There is a very special cheese made in Sardinia, Italy called Casa Marzu. Now usually I write about cheeses I’ve actually tried. However, after much research, I’ve come to the reluctant conclusion that I will not be eating Casa Marzu: aka the maggoty cheese.

Wikipedia has a nice detailed entry. But essentially this cheese is rotten and infested with the larvae of the cheese fly. Is it the still wiggling maggots that make me not want to eat it? Well, no. Actually if the maggots aren’t moving it’s a really bad sign. If the cheese can’t support life then it’s actually quite toxic and will slap you in the hospital.

So the maggots are safe to eat? No. Here’s the details of Piophila casei. These maggots can survive human stomachs and live for a time in the intestines, merrily slicing you up all the while. You can imagine the symptoms. Plus locals say if the maggots jump from your sandwich they have an uncanny knack for hitting you in the eye.

But wait! These maggots can jump, so there are a few nice tricks to scare them out of the cheese before you dig in. Like covering it with a paperbag and waiting (as if for popcorn) for the panicking maggots to stop hitting the bag.

So now that the maggots are out, its safe to eat? Uh, no. The cheese is rotten and can cause a host of interesting symptoms on its own. “Enzymes produced by the maggots cause the cheese to ferment and its fats to decompose. The result is a viscous, pungent goo that burns the tongue and can affect other parts of the body. One neophyte experienced a strange crawling sensation on his skin that lasted for days” says Yaroslav Trofimov, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal. His article.

Besides its illegal even in Italy. That cheese on Fear Factor? Yeah it had maggots, but nice fat safe ones. If anyone knows what kind of cheese that actually was do let me know.

(Also if anyone knows the photographer of the above image, I'll post credits)