Yummy Treat

  People eat a variety of things we consider to be pretty offensive, sometimes out of necessity (like the Cambodians who eat Tarantula as a throwback to when the Khmer Rouge were in power and food was in short supply) , sometimes out of perceived health benefit (think the Balut egg, thought as a protein food for those on the go) , and sometimes for...well I have no idea. This seems to fall into the "WTF" category.

  This is Casu Marzu cheese, found primarily in the Sardinian area of Italy. While it looks like a normal cheese, it is NOT. 

  It is Pecorino that has been decomposed by the digestive action of larvae. The cheese is left outside to permit larvae to do this and by the time it is chow time, there will be thousands of live maggots in the cheese. LIVE because the cheese can become toxic if there are dead wee wormies present. 

  Because the critters have a vertical leap of around 6 inches and will instinctively try to escape, eating a Casu Marzu sandwich requires you to have a firm grip to keep the bread from going airborne. There have also been instances of dangerous intestinal larvae infestations because these particular bugs are resistant to stomach acid. 

  I'm as tolerant as the next cat, but this is beyond bizarre. 

  Oh, enjoy your brunch.

P.S. Anyone for a Weird Al cover of Abba : "Dancing Cheese"?