[HN Gopher] Casu Martzu
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Casu Martzu
        
       Author : nojs
       Score  : 156 points
       Date   : 2021-06-19 13:24 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
        
       | andrewmcwatters wrote:
       | "Illegal cheese" sounds really cool, but then you read this and
       | it's just really nasty.
        
       | Lucasoato wrote:
       | I'm so lucky that society hasn't decayed enough to wipe out this
       | cultural and culinary masterpiece.
        
       | always_left wrote:
       | Another bit about this cheese is that the maggots are large
       | enough that they can also sometimes leap onto your face when you
       | lean for a bite
        
       | streamofdigits wrote:
       | you may not like it now, but a future you will be craving it
       | https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/smell-and-taste
        
       | isoprophlex wrote:
       | Another interesting forbidden food: Tempeh Bongkrek[1], tempeh
       | fermented with coconut which creates the wonderfully named
       | respiratory toxin "bongkrekic acid".
       | 
       | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh#Tempe_bongkrek
        
         | perihelions wrote:
         | _" Fatalities from contaminated tempeh bongkrek were once
         | common in the area where it was produced.[42] Thus, its sale is
         | now prohibited by the law; clandestine manufacture continues,
         | however, due to the popular flavor."_
         | 
         | Remarkable. It joins fugu on a very short list of "things that
         | are lethally poisonous, but also food".
         | 
         | Wikipedia even has a category for this!
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Potentially_dangerous...
         | ("Category:Potentially_dangerous_food")
         | 
         | Casu Martzu, tempeh bongkrek, fugu are all on there. But I
         | think it's missing a couple interesting ones: raw cassava root
         | (glycosides that are metabolized to cyanide) and rhubarb
         | (oxalic acid (which is also the toxic metabolic product of
         | ethylene glycol, the antifreeze fluid)).
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava#Potential_toxicity
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb#Oxalic_acid
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalic_acid#Occurrence_in_food...
         | (several other obscure foods)
        
       | kkotak wrote:
       | Why?
        
       | Kivutar wrote:
       | We have this where I come from (Corsica) and it's not so bad. You
       | have to drink wine when eating this, like stroooong red wine.
       | 
       | Note that even if it's a traditional dish here, only a minority
       | of people are OK to give it a try. Often to impress other people
       | around the table.
       | 
       | My grandmother used to prepare it. It's quite simple to make. Put
       | the right kind of cheese in a pot, cover it with a green cabage
       | leaf, cover and wait for a week.
        
         | capableweb wrote:
         | > Some who eat the cheese prefer not to ingest the maggots.
         | Those who do not wish to eat them place the cheese in a sealed
         | paper bag. The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and jump in
         | the bag, creating a "pitter-patter" sound. When the sounds
         | subside, the maggots are dead and the cheese can be eaten.
         | 
         | Sounds like there is less protein rich ways of eating the
         | cheese as well.
        
           | thaumasiotes wrote:
           | > Sounds like there is less protein rich ways of eating the
           | cheese as well.
           | 
           | You know cheese is mostly protein, right? If you took out the
           | protein, it would be butter, not cheese.
        
         | thaumasiotes wrote:
         | > it's not so bad.
         | 
         | > You have to drink wine when eating this, like stroooong red
         | wine.
         | 
         | You know, I don't generally associate "you'd have to be dead
         | drunk to eat this" with "it's not so bad".
        
           | capableweb wrote:
           | I don't think previous commenter was thinking about the
           | promille of the wine but rather referring to a strong
           | flavour, in order to mask the taste/feeling of eating
           | maggots.
        
             | brazzy wrote:
             | Same thing on a different level, inspires just as little
             | confidence in the statement that it's "not so bad".
        
       | madengr wrote:
       | I wonder how it tastes when spread on Kiviak (fermented birds in
       | a seal skin bag)?
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | CyberRabbi wrote:
       | What was interesting to me was the claim of pseudomyiasis from
       | ingestion. I can't imagine the maggots would live very long or
       | even necessarily be in the digestive system very long even if
       | they did live, so it doesn't seem like a severe or dangerous
       | condition. What am I missing?
        
         | vkk8 wrote:
         | I was wondering about this too. The article also says that the
         | maggots can be killed by suffocating them in a paper bag.
         | Wouldn't the gut also suffocate them?
         | 
         | I desperately need to know this, because if I ever travel to
         | Sardinia I will definitely try this unless there's a chance of
         | getting infested by flesh eating maggots.
        
