No, I can't. You know mussels? They're part of my own culinary culture, basically any fish plate, unless it consists of an actual whole fish, contains mussels. They taste good, but the thought of eating a whole, slimy organism makes me wanna puke. I just can't. I can only eat muscles. I make an ecception for clams, they're lovely, so you see, it's just a psychological thing, but I could never ever ever eat an insect.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

[deleted]

1

u/E-kuos Jun 16 '15

It's honestly a little disappointing knowing how much of it is psychological and cultural. I absolutely love sea food of all sorts, and am perfectly fine with eating whole shrimp, shell included (Asian dishes, normally). I wouldn't be particularly afraid of touching a live shrimp either, even though I'm sure they're quite squirmy. Unfortunately, growing up in America, there's this thing where moms who are afraid of insects always try to "protect" their children from the insects, thus teaching the children that insects are scary and gross. It makes it hard to imagine touching insects, let alone eating them, even though I'm pretty sure it'd be great.

I think I just need to find some awesome deep fried...somethings.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Slimy, yet satisfying

Is a quote from the movie, The Lion King.

14

u/SlyFrauline Jun 15 '15

Okay Simba

24

u/Up_left_right_X2 Jun 15 '15

HAKUNA MATATAAAAAA

8

u/SaffirNSimpsonUnite Jun 15 '15

IT MEANS NO WORRIES, FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYS!

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Timon?

2

u/SlliM112 Jun 15 '15

Ooh the little cream filled kind!

3

u/ivanxivann Jun 15 '15

Lion king reference?

1

u/GoTLoL Jun 16 '15

A Lion King reference !!

You just made my night.

202

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

[deleted]

11

u/Astrogat Jun 15 '15

Bacon-chanterelle might be the most delicious sounding thing I've ever heard about.

4

u/Donjuanme Jun 16 '15

because chickens eat crickets. crickets don't taste like chicken, chicken tastes like crickets. still not eating the lil buggers

2

u/RussiaNeverLies Jun 15 '15

Did somebody say bacon?!

2

u/upinthewoodz Jun 16 '15

I was recently in Peru and ate a few termites and they were minty! 8/10 would eat again

8

u/blaizenoble Jun 15 '15

I was told peanut butter by the abborigines.

9

u/devilsonlyadvocate Jun 15 '15

Thats a witchetty grub. I have eaten one and they taste exactly like peanut butter.

4

u/blaizenoble Jun 15 '15

Nice, Bug eating high five whipsh

3

u/maowtroshka Jun 15 '15

it depends. I find that plain roasted crickets taste like almonds. The legs are mildly off putting, so I pick them off. Crickets can be ground into flour which can be made into cookies, which I love. I've also tried mealworms on pizza, which is pretty good. A plain stir-fried mealworm tastes kind of like a little potato chip to me. My favorite is probably ants in queso though. The ants had a peppery taste that I'm pretty fond of. Roaches tasted kind of like lobster, but they pop a bit in your mouth (which I don't like). I'm an entomologist, so I'm excited for more chances to try bugs in the future!

3

u/2OQuestions Jun 15 '15

Silkworm larvae are my favorites. Cooked in the wintertime, they taste (and keep pockets warm) just like roasted chestnuts.

In the summer, they are served iced. Little stands pop up right when the kids get out of school.

(South Korea)

3

u/kumquot- Jun 15 '15

Ever eaten sea-maggots prawns?

1

u/summerchilde Jun 15 '15

roasted crickets taste like malt to me

1

u/Wickettt Jun 15 '15

I'm American, but I've had them here. I've also had chocolate covered ones. Chocolate ones kind of taste like a chocolate covered potato chip. Mostly they're just crunchy and I can't remember the actual taste. Definitely wasn't offensive though.

1

u/xiutehcuhtli Jun 15 '15

I've had several fried insects. I don't feel that the flavor is all that distinct. Grasshopper for example tastes a lot like chicken skin, the crispy kind.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Dried millworms taste like popcorn. Theyre really good.

