Located in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Italian island of Sardinia is surrounded by a coastline of 1,849 kilometers of sandy beaches and emerald waters, with the inland landscapes rising to form steep, rugged hills and mountains.
اضافة اعلان
Amid these slopes, shepherds produce Casu Marzu, also known as "rotten cheese," a cheese infested with live insect larvae.
In 2009, the Guinness World Records declared this cheese to be one of the most dangerous varieties in the world.
The type of fly known as the "cheese fly" lays its eggs in the cracks of the cheese, usually Pecorino Sardo, which has a salty flavor.
The larvae hatch and work their way into the cheese, digesting the proteins and transforming the cheese into a creamy, soft texture.
The cheesemaker then opens the top part of the cheese, which has not been touched by the larvae, and extracts a spoonful of the product.
At this stage, the larvae inside begin to wriggle furiously. Some locals spin the cheese in a centrifuge to mix the larvae into the cheese, while others consume it as is.
If you can overcome the disgust, this type of cheese has a strong flavor reminiscent of the Mediterranean pastures, with a spicy taste that lasts for hours.
Some claim that this cheese acts as a natural aphrodisiac, while others argue that it may pose a health risk, as the larvae might survive the chewing process and cause tiny holes in the intestines.
However, no such cases have been directly linked to Casu Marzu.
The cheese is banned from commercial sale, but the people of Sardinia have been eating it with larvae for centuries. Paolo Solinas, a 29-year-old food connoisseur from Sardinia, says that the invasion of larvae is the secret recipe for this cheese.
He adds that while some Sardinians are repelled by the idea of Casu Marzu, others have grown up eating Pecorino cheese without hesitation and love its strong flavors.
Solinas states, "Some shepherds view the cheese as a unique personal pleasure, and only a select few can experience it."
Old Kitchen
When tourists visit Sardinia, they often end up in restaurants serving "Porceddu Sardo," a slow-roasted suckling pig, and visit bakers selling "Pane Carasu," a traditional, thin, flatbread.
They may also meet the shepherds who produce the salty Pecorino Sardo cheese.
However, if you’re adventurous enough, you might find Casu Marzu cheese filled with larvae.
It shouldn’t be viewed as a strange attraction but rather a product that keeps ancient traditions alive and hints at what the future of food may look like.
Giovanni Fanciullo, a 77-year-old journalist and food connoisseur from Sardinia, has spent his life researching the history of local food. He traces Casu Marzu back to the time when Sardinia was a province of the Roman Empire.
There were no written records of Sardinian recipes until 1909, according to Fanciullo. At that time, Vittorio Agnetti, a doctor from Modena, traveled to Sardinia and compiled six recipes in a book called "La nuova cucina delle specialità Regionali."
Fanciullo adds, "We always ate worms, and both Pliny the Elder and Aristotle talked about it."
Food enthusiasts, often inspired by chefs like Gordon Ramsay, often travel to find this cheese, according to Fanciullo.
Hefty Fines
The unusual Sardinian cheese dates back to the Roman era. Despite its status, the legal situation of this cheese is a gray area.
Casu Marzu is registered as a traditional product of Sardinia and is therefore protected locally.
However, the Italian government has considered it illegal since 1962 due to laws prohibiting the consumption of foods infected with parasites.
Those who sell this type of cheese can face hefty fines of up to 50,000 euros (approximately 60,000 dollars).
In recent years, the European Union has begun to explore the idea of consuming larvae, thanks to the new food concept of farming insects for human consumption.
Research suggests that eating them could help reduce carbon emissions associated with livestock farming and mitigate the climate crisis.
Roberto Flor, head of the Dietary Change Laboratory at the Innovation Center of the Technical University of Denmark's "Skylab FoodLab," has long studied the concept of insect consumption.
For years, Flor led the research and development team at the "Nordic Food Lab," which is part of the Michelin-starred restaurant NOMA, trying to find ways to integrate insects into our diet.
Flor says, "Many cultures consider insects a food component."
However, the people of Sardinia prefer their cheese with larvae and are often horrified by the idea of eating scorpions or cockroaches in Thailand.
Flor has traveled the world studying how different cultures approach insects as food, and while psychological barriers make it difficult to drastically change eating habits, he believes that insect consumption is widespread.