           | corty wrote:
           | Your stomach will contain some nitrogen/oxygen swallowed
           | while eating and some carbon dioxide from carbonated drinks
           | (both of which is what will make you burp if the pressure
           | gets too high). Same (to a lesser degree) for your
           | intestines. However, the nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere will be
           | gradually mixed with methane and traces of other stuff when
           | traveling further down the digestive system, and loose
           | oxygen. Some insect larvae are also capable of breathing from
           | a bubble of air clinging to their behind if they are immersed
           | in fluid. But I think the risk of any larvae surviving for
           | long in your stomach will be low.
           | 
           | What you can do to make sure they die: Schnaps will cause
           | more stomach acid to be released. And as always, chew
           | properly.
        
           | [deleted]
        
       | dariosalvi78 wrote:
       | I had it from someone I know who produces it in Sardegna and I
       | can only say that it's amazing. I couldn't stop eating it.
        
       | zzzbra wrote:
       | no idea why this isn't more popular.
        
         | throwaway29303 wrote:
         | It's because it's a cheese that bugs people off.
        
       | hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
       | I always wonder how disgusting foods like this come in to being.
       | I have to believe it's primarily kids daring each other. My other
       | favorite example is Korean Hongeo-hoe, fermented skate, which has
       | been described as "like licking a urinal." My, sounds delish!!
        
         | yongjik wrote:
         | Eh, as a Korean I've eaten Hongeo hoe ("raw skate") - while it
         | has a distinct flavor of ammonia, it's nothing to write home
         | about. (I dunno, maybe the authentic ones sold at the region
         | may have stronger taste.) There are stuff I'd be much more
         | reluctant to try, like boiled silkworm pupae[1].
         | 
         | Maybe it helps that I never licked a urinal, so I have no idea
         | what a urinal tastes like.
         | 
         | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beondegi
        
         | pydry wrote:
         | It's probably an ancient survival mechanism. If you eat the
         | food nobody else wants you have better chances of survival.
         | 
         | That's how "acquired tastes" develop physiologically and
         | culture takes care of passing it down the generations.
        
         | wantoncl wrote:
         | Wonder if it's for the same reasons as this:
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl
        
         | peoplefromibiza wrote:
         | this is actually not as disgusting as it looks.
         | 
         | Most of the food we eat have come to be through centuries of
         | iterations to make it better tasting, safer, easier to
         | preserve, etc. or simply edible.
         | 
         | For example olives taste really bad in nature, to make them
         | tasty there are different ways, including immerse them in a
         | solution of water and caustic soda or water and burnt lime,
         | which are highly toxic substances.
         | 
         | I can't even wrap my head around how someone thought it was a
         | good idea, but however the procedure was invented, it worked
         | and we can now experience the amazing taste of sweet olives.
         | 
         | Or think about meat hanging (dry aging) where meat is aged for
         | weeks before being eaten.
        
         | tyingq wrote:
         | I'm repulsed by durian. It smells like a dumpster on a hot day
         | to me. But apparently people really do like it, versus just
         | eating it as some sort of social signal. Maybe it's like the
         | cilantro thing where some people are genetically prone to think
         | it tastes like soap?
        
           | TedDoesntTalk wrote:
           | I'd never heard of cilantro tasting like soap. Had to look
           | that up:
           | 
           | https://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-cilantro-taste-
           | lik...
           | 
           | Thanks for teaching me something new.
        
           | anyfoo wrote:
           | Interesting, I quite like Durian. I think it smells like a
           | gas leak (which isn't per se "disgusting"), but tastes pretty
           | good.
        
             | mishac wrote:
             | I was under the impression gas leaks are supposed to be
             | foul smelling, since the gas itself doesn't have an odor,
             | and they add a foul-smelling additive for safety purposes.
        
           | sdeframond wrote:
           | Oh my I looooove durian! To the point that it is difficult
           | for me to understand why one wouldn't like it.
           | 
           | But many people don't like it indeed, so I must accept this
           | as a fact.
        
             | tyingq wrote:
             | It really does smell like rotting meat to me, and smell is
             | very intertwined with taste for me. Though I do like some
             | pungent things, like sardines. I can't explain it either
             | -\\_(tsu)_/-.
        
