I saw the maggoty cheese

[Mezzaluna]

If my g.i. problems weren't enough, last night I caught the tail end of a story on Ripley's Believe it or Not about the maggoty cheese. It seemed to be set in Italy, but I couldn't be sure- certainly it was Europe. Sure enough, there were the little critters, squirming their way through a creamy yello cheese. They said the cheese was 'powerfully pungent' in flavor. I just about lost it (my dinner), but hung on long enough to be able to report about it to all my ChefTalk friends. BTW, the cheese is illegal in its home country.

I saw it too... There isn't much out there that I wouldn't try but this just crosses the line. BTW it's in Sardenia (I think)

Someone told me that if you wrap the cheese in a plastic bag for a while the maggots suffocate and die. Sure, but you are still eating their cadavres.. Beurk! There is NO way to make that one more palatable to me.

FYI: Maggots have their uses in medicine too. They eat through gangrene quite effectively.

[Live_to_cook]

There's a whole gross food thread around here someplace, starting with a way too detailed discussion of this cheese. Called "casu marzu" ("rotten cheese").

http://www.cheftalkcafe.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000202.html

Well, here's the whole sordid story:


IT SURE IS A SCIENTIFIC WORLD!
Maggot Eaters of Sardinia
John Dooley

Casu Marzu--Sardinian for Rotten Cheese--is Northern Italy's answer to eating s**t . Maggot s**t .

According to Yaroslav Trefimov of The Wall Street Journal, Casu Marzu, Sardinia's favorite black market treat, begins with a local cheese called Pecorino, which is left out in the sun, so that nearby barn-flies can deposit their larvae into it, until it becomes overpopulated with a swarming mass of maggots. The enzymes "produced" by the maggots cause the cheese to ferment, which, in turn, decomposes the fats, creating a living culinary delight.

Fans of the fetid fondue à la larvae say Casu Marzu's attributes range from being an aphrodisiac, to containing psychotropic qualities that give a full body rush. It also makes a great centerpiece at wedding banquets and family feasts.

Trefimov describes the viscous larval bomb as a rotten tasting, pungent goo that burns the tongue, and can also affect other parts of the body. Moreover, the lively maggots are far more entertaining than dull cherries suspended in Jell-O, as the creatures continuously leap from the cheese as you eat it. Part of the ritualistic ceremony involves covering the mess with the hand, to keep the little buggers from snapping into the eyeballs with "ballistic precision."

According to Trefimov, when the brown lump (the size of a human head) is presented, the maggots spring from the cheese, and "merrily jump up and down, cavorting all over the table."

Although the gluey abomination is banned in the country, it is considered a rare delicacy and secretly prized, even among government health department officials, one of which admitted he thought the s**t was "quite tasty."

What are the chances of Casu Marzu gracing the inventory of our local cheese mongers? According to Robert Harrison, cheese expert at Eurobest Food Industries located in Tualatin, "Zero. It won't happen. No way."

Harrison says it's hard enough getting un-pasteurized cheese imported into this country, let alone one rife with larval parasites.

"Anything that's got squiggling beings in it, is not going to make an appearance on USA shelves."

Casu Marzu: a hot new culinary darling, or the 21st century's gastronomical equivalent of the ant farm? You be the judge!


[This message has been edited by Crudeau (edited 01-25-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Crudeau (edited 01-25-2001).]

[Nick.Shu]

id try it.

[shroomgirl]

OK NICK (or was that MIKEY) we'll let you.
You'd have to be late thirtys to remember that great commercial...get mikey let mikey try it.
Curious minds want to know...was it the thrill factor, plain curiosity or aphrodisiac factor that intrgues you?

[This message has been edited by shroomgirl (edited 01-26-2001).]

[Nick.Shu]

bring it on

probably plain curiosity - there are things out there that, if you dont try them , you may never know - it may just be the best thing that you have ever tried.

Id probably just flick the crawling b'stards off.

After all, just about the only things i wont eat is offal and pre digested food.

[This message has been edited by Nick.Shu (edited 01-28-2001).]

What the ****. Rinse that sucker off and I'd try it too. That which does not kill you only makes you stronger. (Insert any other macho b*llsh*t here.)

[Nick.Shu]

uh oh, idea coming on - fondue party anyone?

[Greg]

Great idea, Nick, but how do you keep the little ones alive while cooking and serving? Work out the logistics, and you've got a fondue that you don't have to dip in; it comes to you!

[shroomgirl]

You guys are toooooo funny!!!!! So what would you serve this joy on....is there a bread equivalent? Pass the protective glasses...

I'll wear my special Sardinian Casu Marzu Goggles.

[Chef David Simpson]

AAAAARRRRRGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! OK, give me some! and don't be stengy either!!

I used to wear those Crudeau. They also made women more attractive and me MUCH more interesting.

[This message has been edited by mofo1 (edited 01-29-2001).]

So does a gallon of vodka! ...which makes me think that pickling the darn thing would kill suckers...Hmmmm