Casu marzu (also called casu modde, casu cundhídu, or in Italian formaggio marcio) is a cheese found in Sardinia, Italy, notable for being riddled with live insect larvae. Casu marzu means "rotten cheese" in Sardinian and is known colloquially as maggot cheese. Derived from Pecorino Sardo, casu marzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage most would consider decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese's fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called lagrima, from the Sardinian for "tears") seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, about 8 mm (1/3 inch) long. When disturbed, the larvae can jump for distances up to 15 cm (6 inches). Some people clear the larvae from the cheese before consuming; others do not. The cheese has recently appeared on Gordon Ramsay's television series The F-Word.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7729/imageuploadimageey3.jpg
― libcrypt, Monday, 14 July 2008 01:34 (seventeen years ago)
i worked in a cheese store for a while and we spent a lot of time telling people about this cheese.
i ate a lot of mimolette but there was certainly nothing moldy about that one. it's sort of like an extra-dry but not very tangy cheddar.
― moonship journey to baja, Monday, 14 July 2008 01:44 (seventeen years ago)
in my mind it's up there with absinthe (ie, pretty high up) in terms of dudness.
― moonship journey to baja, Monday, 14 July 2008 01:46 (seventeen years ago)
Fave warning bit:
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.
― libcrypt, Monday, 14 July 2008 01:49 (seventeen years ago)
^seksy
― yungblut, Monday, 14 July 2008 02:00 (seventeen years ago)
maybe this is what they mean about cheese causing bad dreams...
― yungblut, Monday, 14 July 2008 02:01 (seventeen years ago)
Whoever eats this is stupid.
― fields of salmon, Monday, 14 July 2008 02:14 (seventeen years ago)
Prob necessary to drink large amounts of strong liquor w/casu marzu so's to
1. kill grubs 2. make eater forget about eating grubs
― libcrypt, Monday, 14 July 2008 02:16 (seventeen years ago)
TS: stomach contents being vomited out vs. stomach contents crawling out under its own power
― Rock Hardy, Monday, 14 July 2008 02:32 (seventeen years ago)
Oh man, I saw a few youtube clips which focused on the production and eating of the cheese. ACK!
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Thursday, 15 January 2009 13:05 (seventeen years ago)
this thread shld be renamed WORM CHEESE, millions would flock to this thread. ;-)
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Thursday, 15 January 2009 16:13 (seventeen years ago)
Weirdly, I've been thinking about this cheese lately a lot, because I've been trying obscure varieties of pecorino from our local Italian supermarket. Unsurprisingly they don't stock casu marzu, though.
― Forest Pines Mk2, Thursday, 15 January 2009 17:51 (seventeen years ago)
Still digussin.
― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:06 (seventeen years ago)
I wonder how the fuck they came up with the idea to let it rot. I mean, really. I saw a clip on youtube. They basically slice the top of and then put it back on. This way the flies can go POOP in it. YUCK.
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:07 (seventeen years ago)
x-post -- Still digessin?
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:07 (seventeen years ago)
I wonder how the fuck they came up with the idea to let it rot.
My friend Stripey thinks this about a variety of obscure foods -- consider saffron. As she says, "Where'd they get the time to figure out how to collect enough to take notice of it?"
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:08 (seventeen years ago)
Letting the cheese rot wasn't an "idea". It was a "happening", as the hipsters say.
― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:09 (seventeen years ago)
Still disgusting.
Yeah, I immediately thought of that. Not SO weird as some cheeses have a (lesser but) same process. But still... Look worms! Let's eat!
I also wonder if the maggots can really jump up (from the cheese IN YOUR EYES). I've yet to see a maggot do that.
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:10 (seventeen years ago)
But still... Look worms! Let's eat!
― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:11 (seventeen years ago)
This is one of the many near-fatal food experiments that have happened in history. Except that it wasn't both near-fatal and fatal.
― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:12 (seventeen years ago)
True. I found it funny in one of the clips a kid is eating it. Here I am freaking out if I let my kid eat salami. (Maybe I should be.)
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:15 (seventeen years ago)
wrongest food ever
― Calling All Creeps! (contenderizer), Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:23 (seventeen years ago)
^ thread concept