           | dheera wrote:
           | I grew up in Southeast Asia and durian never smelled bad to
           | me. Pungent and strong, yes, but not bad. It definitely does
           | not remind me of a dumpster.
        
           | MisterBastahrd wrote:
           | To me it tastes nice and creamy, with hints of rotten onion
           | on a hot day.
        
         | AnotherGoodName wrote:
         | I've always suspected my periodic craving for Vegemite is
         | simply due to salt deficiency. Those that didn't grow up with
         | Vegemite tend to find it disgusting but a craving for Vegemite
         | is a well known thing in Australia where you can sweat out huge
         | quantities of salt on a typical summers day.
         | 
         | These weird foods probably have concentrations of various
         | things that you simply won't see in anywhere else. Salt
         | appetite is a proven and understood phenomenon but i bet
         | there's similar things going on in all of these foods. You try
         | it once and probably don't like it then and there and then one
         | day your brain brings up the memory of that food and tells you
         | to go eat it again.
        
         | wyager wrote:
         | Probably desperation. Someone left a cheese around too long and
         | didn't have anything else to eat. Cheese itself is pretty gross
         | as a concept, at least until you get enough experience
         | cultivating the right kinds of fungus.
        
           | thaumasiotes wrote:
           | > Cheese itself is pretty gross as a concept, at least until
           | you get enough experience cultivating the right kinds of
           | fungus.
           | 
           | A basic cheese doesn't involve any fungus...?
        
             | C-x_C-f wrote:
             | Many cheeses contains fungi like Penicillium [1], think
             | blue cheese etc.
             | 
             | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicillium
        
             | wyager wrote:
             | Huh you're right, I guess the acidification is usually
             | bacterial. Same story though.
        
         | masklinn wrote:
         | > I always wonder how disgusting foods like this come in to
         | being.
         | 
         | The answers tends to be either finding a way to eat the
         | inedible (because there are times where calories > no calories
         | regardless of the source of calories), or finding a way to
         | conserve it somewhat / somehow. Even ignoring its use in
         | creating alcohol from sugars, fermentation can do both
         | (separately or at the same time) and more.
         | 
         | Often these become typical delicacies (the flavors can be
         | intriguing or interesting, or "interesting" in the case of some
         | like Hakarl and possibly the Hongeo-hoe you're talking about).
         | 
         | For Casu marzu, it's probably either finding a way to control
         | spoliation such that the result is still edible, though it's
         | also possible that uncontrolled spoliation simply resulted in
         | something those adventurous (or desperate) enough to try eating
         | it took a liking to.
         | 
         | I'd expect the latter to be the story here: hard cheeses like
         | Pecorino keep a while until they're "open" and you start eating
         | them, and it's not a huge cheese (I believe pecorino wheels are
         | under 2kg, we're not talking the 30+ wheels of a parmesan or
         | comte).
         | 
         | Or maybe sardinia regularly has conditions where the cheese
         | can't be kept and so a controlled decomposition was superior to
         | just losing the cheese.
        
           | HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
           | > there are times where calories > no calories regardless of
           | the source
           | 
           | I have a friend who was in a forced-labor camp and this
           | pretty much sums it up. I recall him describing that the
           | "meat" they were given was usually so rotten than the only
           | way they could stomach it was to basically cover it in chili
           | peppers to mask the taste and smell. But it kept them alive.
        
         | thaumasiotes wrote:
         | https://satwcomic.com/icelandic-cookbook
        
       | dheera wrote:
       | Some videos about it:
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8F-0Ogp4fU
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPzWZzwdaoM
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vScPvwAq7M
        
       | ctur wrote:
       | Nope nope nope. Not for me.
       | 
       | This cheese is illegal for a reason!
        
       | geocrasher wrote:
       | a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that contains live
       | insect larvae (maggots).
       | 
       | Nope Nope Nope Nope. Whole lotta Nope.
        
         | karatinversion wrote:
         | > Because the larvae in the cheese can launch themselves for
         | distances up to 15 centimetres (6 in) when disturbed,[4][11]
         | diners hold their hands above the sandwich to prevent the
         | maggots from leaping.
         | 
         | Noooooope nope nope nope nope.
        
           | nneonneo wrote:
           | > According to some food scientists, it is possible for the
           | larvae to survive the stomach acid and remain in the
           | intestine, leading to a condition called pseudomyiasis. There
           | have been documented cases of pseudomyiasis with P.
           | casei.[13][14]
           | 
           | Noooooooooooooope nope nope nope.
        
