Sardinia

More commonly referred to as maggot cheese, this delightful Italian sheep's milk cheese is made and then placed outside for several weeks with a hole cut into the top of it. Cheese flies settle in, lay their eggs, and maggots begin to live in there.

The maggots eat the cheese, then excrete predigested fats, proteins, and sugars. In other words, they're fermenting it, making the cheese soft and full of flavor.

Now it's bad enough that there are maggots living in the cheese, but what's worse is that Italians believe that it's unsanitary to eat the cheese after the larvae have died, thus you must eat while they're still alive. And on top of that, they don't like their cozy home being disturbed and can jump up to six inches into the air when threatened. Therefore, diners must hold their hand over the cheese as they lift it to their mouths.

Just think, that rotten, maggot-filled cheese you're about to put into your mouth may just jump up and hit you in the eye. Maybe they should equip all diners with some protective goggles?

See what food aficionado Andrew Zimmern says about casu marzu:

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