Could there be raging debates over whether the quality of the cheese is influenced by whether the flies have been “encouraged” to lay eggs? Is the taste superior when the flies lay by their own volition, instinctively seeking ideal nesting sites without undue pressure? Do people loudly proclaim that this maggot-infested cheese is inherently superior to that other maggot-infested cheese? Probably.
I have known about this cheese for some time and will definitely try it if I get the opportunity.
He knows you can just eat…nuts, right?
“the maggots eat the cheese and release an enzyme” sounds slightly better than poop?
No, not really. You’re still using the “m” word.
Who’s afraid of a little maggot? Here, give me that!
This hating is silly.
Think about the concept of medical maggots. During the American civil war it was noticedvthat the soldiers with serious wounds who had maggot infestations did a lot better than soldiers that had the same severity of wounding without maggots. This was because the maggots were debriding the wound of dead rotting flesh and leaving the healthy tissues untouched, and with a far lower and less gangrene inducing bacterial load. Medical maggots are still used today for things like severe diabetic footsores.
The flies eat the truly rotten stuff and their enzymatic secretions ferment the rest. Lots of similar food fermentation processes exist except it’s not fly barf being used as the initial source of enzymes.
Also, as someone who’s done bug cuisine day at the insectarium, and who would like to try insect based cuisine from cambodia, thailand, mexico, and australia, i am now currently interested in seeing if this cheese is better as grilled cheese or used in an omellete.
Also, how Kosher is it?
(I will skip shrimp for thatvreason, but can still eat grasshoppers)
Oh, look at that! I’m outta town that day. Thanks! Rain check?
“Afraid?”
Not at all. Nauseated by the very thought of consuming one orally? (Or consuming one in any manner, for that matter.)
Abso-fucking-lutely.
Like many modern humans, I wash my hands, I clean and refrigerate my food, and then I cook it before consumption… all in order to minimize the possibility of any contamination or food-borne illness.
More power to you; Bon appétit.
I’ve had zero luck getting Casu Marzu in the US. But I can find Mimolette (mite cheese) easily enough. It was banned for a while but the French figured out how to make an export version that somehow satisfied US inspectors. Perhaps whatever was done to Mimolette could be duplicated for Casu Marzu?
Please. Go eat a fried tarantula and fail to tell me about it.
From some reviews I’ve read, Kopi Luwak seems to be no better than any other good coffee, and some tasters thinks it’s very sub-par. BUT, there is also the issue of knowing the true provenance of the beans-- unless you go out and harvest them yourself how do you really know they got pooped out? Considering their hefty price tag there is ample reason for people to pass off other beans as Kopi Luwak.
But anyway. . . as for maggot infested cheese, I might be willing to try it, possibly even with the maggots. My reasoning is: I’ve eaten those dried crickets they sell as snacks, I’ve eaten ants that got into my food while camping, and I’m sure I’ve eaten all manner of insects that sneak into modern factory processed foods, so why not.
My guess is the cheese itself is probably really funky, and I wouldn’t have it ever again, but I could at least say “yeah, I tried it once.”
Historically, maggots have been very useful, granted.
You can eat mine without even having to buy me an ice cream.
Maggot or rotten cheese isn’t peculiar of Sardinia, but it’s known and made along the whole Italy and the near island of Corsica
And cheese corrupted by bug’s poo are made in Germany and France too, in this case by cheese mites
I’d probably eat mite infested cheese before I’d go the maggot route.
I had that. It wasn’t particularly different from other aged cheese.
ETA: beat me to it, @Anthonyl!
Anyway, I also had a Milbenkas from Austria, I recall. Kind of like 36m Parmigiano Reggiano. Not bad at all.
What’s the risk? Maybe it’ll taste bad (there’s no evidence anyone has ever died from it.)
What’s the reward for trying any food, besides ‘sustenance’? Knowledge, I guess. I’m not trying to convince you to try it, I can understand why you wouldn’t. In fact maybe I would back out when presented with it up close and personal, but the mood I’m in today I’m open to trying it.
There are some things I probably wouldn’t try-- those Chinese “pee” eggs, for one.