           | SkyMarshal wrote:
           | There are some things that no matter how good they may taste,
           | I just don't need to eat and it won't improve my life in any
           | measurable way.
           | 
           | As a wise man once said: _"Casu Martzu may taste like pumpkin
           | pie, but I 'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy
           | motherf*_er."*
        
             | HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
             | Funny how tastes are. I think pumpkin pie is nasty.
        
       | trhway wrote:
       | giving the climate change contribution from meat production,
       | population growth, etc. i think our future diet here on Earth
       | will look more like this Klingon reminding cheese. And insects
       | and maggots are probably the most suitable way to farm protein on
       | space stations/colonies.
       | 
       | It is interesting though why we, humans, haven't got to regularly
       | eat the insects, snails, frogs, etc. (except for a few cuisines)
       | - i mean until the 2nd half of the 20th century the malnutrition
       | was very widespread, and so you'd expect that all the possible
       | cheapest ways of food production would have been utilized. I
       | wonder are there any hidden aspects which would naturally select
       | out people/communities who would go that way in any substantial
       | ways (say high risk of mistakes leading to poisoning? though we
       | do eat mushrooms and fish then why not say frogs? the frogs for
       | example were eaten only during famines in Russia, yet not in
       | normal times).
        
       | SMAAART wrote:
       | > Because of European Union food hygiene-health regulations, the
       | cheese has been outlawed, and offenders face heavy fines.[12]
       | However, some Sardinians organized themselves in order to make
       | casu martzu available on the black market, where it may be sold
       | for double the price of an ordinary block of pecorino
       | cheese.[10][8] As of 2019, the illegal production of this cheese
       | was estimated as 100 tonnes (98 long tons; 110 short tons) per
       | year, worth 2-3 mEUR.[15]
        
       | funebre wrote:
       | My 2nd favourite cheese. For those concerned about the maggots,
       | they are born in cheese, eat cheese and shit cheese all their
       | life as maggots, they are basically living cheese :)
        
         | riffraff wrote:
         | I have to ask, what is the first? I'd be disappointed if it's
         | just pecorino sardo, tho I like that :)
        
           | funebre wrote:
           | Replied above. In general I love strong, flavourful cheeses.
        
             | davidw wrote:
             | Different bit of Italy, but have you ever had Puzzone di
             | Moena? Lives up to its name, which, for the non Italian
             | speakers, translates to the "Big stinker from Moena",
             | roughly.
        
               | funebre wrote:
               | Just once, loved it!
        
           | huhtenberg wrote:
           | Limburger probably.
        
         | dheera wrote:
         | So basically ... you are eating maggot shit ... delicious
        
         | lr4444lr wrote:
         | I'm afraid to ask what your #1 favorite is.
        
           | funebre wrote:
           | It is "Su Caggiu", probably one of the first cheeses
           | discovered.
           | 
           | Here is an (italian) article about it https://www.onaf.it/ind
           | ex.php?c=index&a=schedaformaggio&id=3...
           | 
           | Google Translate version: https://translate.google.com/transl
           | ate?sl=it&tl=en&u=https:/...
        
             | C-x_C-f wrote:
             | From what little I know of Sardinian, I'm guessing _su
             | caggiu_ simply means _the cheese_?
        
               | peoplefromibiza wrote:
               | no, it's the Sardinian dialect for the Italian word
               | caglio (rennet)
        
               | funebre wrote:
               | No, but you got the article right. _Caggiu_ means
               | _rennet_ or _curd_ the substance that is used to
               | transform milk into cheese, _cheese_ translates as _casu_
               | as in _casu marzu_ (that could be translated as _spoiled
               | cheese_ ).
        
           | always_left wrote:
           | American cheese?
        
       | codeulike wrote:
       | Reminds me of the 1903 film 'Cheese Mites', one of the first
       | films to be censored because Cheesemakers were concerned that it
       | would put people off of their cheese.
       | 
       | The original film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR2DystgByQ
       | 
       | Warning: It might actually put you off cheese
       | 
       | source: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/20570/cheese-mites-
       | how-c...
        
       | wanda wrote:
       | Because the larvae in the          cheese can launch themselves
       | for distances up to 15          centimetres (6 in) when
       | disturbed, diners hold          their hands above the
       | sandwich to prevent the          maggots from leaping.
        
