The tasty spider

Australian Geographic ^ | 8/8/16 | Tim Low

[DallasBiff]

EVER EATEN A spider? The golden orb-weaving spider (Nephila edulis) has a plump abdomen that, after baking, tastes remarkably like pâté. Many years ago I fed one to a journalist on A Current Affair. She was very reluctant to chew it but agreed about the taste.

The scientific name of this spider celebrates its culinary merits. French naturalist Jacques Labillardiere bestowed the name in 1799 after seeing the spiders roasted and eaten in New Caledonia. Other species of Nephila are eaten in Thailand, served raw as well as cooked, as well as in New Guinea, where they’re fire-roasted. About the size of small olives, the abdomens are a substantial titbit.

Besides tasting good, golden orb-weavers have useful silk. If you have ever blundered into one of the golden webs you will know how strong they are. Small birds and bats are sometimes snared, and in New Guinea and Vanuatu the strands have been wound together to serve as ready-made fishing line. The silk is superior to most synthetic high-performance fibres, with high tensile strength and elasticity.

[telescope115]

I remember Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods, and I remember that episode. I’m about 20% Sardinian, and I have NO DESIRE to to try maggot infested cheese.

[grey_whiskers]

Beat me to it!

Thanks, nully.

[FLT-bird]

I’m not eating bugs. Let Klaus Schwab and co munch down on all the “tasty” bugs they like. I’ll have a steak.

[Jeff Chandler]

Porcupine would be convenient for kabobs

[Jeff Chandler]

Whoever thought it was a good idea was batshit crazy.

(Don't eat bat shit either.)

[Jeff Chandler]

most rabbis would only permit 4 particular species of desert locust

I glanced at that and thought you wrote "rabbit". Which is delicious btw.

[UnwashedPeasant]

[alexander_busek]

“Ever Eaten A spider?”

Many parts are edible!

Regards,

[fortes fortuna juvat]

How do you skin a porcupine? Please don’t say “carefully.”
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It’s a good question, but that event occurred over 50 years ago so I can’t answer it. I do recall that I had to climb up into a pine tree to knock the critter down to the ground where my friend managed to dispatch it with a limb he used as a club. Later in life I regretted we did that, and I became an active supporter of ASPCA.

[cyclotic]

I ate one once, just to gross someone out. I won’t say it tasted good, but when I bit down, there was a quick burst of spice, like hot sauce.

[gitmo]

Thanks

[gitmo]

I'm trying to understand. It looks like crickets have knees higher than their feet. And they definitely jump.

What am I missing?

[OldHarbor]

Several related spiders are considered a delicacy in New Guinea, “plucked by the legs from their webs and lightly roasted over an open fire”

I have a different variety of Orb Weaver that pops up in the garden. I have never thought about eating them though.