The special cheese in Sardinia

SU CASU MARZU

"Su Casu Marzu" is a delicious creamy cheese with a strong flavor and slightly spicy. In Italian it is also called "cheese with worms" because its soft texture is mainly due to the colonization of the cheese fly larvae (Phiophila casei).

Is produced throughout the island and according to the historical region is also called "casu martzu", "casu fràzigu", "casu modde", "casu becciu", "casu fattittu", "casu giampagadu", "cassu 'attu", "casu cundítu". A small production is also present in South Corsica and is called "casgiu merzu". The English translation is "maggot cheese".

The "casu marzu" in Ogliastra is still produced according to tradition.

The best time is represented by the spring and summer months. The pieces of cheese are left in places open where they are attached (tips) from the so-called fly-cheese (Piophila casei) that lays its eggs. After hatching, the tiny larvae transform with their enzymes the dough cheese, pecorino, in a soft cream.

The maturation lasts three to six months. The holey piece is often filled with olive oil, in order to obtain a more creamy and homogeneous paste, so as to make it spreadable on bread. When the cheese is mature and larvae are greatly diminished in number, the patch is opened by removing the top (hat).

Inside the typical creamy yellowish color and a very distinctive and pungent flavor is ready to be consumed, spread on "pistoccu" and accompanied by a glass of Cannonau.