More on the worm cheese...
The kind my grandfather ate came from Sardegnia, or Sardinia, Italy.
http://www.portlandmercury.com/2000-09-14/scientific.html
http://www.apocalypsefiction.com/issfive/cheese.html
Ewww
CASU MARZU. Casa marzu is what the Italians call it. I call it disgusting. What is it?
Alive au gratin. Velveeta’s evil cousin. Festering fondue. Squirmy Sardinian Cheese Whiz. It’s also a black-market delicacy that some Italians scarf down like ice cream. Here’s how it’s made…
In parts of Northern Italy, a block of pecorino (sheep’s milk) cheese is left outside in the sun until flies stop by for a siesta and drop their larvae. The cheese ripens to the consistency of warm pudding, turns brown, and after a few weeks is squirming with thousands of maggots. That’s when you know it’s ready to eat.
Owing to the decomposition caused by worm poo, the goo-that-once-was-cheese tastes totally rotten and actually burns the tongue. And with the mass of maggots burrowing through it, it smells awfully good too. Still, it is treasured as a local dish and (though technically illegal) eaten with gusto – often blobbed onto bread and served as a living sandwich. Casu marzu even comes with its own entertainment. Throughout the meal, diners get to watch maggots jump from the cheese and dance all over their plates.
And
The cheese itself tastes rotten. Enzymes produced by the maggots cause the cheese to ferment and its fats to decompose. The result is a viscous, pungent goo that burns the tongue and can affect other parts of the body. One neophyte experienced a strange crawling sensation on his skin that lasted for days. And some of the wiggling worms jump straight toward the eyes with ballistic precision. To protect the eyes, some Sardinians recommend holding a hand over the sandwich.
Though worms can be removed from casu marzu, many Sardinians don't see a reason to bother. "It would make me sick to see a worm in a cake or a sweet, but I don't mind when it's inside the cheese," Mr. Costa says.
In fact, the presence of live worms is often regarded as proof that the cheese remains good. A really bad cheese wouldn't support maggots, which would die and make the casu marzu truly toxic.
http://www.portlandmercury.com/2000-09-14/scientific.html
http://www.apocalypsefiction.com/issfive/cheese.html
Ewww
CASU MARZU. Casa marzu is what the Italians call it. I call it disgusting. What is it?
Alive au gratin. Velveeta’s evil cousin. Festering fondue. Squirmy Sardinian Cheese Whiz. It’s also a black-market delicacy that some Italians scarf down like ice cream. Here’s how it’s made…
In parts of Northern Italy, a block of pecorino (sheep’s milk) cheese is left outside in the sun until flies stop by for a siesta and drop their larvae. The cheese ripens to the consistency of warm pudding, turns brown, and after a few weeks is squirming with thousands of maggots. That’s when you know it’s ready to eat.
Owing to the decomposition caused by worm poo, the goo-that-once-was-cheese tastes totally rotten and actually burns the tongue. And with the mass of maggots burrowing through it, it smells awfully good too. Still, it is treasured as a local dish and (though technically illegal) eaten with gusto – often blobbed onto bread and served as a living sandwich. Casu marzu even comes with its own entertainment. Throughout the meal, diners get to watch maggots jump from the cheese and dance all over their plates.
And
The cheese itself tastes rotten. Enzymes produced by the maggots cause the cheese to ferment and its fats to decompose. The result is a viscous, pungent goo that burns the tongue and can affect other parts of the body. One neophyte experienced a strange crawling sensation on his skin that lasted for days. And some of the wiggling worms jump straight toward the eyes with ballistic precision. To protect the eyes, some Sardinians recommend holding a hand over the sandwich.
Though worms can be removed from casu marzu, many Sardinians don't see a reason to bother. "It would make me sick to see a worm in a cake or a sweet, but I don't mind when it's inside the cheese," Mr. Costa says.
In fact, the presence of live worms is often regarded as proof that the cheese remains good. A really bad cheese wouldn't support maggots, which would die and make the casu marzu truly toxic.