The specialty of the rotten cheesy cheese of Italy

A small piece of Casu Marzu cheese can hold thousands of living wiggling maggots. If they die, the cheese will be broken and turn into a poison that is very harmful to the stomach of diners.

Casu Marzu is not for lovers of ordinary cheeses. The name of this strange specialty means "rotten cheese" , even inside it is full of maggots.

How to process maggots cheese

Close up of maggots moving in the big Casu Marzu cheesecake.

Casu Marzu starts from Pecorino Sardo, a typical cheese that is soaked in salt water, smoked and placed in a cellar until ripe in the center of Sardinia, Italy. However, to make Casu Marzu, the people here had to cut open the upper part of the Pecorino Sardo cheese block so that the Piophila casei cheese flies lay eggs inside.

When eggs hatch and turn into maggots, they grow up by eating their own "cheese" house, thereby producing enzymes that increase fermentation and fat content of cheese. , forming Casu Marzu.

Sometimes to speed up the processing of Casu Marzu, Pecorino Sardo cheese is cut and the eggs are hatched.

The taste of maggots cheese

The cut side of a piece of Casu Marzu cheese.(Photo: Studytub).

Casu Marzu is Sardinia's most famous and beloved specialty. It is a super soft, spicy cheese that is so deep that diners have tears in their eyes.

Some people claim that Casu Marzu tastes like ripe Gorgonzola cheese. Similarly, instead of Gorgonzola's delicious green veins, Casu Marzu is full of maggots. Only a small piece of this cheese can contain up to a thousand live maggots moving.

In fact, the Sardinian people said that the spicy and fatty taste of cheese can only be felt when eating live maggots and wiggling. The maggots have died, the Casu Marzu cheesecake is broken, too rotten and becomes toxic to humans.

Is maggot cheese really dangerous?

Casu Marzu is considered to be illegal because it does not conform to EU hygiene standards. This specialty is prohibited by Italian health law and is not sold in stores. In addition, there have been numerous reports of allergies to Casu Marzu (such as the sensation of burning skin for days), increasing concern about gonorrhea, or infection of intestinal larvae.

Once eaten, it is possible that larvae fly cheese through the stomach without dying (sometimes stomach acid is not strong enough to destroy them). In that case, maggots can "temporarily" stay in the gut for a while, which can cause serious injuries, which can lead to abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and bloody diarrhea.

Despite the health warnings, Sardina people still say that they have been eating cheeses for hundreds of years without problems. In fact, Italian cheese is a must-have dish for special occasions such as birthdays, bachelor parties or weddings.

Casu Marzu is not widely sold in Italy, but shepherds continue to work in small quantities for black markets. They are only for the most trusted customers, selling or serving this item is severely fined.

Maggot cheese is twice as expensive as Pecorino cheese. It is usually sliced ​​thin and served with Sardinia bread and served with Cannonau brandy.

The final note about this strange specialty is that everyone must cover their eyes when eating Casu Marzu, because maggots can "jump" up to 15 cm straight to the eyeball with high accuracy. Clip the cheesecake cheese into a sandwich and cover your eyes before eating.