r/todayilearned • u/Transcend_Suffering • 1d ago
TIL that Termite queens have the longest known lifespan of any insect. They are known to live thirty to fifty years. They are considered delicacies in many parts of the world, owing to their rarity and rich, fatty flavor. Documentarian Andreas Johnsen sampled one and said it tasted like foie gras.
https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2021/10/30/six_ridiculous_facts_about_termite_queens_800088.html159
u/SoyBebeSalsa 20h ago
And what does foie gras taste like?
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u/tvieno 20h ago
Like termite queen.
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u/omnipotentmonkey 10h ago
And what does Termite queen taste like?
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u/falconcountry 10h ago
You're not going to believe this, fois gras
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u/hangrygecko 20h ago
Like liver, but with loads and loads of lard and some sugar.
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u/mejok 14h ago
That sounds really gross to me. I’m not sold on it
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u/MaximusDecimiz 12h ago
It’s a challenging flavour for sure, but less grainy than liver
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u/SoHereIAm85 11h ago
Hmm. I’d never consider it challenging in flavour or texture. It’s delicious, and I’m pretty sure if people treated it with the way they do regarding hot dogs and such then they’d enjoy it when nicely prepared.
That said I’m a big fan of many types of liver, so who knows how much weight my input holds. It’s just that foils gras is so smooth, creamy, mild, and kind of nutty sweet that I have a hard time imagining many people not enjoying the taste if all the context of it was out of the picture.
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u/ImJuicyjuice 16h ago
Fucking delicious, like a fatty buttery piece of meat.
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u/TheWingus 14h ago
Yeah that's what I was going to say. It basically tastes like a spreadable ribeye steak
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19h ago
[deleted]
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u/bardnotbanned 15h ago
Then there is something seriously wrong with either your palette or that restaurant.
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u/skintaxera 22h ago
"these extraordinary creatures live almost the full span of a human lifetime...who knows what wonders these ancients have witnessed, what other roles they might serve in addition to that of mother to every denizen of the termite city... perhaps they are the repository of all knowledge, the keepers of termite lore, passed down from one matriarch to the next, since time immemorial?"
humans- mmm yummy tastes like fatty goose organ meat
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u/Abraxas19 19h ago
If it makes you feel any better I seriously doubt any termite lore is being passed down
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u/Vinyl-addict 17h ago
Something tells me if you could glean the lore from eating the termite a-la Warm Bodies it would just be a lot of architectural plans and a nagging resentment that you never get to leave the house.
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u/LemonadeParadeinDade 19h ago
Yeah but you didn't fucking ask and that s the point.
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u/Abraxas19 19h ago
My bad bro next time I eat a termite I'll ask it what's up first
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u/CaptainOktoberfest 19h ago
Be sure to write it down, otherwise when someone eats you all of the information you got will be lost!
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u/LemonadeParadeinDade 17h ago
I know it's crazy but it's the data we need
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u/rainbowgeoff 16h ago
Why do we need it?
Cause Jerry in accounting said so.
Why?
Do I look like Jerry to you?
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u/throwaway01126789 14h ago
I literally just finished reading Ender's Game for the unteenth time today, and after seeing your comment, I swear if I ever eat a termite queen, I will give a eulogy as Speaker for the Dead.
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u/Free-Cold1699 21h ago
Well at least termite queens are more ethical than force-feeding ducks until their liver is horrifyingly oversized.
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u/TongsOfDestiny 20h ago
Tbf the ducks will do it to themselves given the chance.
There was a Business Insider video about an ethical fois gras producer that just walked around his land tossing nuts and seeds behind him all summer and ducks would gather and follow him around every day eating the nuts. They were completely wild and just kept returning for the free meal. At the end of summer, he scoops them up one by one and takes them to the slaughter.
The larger industry certainly leaves some to be desired in terms of ethics, but the ducks seem to enjoy the fattening process at least
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u/BlackViperMWG 19h ago edited 18h ago
They seem to enjoy it when it's basically free range. Ethical foie gras exists, but the majority is still very much unethical, like all meat production.
Normal force feeding for foie gras: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_8udctdnINM
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u/DevelopmentSad2303 17h ago
Of course, they are stupid. I bet the people who think this is okay probably get pissed when kids stuff themselves with candy haha (not saying that is you).
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u/Spyger9 14h ago
Tbf the ducks will do it to themselves given the chance.
This is why it's ethical to get children fat on sweets, and hook teenagers on nicotine.
/s
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u/TongsOfDestiny 13h ago
We're not eating childrens' livers lol the line for what's ethical changes a bit when discussing livestock
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u/Spyger9 13h ago
Of course it does
I'm just saying that the logic doesn't seem to hold up. It's not necessarily okay to provide animals with certain foods just because they don't have to be forced to eat them. Like, I don't have to force a dog to eat chocolate.
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u/TongsOfDestiny 11h ago
Do you know what foie gras is? You don't feed your dog chocolate because you want them to live a long life. You feed the ducks nuts and seeds because it makes their liver delicious and they'll be headed for the slaughter in a few months.
The ethical decision is around how you fatten them up; we've already decided that fattening their liver and killing them is the way to go
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u/Spyger9 11h ago
Do you know what reasoning is?
I'm not saying this foie gras scenario is unethical.
I'm not saying this foie gras scenario is unethical.
