Cheese is one of the best things in the world. Nowadays, in Malaysia, almost all of our traditional food is cheese-fied for the sake of trend. Going to premium supermarkets like Cold Storage, you can buy different types of cheese like brie and camembert. However, there is one type of cheese that is not only rare but not for the fainthearted.
Originated in Sardinia, the shepherds there produce the infamous casu marzu (literally means ‘rotten cheese’) that Guinness World Record proclaimed as the world’s most dangerous cheese. It is so dangerous that it is banned for commercial sale.
Made from goat’s milk specifically in June when local sheep milk begins to change as the animals enter their reproductive time and the grass dries from the summer heat.
But the reason for its notoriety is because it is a maggot-infested cheese. The cheese skipper flies, Piophila casei, lay their eggs in cracks that form in cheese. Maggots hatch, making their way through the paste, digesting proteins in the process, and transforming the product into a soft creamy cheese. After three months, the delicacy is ready. Then the cheesemonger cracks open the top to scoop out a spoonful of the creamy delicacy.
In a moment that usually belongs in Fear Factor, the maggots would writhe inside the crevices. Some locals spin the cheese through a centrifuge to merge the maggots with the cheese. Others like it au naturel. So you can taste the maggot chunks in the cheese according to your preference.
According to locals, marzu has intense flavors akin to the Mediterranean pastures and spicy with an aftertaste that stays for hours. Some eat it as an aphrodisiac.
The cheese has several different names, such as casu becciu, casu fattittu, hasu muhidu, formaggio marcio. Each sub-region of the island has its own way of producing it using different kinds of milk.
Source: CNN, Great Big Story