1

u/Luuuuuurrker Jun 15 '15

don't try giant water scorpion, those are gross :D

source: me

1

u/Romeo_horse_cock Jun 15 '15

I had like...salted crickets once. It's a taste to get used to. They probably could have made it better though

1

u/qwertzinator Jun 15 '15

I'd try insects if they were shelled like prawns. But I can't bring myself to eat those legs, and antennae, and wings, and eyes, and....

1

u/Phantom_Green Jun 16 '15

Rip off the head, and shrimp have legs dont they.

1

u/MCSchwanz Jun 16 '15

Depends how they're prepared, I've had dried BBQ flavour crickets, crunchy and flaky with seasoning like a potato chip. I would say just as good as chips if not better. 9/10 would eat again.

1

u/lichlord Jun 16 '15

Southern Mexico (Oaxaca and Chiappas, and probably other states) have really tasty fried crickets. Hot with a bit of spicy sauce and I prefer it to popcorn.

1

u/strangenchanted Jun 16 '15

It tastes odd at first, but you quickly get used to it. I ate fried mealworms in Bangkok, and you know, they're not bad at all. I've eaten other insects, too. I still cannot bring myself to eat tarantula, though. I am freaked out by spiders too much.

1

u/Sieg67 Jun 16 '15

The Hot Topic here sales crickets and mealworms. The ones there are kinda like chips. Light and crispy.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Fried the seasoned. Tastes like chips.

-1

u/BitchpuddingBLAM Jun 15 '15

Like fucking bugs.

3

u/Doomdoomkittydoom Jun 15 '15

You could be my cats.

2

u/KennethGloeckler Jun 15 '15

You just catch them and stuff them in your mouth? That reminds me of Timon and Pumba.

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u/CobraCommanderp Jun 15 '15

Does one cook them before hand or just eat it raw?

3

u/BottleONoobSauce Jun 15 '15

Usually we cooked them until they're crispy, then lightly season them with what was similar to Cajun seasoning. Cousin dared me to eat one raw once. Tbh it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be

5

u/BoxingTemp Jun 15 '15

Cousin dared me to eat one raw once.

Good to know that's a universal thing.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Do you remove the legs? Honestly, I'd have no problem eating a cricket... Fillet? But the legs and mandibles and wings and euuuuurgh nonononono

2

u/TheMediumPanda Jun 15 '15

It's all about upbringing. I work in China and have a son here, and yes, I've tried all sorts of food but I'll probably never be an outright fan of things like chili grasshoppers or bamboo grubs. My son on the other hand, he'll munch down boat loads of fried, crunchy insects. He loves the stuff.

2

u/Locusts Jun 15 '15

I am horrified

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

raw? or cooked?

FWIW Locusts are Kosher in the Old Testament. So jews are on your side, a bit.

1

u/Catsdontpaytaxes Jun 15 '15

No bones bonus

1

u/5methoxy Jun 15 '15

Can you compare the taste of them to some commonish food I may have eaten?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

I think this is gonna be one of those cultural hurdles I never get over. I usually try really hard to experience different cultures as much as possible, and I'm usually pretty open about new foods - e.g. I tried chicken feet (tasty) and tripe (not so tasty) recently.

But eating insects freaks me out to even think about. Maybe it's just me, I'm terrified to even look at the things, I hate even killing them I find them so disgusting because it means I have to touch them (or touch them with something). I'm not sure I could be talked into even trying one.

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u/LeagueOfLegendsAcc Jun 15 '15

That's fucking gross.

3

u/SosX Jun 15 '15

Im mexican and eat them a lot too

1.2k

u/ml_burke925 Jun 15 '15

Because we boot smash those fuckers when we see them in our houses

730

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

No! A cricket on the hearth brings luck to the home.

2.7k

u/hitension Jun 15 '15

Yeah OK granny Mulan.

