Tuesday’s Tech Tip: How’s about a double quarter pounder with Casu marzu…or
on January 17th, 2012 at 6:26 am
Or a pizza with pepperoni and extra Casu Marzu!
Casu marzu is a cheese considered a regional delicacy in Sardinia. Its name translates as “rotten cheese,” and with good reason — it’s the end product of leaving an entire chunk of pecorino cheese outside and allowing it not only to ferment but to become infested with fly larvae.
This can constitute a nasty surprise for the uninitiated, as the larvae can jump as high as 6 inches into the air when disturbed.
Casu marzu was banned in the European Union for reasons of human safety. Eating the cheese with the larvae still alive can cause parasitic infections, and eating it after the larvae have died means consuming a product that has become so fermented, it is too toxic for human consumption. The ideal compromise would be to remove the living larvae and eat the cheese once it’s free of its larval guests, but doing so is said to cheat the consumer out of its aphrodisiac qualities.