         | lvass wrote:
         | It's a feature.
        
           | joe-collins wrote:
           | It is unquestionably a bug.
        
       | stephc_int13 wrote:
       | Sometimes, when a dish is local and doesn't travel, those locals
       | have got to ask themselves why it's not traveling. --Richard
       | Ayoade
        
         | Udik wrote:
         | This actually travels. By itself.
        
           | simtel20 wrote:
           | Up to 15 cm, if I read that article correctly. But not all of
           | it.
        
             | Udik wrote:
             | If you wait long enough, it just flies away.
        
         | oDot wrote:
         | Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EvZNTvPR8Q
         | 
         | Context from 8:40
        
         | davidw wrote:
         | I once did some not very serious google-based statistics to
         | look at the number of immigrants vs the number of restaurants
         | of that type. I used Italy, where I lived at the time, because
         | it was easy to get the immigration stats and because most
         | immigration is pretty recent. There are, for instance, a lot of
         | Filipinos living and working in Italy, but not many
         | restaurants. There are a ton of "Japanese" restaurants, but not
         | very many immigrants.
        
           | contriban wrote:
           | You used the perfect example. Filipino cuisine is not popular
           | anywhere in the world even if Filipinos emigrate in large
           | numbers. Is it possible that more Chinese people emigrated
           | and opened shops whereas most Filipinos worked as employees
           | or nurses? Could that have been the reason why? Maybe
           | Filipino food doesn't look as good as, say, Thai? Vietnamese?
           | Japanese especially?
           | 
           | I'm looking for answers.
        
             | bpicolo wrote:
             | Can find plenty in NYC (and it's all fantastic). Many foods
             | get more widespread as consequence of being hip for a time.
             | Hasn't had its hip movement yet?
        
             | bombcar wrote:
             | Popular versions of food may not be more than "inspired" by
             | the original localities dishes.
             | 
             | I also wonder if it has to do with segregation when
             | arriving - if the Chinese on the railroad had to cook their
             | own food it would be different than if they just ate
             | whatever everyone else was eating.
        
             | vnorilo wrote:
             | I believe Thailand has methodically promoted its cuisine
             | abroad as a way to garner cultural soft power. I, for one,
             | do not mind in the least! Welcome our new larb moo
             | overlords.
        
               | Wistar wrote:
               | A bit of a tangent but... well... interesting.
               | 
               | "Thailand, to combat bad Thai food around the world,
               | creates robot 'e-delicious' tasting machine"
               | 
               | https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191047-thailand-to-
               | comba...
        
               | gregsadetsky wrote:
               | Interesting article on the topic of Thailand's culinary
               | diplomacy:
               | 
               | https://www.vice.com/en/article/paxadz/the-surprising-
               | reason...
        
           | Bayart wrote:
           | Here in France we have a lot of "Chinese" or more generically
           | "Asian" restaurants. They're all Vietnamese ! I guess Vietnam
           | wasn't a particularly exotic or dreamy location after having
           | been a colony for a century, and then the two Indochina wars.
           | 
           | Similarly, I've never heard of an Algerian restaurant. But
           | Moroccan or Lebanese ones are quite common (and the
           | relationships of France with Morocco and Lebanon much better
           | and less contentious).
        
         | mc32 wrote:
         | Some reality TV-host recently got in some controversy for using
         | unusual food like these for effect.
         | 
         | Personally, I don't care if people don't like a food or poke
         | fun at a dish I'm familiar with. But some people get sensitive
         | about cuisine even if they themselves don't like those dishes
         | because they take it as a personal affront.
        
           | stephc_int13 wrote:
           | As a typical French, happily eating snails, frogs and strong
           | cheese, I find it a bit silly to take offence.
        
             | porlune wrote:
             | do you have any advice on eating snails?
        
               | adwi wrote:
               | Don't think about it.
        
               | RBerenguel wrote:
               | You could also try in Catalonia, it's also a local dish
               | (there are several preparations). Personally I don't
               | particularly like the taste of snails themselves, but I
               | don't think they are gross. It's just like "ground clams"
               | in a way.
        
               | overkalix wrote:
               | Coincidentally enough, "qui menja caragols per Sant Joan,
               | te diners tot l'any".
               | 
               | Translation: if you snails on Saint John's Eve (June
               | 23rd), you'll have money all year.
        
