Casu marzu

I enjoy cheese; Italian cheeses are particularly appealing to me. Asiago, Ricotta, Fontina, Mozzarella, they all have a distinct taste, aroma, consistency. They are delicious with a variety of foods from meats to fruits; with wine or beer.

There is however one Italian cheese that I will not eat. Casu marzu (literally rotten cheese), a cheese from the island of Sardinia. It is a sheep's milk cheese, which in itself is a non-issue; after all ricotta is also from sheep's milk. The process of making this cheese is where I lose interest. The cheese is laid out in the Mediterranean sun for a few days and not until it is completely crawling with maggots, it is ready to eat.

There is nothing good about this cheese. Some of the risks include: decomposition advancing to a toxic state and the risk of enteric myiasis: intestinal larval infection. Piophila casei larvae can pass through the stomach alive (human stomach acids do not usually kill them) and take up residency for some period of time in the intestines, where they can cause serious lesions as they attempt to bore through the intestinal walls. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea. Because of these dangers this cheese was not even legal until a few years ago when they began using raised, not wild, flies.

So how did they know when casu marzu had gone bad? When the maggots were dead. Once the cheese decays to the point that it kills the onboard entomology experiment it has become too toxic for human consumption.

I bet you won't find this one at DiBruno Bros.