# Casu Marzu: ILLEGAL Italian cheese (be warned: very gross!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 12, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220 "2008-09-12T03:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/1 "2008-09-12T03:35:08Z")
Okay, I just have to share this video with ya’ll. The other day I was doing typical internet searching stuff, and I bumbed into gross foods. All of them were pretty nasty, but this one has been stuck in my mind for DAYS. Be warned, this is very, very gross stuff. At least It made me squirm. Having said that, I will let the brave ones venture into the world of Casu Marzu, one of the few illegal cheeses in the world. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vZ_-JzM-YQg/hqdefault.jpg "Gordon Ramsey - Maggot Cheese - F Word") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ_-JzM-YQg) Gross and Craaaazy, huh? Please share your thoughts! ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/2 "2008-09-12T03:49:31Z")
What is it? Can I have a hint before I click? Pretty please?? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/3 "2008-09-12T03:52:01Z")
[Maggot Cheese.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_marzu) And no, I’m not kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/4 "2008-09-12T03:56:28Z")
> [@](#): > > When disturbed, the larvae can jump for distances up to 15 cm (6 inches). Dear Og. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/5 "2008-09-12T04:09:34Z")
A while ago we had a thread about it but there were only text links. Some posters absolutely refused to believe that it was real. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/6 "2008-09-12T04:11:19Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Dear Og. I say, the more jump boat before you plop the cheese down the hatch the better: > [@](#): > > Risk of enteric myiasis: intestinal larval infection. Piophila casei larvae can pass through the stomach alive (human stomach acids do not usually kill them) and take up residency for some period of time in the intestines, where they can cause serious lesions as **they attempt to bore through the intestinal walls.** I mean, I’ve seen plenty of disgusting, barf inducing “food”, but none that tries to munch its way out of your gut after you eat it. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/7 "2008-09-12T04:13:19Z")
It should, of course, be offered as a refreshment beween the goat and the squid for new initiates. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/8 "2008-09-12T04:15:11Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > It should, of course, be offered as a refreshment beween the goat and the squid for new initiates. Oh, we already tried… but the goat totally freaked out at first sight of the wiggly cheese. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/9 "2008-09-12T04:17:59Z")
Well, I’d volunteer to try some, but the “delicacy” department at Kroger is rather nonexistent, and I’m too poor to shop elsewhere. Thanks for the hint, BTW! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/10 "2008-09-12T04:33:06Z")
I knew some of you clevear posters where going to try Wiki. :rolleyes: But still, see the video once, it’s interesting. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/11 "2008-09-12T04:39:35Z")
I’d heard of this stuff, and had read a bit about it, but it never occurred to me to check YouTube. It actually looked less… evil… than the written word and still pictures would have you believe. But I ain’t eating it. ---
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/12 "2008-09-12T04:44:01Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > I’d heard of this stuff, and had read a bit about it, but it never occurred to me to check YouTube. > > It actually looked less… evil… than the written word and still pictures would have you believe. > > But I ain’t eating it. Don’t know about that, besides that Vid, there should be a link to the left of the video where you can see a german documentary on the cheese. You get to see the maggots jumping amazng distances away from the cheese. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/13 "2008-09-12T04:49:56Z")
[QUOTE=Gordon Ramsey] Some people think people **shouldn’t** eat maggots… [/QUOTE] Yeah, I’m gonna have to join that lot of people, there. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/14 "2008-09-12T05:11:58Z")
> [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](#): > > Don’t know about that, besides that Vid, there should be a link to the left of the video where you can see a german documentary on the cheese. You get to see the maggots jumping amazng distances away from the cheese. One would think that if you see maggots jumping away from a lump of oozing…_eeeheheherrr-shudder-twitch_… cheese, you should get a clue about the edibility of the … _mblurgh-heave-retch_… cheese in question. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/15 "2008-09-12T06:16:49Z")
I’m eating, so I won’t look at the Youtube link, but I’m pretty certain that I saw this either on **Bizarre Foods** or on some show dedicated to gross foods. It’s _ **horrifying** _. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/16 "2008-09-12T07:55:59Z")
I never met a cheese I didn’t like. Well, that’s not true, but I will still try every cheese at least once. If somebody is willing to mail me some, I’ll try it and youtube my reaction. I am seriously psyched about wanting to try this cheese. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/17 "2008-09-12T08:04:07Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > I mean, I’ve seen plenty of disgusting, barf inducing “food”, but none that tries to munch its way out of your gut after you eat it. I believe the sensible way of ‘preparing’ the cheese is to store it in a paper bag. CO2 builds up and starts to suffocate the worms, causing them to leap in order to find fresh air. When the sounds of worms rattling against the paper ceases, the cheese should be pretty safe to eat, since most of the worms will have left and anyway they will all be dead. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/18 "2008-09-12T12:02:08Z")
We’ve had MANY threads on this stuff, but it’s always worth posting again, so that anyone who’as missed it can sample the heady richness of its awfulness. This has to be the ultimate case of a “learned taste”, and I can only figure that people started liking this as a necessity – flies had gotten in and laid eggs in the cheese, ruining it, so they ate the ruined cheese and made a virtue of necessity. I can live with that thought. What troubles me is the Wiki quote that **Ale** reproduces above to the effect that the maggots can survive your stomach acids and eventually bore through your intestinal walls and take up residence there. I think that, if I was forced to eat this stuff I’d bake it just to prevent that possibility. eating food that can eat me back makes me uneasy. If you’re looking for something almost as gross, go to the “Ask the Icelandic Guy” thread ands look at our discussion of **hakarl**. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/19 "2008-09-12T12:23:24Z")
> [@slaphead](#): > > I believe the _sensible_ way of ‘preparing’ the cheese is … _Sensible???_ Look, pal, as far as I’m concerned the only sensible way of preparing that cheese is strapping it to the nose cone of a rocket and shooting it into the Sun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220/20 "2008-09-12T12:38:09Z")
I didn’t have to Wiki or search. I already knew about the maggot cheese, and thought don’t click the link it has to be that. I don’t plan on clicking the link either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casu-marzu-illegal-italian-cheese-be-warned-very-gross/463220.md?page=2)