               | fishmaster wrote:
               | Yes: don't.
        
               | boulos wrote:
               | Think of them like oysters or mussels. Snail is often
               | prepared with lots of garlic, pesto, or cheese-ish
               | things. The south of France styles are pretty easily
               | taken, since there's more garlic than snail :).
        
               | stephc_int13 wrote:
               | Yes, go to a good restaurant, the proper recipe is taking
               | forever (days).
        
               | contriban wrote:
               | Eat them in southern Italy. They're cheaper and you can
               | actually eat more than 5 in a sitting. They vary from 1cm
               | to 2.5cm in size, and you can have a dishful of them.
               | 
               | My grandma used to cook them in the summer with tomatoes
               | and onions in a little clear soup.
               | 
               | In Apulia you might find Municeddhe, which are just
               | cooked with oil and butter and maybe herbs (as far as I
               | know). They're amazing.
        
               | huhtenberg wrote:
               | In garlic butter sauce with white bread to soak it in.
               | Very tasty. Snails are chicken taste-wise, and texture-
               | wise - not that much different from the chewier bits that
               | you can fish out from a bowl of Boston clam chowder.
        
         | peoplefromibiza wrote:
         | The reason in this case is that casu martzu can only be made in
         | Sardinia and it's almost impossible to preserve the maggots
         | alive if enclosed in a container for distant transport.
        
           | gambiting wrote:
           | I've seen it in Sweden in Malmo at the Disgusting Food
           | Museum(really worth vising btw!) - it had live maggots in and
           | everything. Apparently it's not allowed to be sold there at
           | all though. They also had other food items which they got for
           | the museum but which aren't allowed for sale in the EU - like
           | the Brazilian fried guinea pigs.
        
             | peoplefromibiza wrote:
             | I visit Sardinia almost every year since I was a teenager,
             | and I've eaten casu martzu many times. Once you get past
             | the maggots (which I hate) it's actually a very good
             | pecorino cheese (my favourite is Roman pecorino cheese, but
             | being from Rome I am biased)
             | 
             | It's illegal because it is considered potentially
             | dangerous, but its dangerousness has never been proved, of
             | course it's safer to simply prohibit it, it's quite popular
             | in Sardinia, but not many even on the island eat it and in
             | Sardinia people keep making it anyway, so I think it was
             | the right decision.
             | 
             | Someone feeling sick after eating it in France would be
             | very bad PR for such a small, local, traditional food.
             | 
             | I know of people that went to Sardinia only to taste it,
             | exporting it doesn't make much sense both economically and
             | beaurocracy wise.
        
               | gpderetta wrote:
               | As someone born and raised in Sardinia I have never eaten
               | it and I hope I never will ( but other Sardinian chesses
               | are quite good indeed). Of all my friends, I think only
               | one has ever eaten it, mostly as a dare.
               | 
               | Sometimes I think they keep making it just for the
               | tourists.
        
               | gambiting wrote:
               | What is it with Sardinia and weird cheeses btw? Su Callu
               | is another one that I don't really have any interest in
               | trying, at least this description makes it sound....
               | _super_ unappealing.
               | 
               | https://adobe.ly/3gGu56r
        
             | hcarvalhoalves wrote:
             | > like the Brazilian fried guinea pigs.
             | 
             | It should be Peruvian. I'm Brazilian and never heard about
             | this dish here.
        
               | gambiting wrote:
               | You're absolutely correct, my bad.
        
               | Hallucinaut wrote:
               | I didn't realize they weren't for sale in the EU. I've
               | had cuy before in Cuzco and whilst it was mentally
               | distinct enough from a rat not to be too mentally
               | challenging to eat, the heads look horrific with
               | elongated rodent teeth in a perpetual scream.
               | 
               | It wouldn't be anywhere near my top list of disgusting
               | foods though
        
               | gambiting wrote:
               | So the cool thing about the Disgusting Food Museum was
               | that it really tries to show that the whole idea of
               | "disgusting" depends on the culture. They had some
               | American foods like Twinkies on display - they are
               | literally nothing but sugar and preservatives, in some
               | way it is "disgusting" when looked at logically.
               | 
               | I took some pictures, if you want to have a look:
               | 
               | https://adobe.ly/35AOjrZ
        
             | detaro wrote:
             | I think the problem with guinea pig is rather that nobody
             | is "farming" them to the proper standards, not that they
             | are banned entirely?
        
