As you may know, frogs are being eaten by some people all over parts of the world. Avid eaters are found mostly in Asia – China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. South Americans are also known to be avid eaters. However, as surprising as this may sound, frogs are treated as a delicacy on French gourmet, but why? What do frogs famous all over the world? What does frog taste like? Worry no more as these questions will be answered throughout this article.
For an overview, frogs are under amphibians’ classification of animals. These are vertebrate animals that partly live in water and partly live in the land as well. With their known natural, long, and sticky tongue, they prey and feed on small insects like flies, crickets, mealworms, and earthworms. Given this, are they still safe to eat? Well, continue reading on as we roll out everything you need to know about frogs!
What are Frogs?
Before we proceed to deal with your inside questions, let us first take you to a brief introduction about frogs. Frogs are tailless amphibians and are often found in tropical rainforests. They have protruding and bulgy eyes and a stout body with long legs connected to their pelvic, which enables them to have leaps when jumping. Their skin also has glandular that secrets toxins, at the same time, it also has a respiratory function that controls their body temperature.
On reproduction, most frogs lay eggs in water and hatch them into larvae, then to tadpole, then as being adults. If frogs are lucky to be the only predator in their life, they believe that they could live up to 10 to 12 years.
Frog As a Dish – What Does Frog Taste Like?
Frogs are famous as a dish in many parts of the world, being Indonesia and China as the main exporter counties, while France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the United States as the primary importing countries. Commonly, pig frogs and Chinese edible frogs are the ones being popularly consumed but due to its increasing attention and demand, numbers are now continuously diminishing. With this, frog farming has been established as a solution to this problem.
Moving forward to the flavor profile, what does frog taste like? Why do some say it tastes like chicken? When talking about eating frogs, frog legs are the most consumed part, why? When you ask someone who had eaten a frog before, the often answer you would get is that they taste the same as chicken. Frogs indeed do taste like chicken aside from the fact it also has a slightly distinctive taste like fish. It tastes as savory as chicken and also tender.
If in any case, you will try frog for the first time, we suggest you take the leg part it has the full and intense flavor that you can get from a frog. This is also the reason why the French only consider the frog leg as their traditional delicacy. To sum it up, frogs are not as bad as you think. You might be amazed by how it gives a rich flavor that is very comparable to chicken.
Are There Disadvantages of Eating Frogs?
Are frog legs safe to eat? As far as we have learned, there are only a couple of disadvantages that you can get from eating frogs is that when you eat the wrong type of frogs. Remember, not all frogs are meant for human consumption as some species contain toxic materials. Another thing is when you eat too many frogs. Do not forget that anything you consume beyond moderation is always bad as this may lead to adverse health effects such as stroke, cancer, and other chronic diseases. Hence, it is important to still take caution on eating frogs.
What Do Frogs Eat?
Now that we have learned what does frog taste like and it happens that you do not have any intention to eat one, let us discover what frogs eat in case you have decided to adopt one as a pet instead!
Frogs are natural predators. In the wild, they will most probably stick out their tongue to eat whatever meddles in their way but in frog farming or as a pet, you should pick the right food to feed them along the right amount to avoid having their intestines impacted. Below are some of the feed ideas that you can give to frogs:
- Mealworms – these are probably the easiest ones that you can find at pet stores. Frogs find these are a tasty snack too.
- Crickets – these are one of the healthiest snacks for your pet frogs and can be easily found in pet stores. Make sure you feed them with these once in a while.
- Grasshoppers and locusts – these may be a little hard to find in pet stores but they are worth searching it since it adds nutritional value to your pet frogs.
Just take note that the feeds should always be smaller than your pet frog’s head to avoid health complications. Do not always feed those fruits, vegetables, and any human food leftovers as they will harm your frogs as well.
Conclusion
Frogs are abundant in nature, especially in a tropical rainforest. While they do their part in balancing our ecosystem, they also serve as a delicacy on many cuisines. However, what does frog taste like? By this part, I hope we have already given you the answer but to put it simply – its taste is in between chicken and fish, having a soft and tender texture.
Also, they offer a good amount of protein, with less fat and cholesterol. Truly, it could be a healthy alternative to the common red meats that are being served on our plates. Hence, if you want to try something brand new, this is the one. We suggest you take the frog leg when trying it for the very first time as the full flavor is found in it. Also, make sure to try the fried frog dish as we are certain that you will enjoy it!
