Sparky’s Homemade Ice Cream in Columbia, Missouri developed a hit new ice cream flavor–Cicada Ice Cream. That’s right…ice cream with bugs. And it’s a hit! The shop sold out of its only batch within hours of its debut last week. Huffington Post reports:
The Columbia-Missourian says employees collected the cicadas in their backyards and removed most of the dead bugs’ wings. They then boiled the bugs and covered them in brown sugar and milk chocolate. The base ice cream is brown sugar and butter flavor.
I love how the employees remove “most” of the wings. Nice touch!
This buggy ice cream is just the sort of thing I’d try….just to say I’d done it. Foodies generally have a risky nature (just watch Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods on the travel channel!); they seek out those new flavor combinations, odd ingredients or new cooking methods (I wonder how many home cooks have a never-used sous vide machine in their kitchens thanks to Top Chef).
But the the wet blankets (and obvious non-foodies) over at the Columbia public health office want to put an end to this new food trend and have told the ice cream shop to stop serving the cicada ice cream.
Of course they told them to stop. Bugs aren’t food, man! Except that they are in many cultures and are a wonderful source of protein. But that doesn’t matter to Mr. Public Health Official. I mean, what does it matter to these government bureaucrats if this ice cream shop has developed a money-making ice cream flavor? Who cares if this buggy ice cream is bringing in new customers. What does it matter to the government guy that this ice cream shop is finding a way to stand out in a ice cream saturated market.
Commenting on the cease-and-decist-feeding-people-bugs order, one of the health department officials (with the lofty title of “environmental health chief”) said the agency’s food code “doesn’t directly address cicadas.”
That’s right, Mr. Enviro Chief. You also don’t address puppy ice cream, elephant tusk ice cream, gold tooth ice cream, or brillo pad ice cream.
Better get on that before some law-breaking ice cream man comes up with one of those new flavor combinations.