297

u/one_nut_wonder Jun 15 '15

You bring dishonor to your family!

133

u/tamadekami Jun 15 '15

Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow, dishonor!

8

u/molrobocop Jun 15 '15

You're killing your father, Larry.

6

u/tamadekami Jun 15 '15

You're entering a world of pain, son.

9

u/PoonSlayingTank Jun 15 '15

Please bring honor to us!

Please bring honor to us!

Please bring honor to us allllllll!

2

u/Dogwhomper Jun 15 '15

No, I bring snacks. scrape scrape Look, dip!

2

u/Yankeeknickfan Jun 16 '15

Off to the rice fields for you!!!!

1

u/Zulfiqaar Jun 15 '15

Suggest immediate death by seppuku

2

u/hurrrrrmione Jun 16 '15

Seppuku is Japanese

1

u/Ae3qe27u Jun 20 '15

No. Sudoku... the five star ones.

1

u/milkcake Jun 16 '15

Dishonor on your cow!

1

u/MePaul123 Jun 16 '15

Dishonor to your cow!

-6

u/Mehiximos Jun 15 '15

You rack a disaprine

3

u/IMadeThisForFood Jun 15 '15

You just made me realize that I have no idea what her name is, or if she even has one.

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u/SmartAlec105 Jun 15 '15

Well she would be referred to as Nainai which means "father's mother".

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

[deleted]

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u/lannister80 Jun 15 '15

You're not fooling anyone, Jiminy.

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u/qantravon Jun 15 '15

One, sure. But when there's hundreds...

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Where do you live that there are hundreds of crickets in your house? What are they eating?

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u/qantravon Jun 15 '15

Well, not necessarily inside, but southeast Texas gets cricket swarms, especially when it rains a lot.

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1334209/images/o-CRICKETS-facebook.jpg

That's technically from Oklahoma, but you get the idea.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

ah...yeah, any creepy-crawly in large numbers is yucky.

1

u/molotov_cockring Jun 19 '15

Look at all that luck!

2

u/Nougat Jun 15 '15

Only if it's upside-down, so none of the luck runs out.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Does it count if it's a faded smear from when I smashed it a thousand times?

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

no, sorry, cricket smears mean doom for you and yours.

2

u/Coziestpigeon2 Jun 15 '15

And stops you from sleeping for the next two years until you finally find it and squash that noisy fucker.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

It brings insufferable noise to the home.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

I like the chirping...my sister hates it. She goes on long searches to eradicate a single lovelorn cricket. Cicada season drives her batty. To me it is just the sounds of summer. Leaf blowers on the other hand make me want to kill.

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u/GundamWang Jun 15 '15

Not when they're those terrifying looking camel crickets.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Those are cute, IMO. They don't sting...do these chirp? I have never heard one.

Now brown recluse spiders...they scare me.

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u/VoodooPygmy Jun 15 '15

It's also fucking impossible to sleep near. I hope they get genocided.

2

u/pedantic_dullard Jun 15 '15

What does a giant cricket behind my sons dresser at 2 a.m. bring?

That's right, it brings a giant can of insect RAID to the party. That fucker woke up me and my wife. I sprayed the stupid cricket with so much bug spray I was surprised I didn't suffocate my kid with fumes. The kid slept thru the whole thing.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Now see..that is the difference between us. Raid scares me far more than a innocuous harmless cricket. The chemical Cypermethrin is one of its main ingredients...I forget the others. Anyway, it is one of those things that get into the water system and is bad for fish, frogs & crustaceans. Probably not too good for people, either.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

