despite the fact that i’m a tad lactose intolerant, i (like many) have a hella big liking of cheese 🙌🏻
not the cheese in today’s fact though 😳 this thing is pretty much the kind of thing you get for halloween 😅
#tdil that there is a cheese out there that is purposely filled with maggots 😷
yep, you did read that correctly – it’s deliberately filled with maggots 🤢 it also burns the tongue when eaten and often brings a tear to one’s eye 😢
it’s actually called ‘casu marzu’ and it’s a sardinian speciality that literally translates as ‘rotten cheese’ 🧀 … like, just no!?
it actually starts life as a pretty standard sheep’s milk cheese called ‘pecorino sardo’ but, instead of being left to ripen in a cellar, it’s left outside in the open … totally uncovered.
why is it left outside totally uncovered? to make it perfect fodder for cheese flies of course! (as if there’s no fly emoji! 🙄). anyway, the aforementioned creatures land on the cheese and lay their eggs 👍🏻
these eggs hatch into transparent maggots that spend their time dossing about, eating the cheese 🙃 as they do this, they produce enzymes that help fermentation and the fats in the casu marzu to decompose 😷
(alternatively, the cheese is cut open and live maggots introduced 🤷🏻♂️ depends how patient you are)
anyway, regardless of method, the cheese ends up a super pungent super soft cheese that burns the tongue and tastes like a very ripe gorgonzola 🙃
you enjoy casu marzu with the live maggots included (there can be thousands per slice) … in fact, they say that you shouldn’t eat casu marzu if the maggots have died … because once even the maggots can’t eat it, it’s appaz no good for humans 🙈
i’m pretty sure it’s no good for humans the second maggots happen 😅 but, you know, each for their own!! 😁
that said, the eu agree with me … it’s actually banned in europe because it doesn’t comply with eu hygiene rules 👍🏻 owing to the fact that the maggots may not die in your stomach and then might try to bore their way out of your body … like alien 👽
despite this, you can still buy it on the italian black market 😎 so, if you’re feeling adventurous, get yo’self into the italian mountains 🤙🏻
just ew …
byeeeee 😜 #tdil
_______
this one was somewhat grimmer than i had originally planned 😂 if you feel like something a bit more palatable, just look ->here<-
(image license goodness … header is ->here<-, picture one ->here<-, picture two ->here<- and picture three ->here<-)