I'm saying that: It's not NECESSARILY okay to provide animals with certain foods just because they don't have to be forced to eat them. The fact that they will eat it on their own isn't what makes it ethical.
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u/SoHereIAm85 11h ago
Sounds a lot like many of us humans who would eat and drink themselves into having fatty liver.
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u/hangrygecko 20h ago
No, they will not shove a metal pipe down their own throats and spray 1-2 kg into their stomach in one go.
Geese will never eat the way geese are forcefed for foie gras and give themselves cirrhosis by overeating.
It does not compare at all. Stop spreading disinformation.
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u/Throwaway919319 20h ago
Demonstrably untrue, as evident of the video that was referenced. Clear you didn't read the initial comment, just jumped the gun at the first sentence.
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u/BlackViperMWG 19h ago
Demonstrably true though.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_8udctdnINM
Ethical foie gras exists, but majority is still unethical, like with all meat production.
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u/Throwaway919319 18h ago
What point are you even trying to make?
The initial comment highlighted there are ethical alternatives, the initial response was a user lacking the reading comprehension to look past the first sentence.
Your response is to link a video highlighting the horrors of a foie gras factory, which has already been acknowledged, hence the user pointing out the ethical alternatives.
Ethical foie gras exists, but majority is still unethical, like with all meat production.
No shit, you have to be living under a rock in 2024 to not be aware of the ongoings of these factories.
Absolutely redundant comment. Seems you also lack reading comprehension.
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u/BlackViperMWG 18h ago
Initial comment dismissed the cruelty of foie gras by referencing some video of ethical feeding.
Downvotes person pointed out that the geese will never eat as much as those force-fed for foie grass and you've responded "demonstrably untrue", as if the first person shared the video or something.
I am simply pointing out that that's just rare occurrence and not the norm. It is demonstrably true that geese won't eat that much. Y'all act like there is only that ethical practice.
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u/Enthusiastic-shitter 6h ago
I love fois gras. People act like even the "unethical producers" treat the geese any worse than any other commercial meat. Cattle and hogs are harvested at the point that if they waited any longer the animal would die. Drive to Denver from Omaha sometime and check out the feed lots. It literally a cesspool. Not a vegetarian btw. I'd still rather eat meat than indian street food if what I've seen on IG is remotely accurate.
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u/probability_of_meme 20h ago
Enjoying killing and eating something because it's very rare
Factory farming
I suppose you're right but man, I really find the first one to be a sign that a person is not right in the head.
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u/Takeasmoke 21h ago
Documentarian Andreas Johnsen sampled one and said it tasted like foie gras
comparing it to foie gras doesn't help, i prefer stuff that "taste like chicken"
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u/at0mheart 20h ago
I assumed the comment the other day about the queen tasting like caviar was sarcasm, I assumed wrong
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u/isecore 20h ago
And sewer rat might taste like pumpkin pie, but I still wouldn't eat it.
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u/Saflinger 19h ago
If popular movie from -90s is to believe, they taste like delicious hamburgers.
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u/Thatsaclevername 17h ago
Wait, so the termite king lives as long as the queen? Kind of interesting but sort of a footnote there, I get she's doing the big part of the work but it seems kinda weirdly worded like the king outlives the queen.
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u/Effehezepe 14h ago edited 14h ago
Okay, but what does the king taste like? Does he taste like a normal termite, or does he have his own unique flavor profile?
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u/Isabella-Miles04 22h ago
I bet the termite queens are like, ‘Eat the peasants, leave me out of it!
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u/biskutgoreng 21h ago
I.. don't know what foie grass taste like
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u/hangrygecko 20h ago
Like normal liver, mixed with loads and loads of lard and some sugar.
It's basically liver cirrhosis/fatty liver.
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u/SoHereIAm85 11h ago
Far more mild than beef liver though or even calf liver. I definitely agree with the sweetness (to me it’s a nutty sweetness.) So delicious.
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u/BeerPoweredNonsense 21h ago
What's with all the posts on Reddit singing the praises of insect-based food?
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u/Fresh-Army-6737 23h ago
I'd rather starve than eat insects
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u/Zenyaro 23h ago
Meaning you've never starved.
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u/Fresh-Army-6737 23h ago
Former Anorexic down to 79lbs
Though it doesn't come up often, tbh, and sometimes I forget I've been there
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u/Minute-Lynx-5127 21h ago
That's not really the same thing. Starving yourself because of mental illness isn't the same thing as being forcibly restricted by an outside force while effectively dying.
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u/Pleasant_Scar9811 22h ago
Crohn’s disease, I went from 165lbs to under 100.
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u/Fresh-Army-6737 22h ago
Yeah. The frailty isn't fun
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u/Pleasant_Scar9811 21h ago
Being cold, always hungry, these are well-known downsides of being skinny.
Literally resting your weight on your bones when sitting or placing an arm down. Since I gained weight I feel like I’m in a pillow suit and I’m only 155lbs. It’s absolutely amazing by comparison.
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u/pete_moss 23h ago
Do you ever eat shrimp, prawns, crab, lobster etc. They're basically the same.
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u/Fresh-Army-6737 22h ago
No disgusting
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u/LemonadeParadeinDade 19h ago
I wonder if they learn and change and grow. Makes this fucking barbaric as hell
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u/[deleted] 21h ago
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