Casu marzu maggot-infested cheese from Sardinia is displayed at the Disgusting Food Museum in Malmo, Sweden November 4, 2018. Disgusting Food Museum invites visitors to explore the world of food and challenge their notions of what is and what isnt edible. The exhibit has 80 of the worlds most disgusting foods. Ten of them are available for visitors to taste each day. Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT / Kod 50090 – Disgusting Food Museum invites visitors to explore the world of food and challenge their notions of what is and what isnt edible. The exhibit has 80 of the worlds most disgusting foods. Ten of them are available for visitors to taste each day. (Photo by Johan NILSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo credit should read JOHAN NILSSON/AFP via Getty Images),
We’ve all secretly dreamed of becoming a cheesemonger, right? Spending every day, every minute, every moment, surrounded by cheese. Smelling it, eating it, processing it, preparing it, and caring for it. But it turns out that some cheesemongers have slightly different jobs than others.
Ever heard of casu marzu cheese? It’s not super popular, although it is unique. In 2009 the Guinness World Record named it the “world’s most dangerous cheese” on the planet. Why? Because it’s made with maggots. Yup, disgusting, tiny, gross, little maggots.
Here’s the deal: there’s an Italian island called Sardinia where casu marzu is made, and it happens when specific flies lay their eggs in the cracks of certain cheese as its being made. Maggots hatch from the eggs, infiltrate the cheese, and turn it into a soft, creamy, different cheese. Some people remove the maggots before eating it, and others don’t. Yup, that means they’re potentially eating spoonfuls of maggots. It’s not legal to sell commercially, but that doesn’t mean Italians don’t eat it. They do. Guess you just have to get in good with your local cheesemonger or an underground restaurant to get a taste. It’s a delicacy for many cheese-lovers and upholds a long-standing Italian tradition. Would you try it? Read the full story from CNN.com here.