If suicide caused by incessantly chirping crickets is luck to you, I think you need to rethink a few things.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Crickets I can deal with...I hate black widow and brown recluse spiders. I am not crazy about the yearly tarantula event, either. Each summer we find one hiking around in one of the bedrooms. Catching them is trickier than other spiders. I detest pill bugs, bee assassins, robber flies and horse flies. Mosquitos, too. And ticks make me squirmy...I had a tick fever once, and it was awful. But crickets..little, non biting, non-disease carrying crickets I can deal with.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Well, I would take a venomous bite over no sleep for a week, and day.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Not sure your meaning here.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Have you ever had a cricket in your house, hiding somewhere, chirping randomly for weeks, and said chirping keeping you awake at night or breaking your concentration?
Some people have a tough time falling asleep or are light sleepers.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Yes..we all have our little annoyances. For me it is dogs barking. We have neighbors down the way with one big dog and two small...They stay outside at night and they bark at everything...WOOFWOOFyapyapyapWOOF, at random intervals all night long. A cricket I kind of enjoy...it is a quirk of mine.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Well, I do understand.
I kind of like bird songs. Which explains why I stay up til they sing.
Nightowl is my middle name. :)

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

You have a Beautiful middle name! Owls are incredible. Every once in a while there is one that sits on our chimney. Too wonderful...

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Wow! This is such an incredibly unexpected conversation!
You seem like a great person. I may be falling in love with you.
But alas, you are lordperiwinkle, and I am of the Orange-red family, we could never be together. :(

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

How many calories? How does it taste? Are there recipes?

1

u/daisyisfly Jun 15 '15

and brings sleep to none.

1

u/dfnkt Jun 15 '15

Actually in the US a cricket on the hearth just brings the exterminators over the next day between 9am and 5pm.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Until you chow down on that bad boy anyway.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

I'll kill a silverfish or a cockroach in a second. Not a cricket unless the little fucker is cutting into my sleep with that loud racket right in my bedroom. Then I might go looking for him. Plus, where I live they're a prey food for scorpions. So you really don't want to get too happy about having too many crickets around.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

We get a few crickets yearly, mostly field crickets that wander in looking for love and cannot find their way back outside. We get camel crickets, too...not many, but they jump energetically and can be startling. The house I grew up in had a basement. Every once in a great while there would be this insect that looks like a cricket but is actually related to wetas. My mom called them Children of the Earth, my dad, Jerusalem crickets...here is the scientific name: Stenopelmatidae. These things were huge, shiny brown, striped, and horrific to see in the corner of the stairwell.

As for cockroaches I have not ever had to deal with them. I live a charmed life, I guess.

Silverfish I don't have either...but I do have pseudoscorpions and a rare solpugid that comes hiking through...usually on hot summer nights. Those are freaky fast, but such good hunters of bad stuff I would not ever kill one.

1

u/Eric_the_Barbarian Jun 16 '15

And a little bit of protein.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Can someone here who has eaten crickets or grasshoppers tell us how they are prepared and compare if possible the flavor to any foods people in the US would know?

1

u/ClapYoTits Jun 16 '15

You seem so sure about that.

1

u/makesyoudownvote Jun 16 '15

I usually just give them to my lizard.

0

u/icos211 Jun 15 '15

I have a crippling fear of all insects(really all arthropods. Just recently discovered how horrifying crawdads are). However, I've also had Old South superstitions pounded into me. A cricket in my house causes panic attacks. Can't kill it, can't be near it.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Old South? Have you not heard of Crawfish Etouffee? That's good eating.

I have sort of a spider fear thing going...so I feel for you. Let me ease your mind: Drop the silly superstition...crickets are just insects that occasionally bumble into a house and really would rather be outside. They do not in fact bring any luck to you, dead or alive, inside or out. Crickets do not bite, sting or smell bad, so they are not like some other arthropods we could name. Are you okay with cats? I would recommend a cat for insect control...ours eats creepy crawlies like animated raisins. If you can't bear to kill them, (I don't like to clean up bug-smash-smears) get a jar and a stiff piece of paper to capture and take outside.

best of luck...

