What does a beetle taste like?

So I was at Trader Joe’, buying raspberries. You know, those red buggahs that spoil within a day if you don’t notice they are molding? Well, I was going through the packages, most of them in advanced stage of rot, and found 4 that seemed passable. The best one had evidently been left out because it had a sizable black beetle in it.

At home, I place the berries in the refrigerator – some of them in the freezer, where they won’t rot – and make a mental note of checking the package out in the morning. I wanted to get the beetle out safe.

Next morning, I have a sore throat from my neighbor in spinning class (that’s at least the assumption) and I don’t feel quite myself. I prepare the coffee, then fix the yogurt with the raspberries and cereal. I remember to check, but I can’t see a beetle. I suppose I expected something crawling, but there wasn’t anything.

The first bite gives way to a distinctly bitter and foul taste. Not a raspberry at all, I think, and realize it must have been the beetle. I think to myself whether I should spit it out, but decide against it out of laziness.

I munch, and realize I am tasting a beetle, however softened by berries, yogurt, and granola. And I realize that, in a pinch, eating one wouldn’t kill me. Yes, they are bitter and taste foul, but that’s still better of starving to death!