               | gambiting wrote:
               | The reason they gave was that it's on the same list of
               | forbidden food items along with other pets - no matter
               | how you farm cats or dogs, they can't be sold as food
               | anywhere in the EU. No idea what other animals are on
               | that list though, I can't find it with a quick google
               | search.
        
         | eplanit wrote:
         | Related:
         | 
         | My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare.
         | 
         | Mike Myers
        
           | carlob wrote:
           | Scottish cuisine is pretty good, maybe you meant English...
        
             | kergonath wrote:
             | English cuisine tends to be a bit bland in comparison. No
             | need for dares.
        
               | kumarjsingh6 wrote:
               | I prefer english food, like pizza or chinese
        
             | ThePowerOfFuet wrote:
             | ?Por que no los dos?
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | corty wrote:
           | Scottish cuisine is quite good and not at all daring. Things
           | are basically the same as rural french or german cuisine,
           | e.g. haggis and black pudding are very similar to
           | weisser/roter Pressack, Leberwurst or boudin noir. That they
           | usually use sheep instead of pigs doesn't make a whole lot of
           | difference. Most fish dishes are quite common in the rest of
           | the world as well. While I'm not very partial to filled fish
           | heads, those are imho the only thing that stands out a
           | little.
           | 
           | I guess Americans are just generally squeamish when it comes
           | to food. ;)
        
             | technothrasher wrote:
             | My fellow Americans definitely aren't, for the most part,
             | particularly adventurous about food. I'm game for pretty
             | much everything, personally. I didn't care for haggis, but
             | I mostly objected to the oatmeal flavor and texture, rather
             | than the animal innards. Although I do like black pudding.
             | I suppose the oatmeal percentages are different.
             | 
             | > sheep instead of pigs doesn't make a whole lot of
             | difference.
             | 
             | Oh it sure as heck does to me. Pig in all forms is
             | heavenly. Sheep is almost always way too gamey for me,
             | although I did have some killer lamb chops in South Africa
             | once. But the flavor of the meat and dairy products reminds
             | me of the smell of the sweat from the various goats I grew
             | up with. No thank you.
        
       | raverbashing wrote:
       | Yeah I think I wouldn't be too bothered if there was a way of
       | getting rid of the larvae. Just freezing might do the trick for
       | me.
       | 
       | Not sure if it's more or less appetizing than Hakarl (I guess it
       | smells better).
       | 
       | Still better than Balut though. That's definitely a no for me.
        
         | senkora wrote:
         | > Casu martzu is considered by Sardinian aficionados to be
         | unsafe to eat when the maggots in the cheese have died.[8]
         | Because of this, only cheese in which the maggots are still
         | alive is usually eaten, although allowances are made for cheese
         | that has been refrigerated, which results in the maggots being
         | killed.
         | 
         | Looks like that's an option!
        
           | yreg wrote:
           | There's another option further down
           | 
           | >Some who eat the cheese prefer not to ingest the maggots.
           | Those who do not wish to eat them place the cheese in a
           | sealed paper bag. The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and
           | jump in the bag, creating a "pitter-patter" sound. When the
           | sounds subside, the maggots are dead and the cheese can be
           | eaten.
        
             | codeulike wrote:
             | _When the sounds subside, the popcorns are dead and the
             | microwave popcorn can be eaten._
        
         | contriban wrote:
         | Balut is fine if eaten right. Only in Vietnam and Cambodia you
         | can have decent balut with pickled papaya salad and tasty
         | leaves. Or deep fried. Philippines and Thailand like it with
         | just spicy vinegar and hot sauce respectively.
        
         | madengr wrote:
         | Balut reminds me of live Taspar, for you Star Trek fans.
         | 
         | https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Taspar
        
       | 0x456 wrote:
       | There is a meme going around that "Elites Want You to Eat Bugs".
       | This dish would allow them to characterize the practice as
       | "traditional" instead of "novel".
        
       | dividuum wrote:
       | As known from Asterix:
       | https://theoldwolf.com/ccdesan/Banquet/CasuMarzu.html /
       | https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pidrIBjgTjE/UdFeryVlmHI/AAAAAAAAy...
       | :-)
        
         | dash2 wrote:
         | ... and Dogmatix faints dead away ...
        
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