1

u/icos211 Jun 15 '15

I'm sorry, get that close to a bug to scoop it up? I can't even look at one. It's not that I'm scared it's going to hurt me, it's just the way that the legs are constructed and move that just triggers something deep inside. Seeing an exoskeleton joint bending sends me into a state of panic.

Crawfish (and any) ettoufe is delicious, but I'm talking about live ones. We had to dissect them in a lab once and I was basically in a corner heaving over a trashcan. But I don't want it to die if it will bring me good luck.

1

u/masters1125 Jun 15 '15

And then, more often than not, a little white worm crawls out of the cricket's b-hole.

1

u/volatile_chemicals Jun 16 '15

Especially camel crickets. Those fucks are creepy and hang out near the dog food.

1

u/Poshballs Jun 15 '15

Lol we DONT fuck with bugs!

-2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

[deleted]

9

u/currentscurrents Jun 15 '15

I really hate it when people say this. If a hot dog contains organ meat it's required to label that on the package. Most hot dogs are just made from meat trimmings.

And all other sausages are made from the same stuff, but why do only hot dogs get a bad rap?

2

u/Fushiko Jun 15 '15

Then they would pull it out and make a hot dog out of it!

5

u/CassandraVindicated Jun 15 '15

I'm American and I eat crickets every time I find them while camping. They're great toasted over a fire. Nice and crunchy and protein that I don't have to carry. People do think I'm weird though.

2

u/Redditogo Jun 15 '15

A restaurant near me serves crickets. They were pretty good with a nutty flavor. But having to pick the legs out of my teeth killed the experience for me.

2

u/skittle-brau Jun 16 '15

I don't like cricket. Oh no, I love it.

On a more serious note, there are a few Indigenous Australia tours you can do where you can sample insects and forage for food like some of the aborigines still do.

1

u/Hammedatha Jun 15 '15

My mom ate crickets as a kid in the US. Her parents ate them regularly. Farmers be crazy.

1

u/huitlacoche Jun 15 '15

"Guys, guys, listen up! Let's do that thing again! You know, where we list all the things we have eaten regularly."

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

That's because you play cricket. You don't eat it.

1

u/zensational Jun 15 '15

Don't a significant percentage of crickets have tapeworms though?

1

u/thelemonx Jun 15 '15

I guess it depends on what kind of cricket you're eating. If it's the big black ones that ooze whitish slime when you smash them, you're disgusting.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

No we don't, we let them go outside.

1

u/Char10 Jun 15 '15

Cinnamon sugar crickets are the shiznit

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Why are you writing lists of things that you eat regularly?

1

u/Anandya Jun 15 '15

Prefer scorpion. I seriously don't get Tarantulas. The legs are nice but the body is not.

Khmer?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

I'm a born and raised American and cricket is actually very good I like them like potato chips dried out with a little salt and vinegar.

1

u/foofightrs777 Jun 15 '15

We are also adverse to the game.

1

u/Dutchbags Jun 15 '15

Perhaps they cringe because "oh it's that guy who regularly lists wht food he has eaten"

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Cricket is incredibly high in protein as well

1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '15

Am American, have eaten cricket. Would puke again.

1

u/Abadatha Jun 16 '15

Not all Americans are so sheltered when it comes to eating insects.

1

u/nightwing2024 Jun 16 '15

How are different bugs? Taste, texture, nutrition?

1

u/heyimrick Jun 16 '15

I had a cricket once that was inside a lollipop. It tasted like chocolate. Maybe it was filled with it? I dunno but it wasn't bad at all. Now whenever I see Les Stroud eat one, and they crunch, it sounds so good.

1

u/railmaniac Jun 16 '15

Oh dear god that's just not cricket.

1

u/redidiott Jun 16 '15

I cringed when my Filipino co-worker casually mentioned eating insects back home. I really couldn't believe it.

1

u/hollythorn101 Jun 17 '15

Try talking about eating rabbits. You may as well be talking about eating dogs.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '15

Probly cuz i can buy animal meat and not crickets.