Italian Maggot Cheese (Casu Marzu)

Couldn't pay me enough to try it.  Saw it on Bizarre Foods a while ago.  Andrew Zimmern seemed to like it, but he enjoys stuff that I would have a hard time calling edible.

 

I'm with BHToad.. you couldn't pay me enough to eat it.  I get all of the maggots I need just by looking in the fodowaste cart in the summertime.  The city needs to develop a way so the flies don't get into the maggot wagons in the first place as we're not the only ones on the block who have that problem with them.

 

I'm usually pretty adventurous when eating so I would at least give it a try although it may take a bit of convincing.

 

i'm a sardinian man, and i usually eat that cheese, and i can only say that is very very tasty. Try it

 

I would happily try it, but I doubt it's available in the US of A. So, more or less seriously:

- If I got as close as Rome, is there any shop or restaurant that would have this?

- And if I can get to Sardinia, where should I go?

 

In the video there were comments like " it goes across the mouth"

"the strength develops in your mouth"

"gets stronger and stronger".....I have no problem with that.

But what people are getting sick from is the eating of the dead maggots not the live ones. So if you want to be sure your not going to get ill (more than likely you won't) , you must eat from where the live maggots are playing.

I think my gag reflex will go into overdrive.......

Petals.

 

Colin, as far as I know, true casu marzu is prohibited by law these days. You will have to find some cheese speakeasy in Sardinia. I guess Mirko Siddi would be more qualified to point you in the right direction. 

Oh, and Petals - from what I read, the live maggots can cause problems, too. Like burrowing into the intestinal walls. Hrm.... 

As for myself... I am pretty adventurous, but insects and maggots in particular are a problem. One that I may tackle one of these days. Or not....

 

The French have a similar cheese tradition. I don't know what the true name of the cheese is, but my Parisian neighbor--who adores what even she calls "stinky cheeses" -- told me about her father eating cheese "a la marche" (yes, cheese "on the march!") when she was a child.

 

No way! I saw that episode and it gave me the creepy crawlies.