另類美食 浙江麗水一個夏天吃掉上億隻知了

It may sounds like yet another "out-there" diet, but cicadas are actually one of the most popular summertime dishes in eastern China's Zhejiang province, especially in the city of Lishui.

聽起來這又像是一道"黑暗料理"，不過知了在中國東部的浙江省，尤其是麗水市，可是夏季最流行的小吃。

"Cicadas are high in protein and low in fat; eating cicadas in appropriate quantities is also good for plants and other flora. The only problem is that most of the cicadas people eat now are wild, so it is important to ensure that the cicadas are fully cooked in case of parasites," said professor Mo Jianchu from Zhejiang University.

浙江大學教授莫建初表示："知了含有高蛋白低脂肪，吃掉適量的知了對植物生長也有一定好處。唯一的問題是，人們吃的知了大多數都是野生的，會攜帶一些寄生蟲，所以烹飪的時候一定要燒熟、燒透。"

Jiang Yongchun, a manager from a local food company, explained that people in rural Lishui have been eating cicadas for many years. Around the end of 1980s, cicadas become a common dish in restaurants. Usually it is a seasonal dish, served from June to September.

當地一家食品公司總經理蔣永春表示，麗水農村很早就有人吃蟬。從上世紀80年代末開始，蟬出現在了酒店的菜譜上。通常這是一道時令菜餚，基本在6月到9月提供。

During busy times, Jiang said he can sell over 1 ton of cicadas in one day. There are at least six to seven cicada dealers in Lishui, and their daily sales total is between 6 and 7.5 tons.

蔣永春說，旺季時知了每天的批發量達1千多公斤。在麗水，專門從事知了批發生意的經銷商有6到7家，每天的批發量共1.2萬至1.5萬斤。

According to these statistics, people in Lishui consume billions of cicadas in the roughly 80 days of "cicada season."

根據初步估算，在6月到9月這80天的"知了季"裏，麗水人會吃掉上億隻知了。

Because of this extensive consumption, the cicadas people eat in Lishui come also from Quzhou, and even some places in Jiangxi province.

由於消費量的擴大，麗水這幾年還轉向浙江衢州甚至江西等地收購。

"Capturing cicadas in appropriate amounts is actually good for the growth of vegetation, though overconsumption does have an impact on the ecological chain. But so far the population has not been influenced, since the cicadas are not only from Lishui but also other places," professor Mo explained.

莫教授對此表示："儘管過量消費確實會對生態鏈產生影響，但是適量的捕食知了對蔬菜的生長還是有利的。由於知了不僅來自麗水還來自其他地方，所以迄今爲止並未受到影響。"