A Taste of Casu Marzu: The day I ate maggots and liked it.

Freshly opened Casu Marzu (Credit: Giuseppe Viterale) 

My first interaction with Giuseppe Viterale, owner of Ornella Trattoria in Astoria, Queens, was shockingly harsh. From Culture Cheese's tweet of Bradley Hawk's blog, Amuse Bouche, I learned that  the famed Casu Marzu, a cheese filled with live maggots, had arrived in the US and was residing no further than a short train ride from my apartment. I immediately dialed the owner to find out when I could come and experience this cheese.

Whole Casu Marzu (Credit: Giuseppe Viterale)

I received a stern lecture explaining that the cheese was not for sale, that it would never be for sale, and that the only way to get to the cheese was through Giuseppe. "I will give you the cheese if I like you!", he shouted, adding another layer of challenge to the already Fear Factor-esque experience in store for us. 

 The restaurant was cozy, the walls covered in murals depicting Italian geography and scenes. Giuseppe, in contrast to his demeanor on the phone, greeted us with a gracious handshake and a smile. We ordered the specials, a moist lamb dish and an exceptional homemade pasta with pistachio and chestnut sauce. 

Close Up (Credit: Giuseppe Viterale)

We thoroughly enjoyed our meals, although my stomach was 
already jumpy in preparataion for what would come next.

Building up the suspense, Giuseppe visited our table every few minutes to share pieces of the story of Casu Marzu. The cheese has been made by locals on the island of Sardinia for thousands of years. It begins as a traditional cheese, made from sheep's milk in the style of a pecorino. Then, after the cheese is made, it is placed outdoors and a hole is cut in the top to let in the "cheese fly", which lays its eggs inside.

The man himself, serving up Casu Marzu.

 These eggs grow into larvae that begin devouring the cheese, decomposing the fats through digestion and excreting the remains. Giuseppe emphasized this point, that not only were we eating live maggots, but the cheese we were consuming between the bugs was filled with their "poop" (his technical term). 

After waiting for what seemed like hours, Giuseppe emerged from the basement with the Casu Marzu draped in a white cloth. When he unveiled it, I cheered, gasped and peered inside the wheel, but only saw brainy lumps. The smell was strong, but appealing. "This isn't so bad!", I exclaimed, almost disappointed by the seemingly normal cheese. Giuseppe slathered a generous amount of the cheese on a piece of fresh toast. To ease our                                                                         fears, he took a huge bite (and washed it down with a swig of red wine).

My first bite!

I raised my toast, feeling undaunted, only to see that the cheese was actually writhing with squirmy little worms. But I couldn't back down now. I bit. I chewed. I cringed and smiled. It was strong, psychologically challenging, but actually very enjoyable.

Bradley Hawks described Casu Marzu's flavor accurately when he said that it started out as a strong pecorino, hinted of gorgonzola, and finished with a taste of pepper. I will add that it leaves a film in your mouth for hours, preventing you from forgetting the little buggies you're currently digesting. If Casu Marzu didn't contain live maggots, I would eat it regularly. But then again, it's the maggots that give this cheese a unique taste unrivaled by other cheeses. 

My friends have continually asked who the first person could have been to try Casu Marzu, and why they would ever bite into a rotten cheese filled with maggots. I can't answer that question. But for more info, check out this video featuring a history of the cheese and Gordon Ramsey's reaction to a taste:

Now go out and eat some (maggot filled?!) cheese.

A Mold, a Marriage, and John Lennon's Tooth

  Lucy's Whey is by far the smallest cheese shop I've ever visited. It is also one of the most impressive. Nestled in the center of NYC's famous 
Chelsea Market, Lucy's boasts a surprisingly wide selection of cheeses and other specialty goods for such a small space. Ruthie, single-handedly working the counter, was a great source of information on all the cheeses in the shop, as well as general cheesey knowledge. If you're ever in Chelsea                                                             Market or NY's East Hampton (where founder Lucy Kazickas opened her 
                                                    first shop), visit Lucy's for a mini-in-size, but huge-in-taste experience!

After many samplings, Ruthie introduced me to a cheese that she referred to as a "cult classic" among American cheesers. A true example of American ingenuity, Dunbarton Blue is a cheddar-blue hybrid, created by Roelli Cheese in Wisconsin. The Roelli folks created this particular combination by puncturing the cheese a few times during the aging process, then adding a culture to the holes. The result is a cheese that maintains its cheddar identity but offers an after-hint of blue. At first bite, there is simply sharp, delicious cheddar, but after a few seconds an entirely new, subtly blue flavor steps in to perfectly compliment an already delicious taste. You'll be initiated as a member of the Dunbarton Blue Cheese cult after only one morsel.

  

Oh Dunbarton Blue, I hereby crown ye Cheese of the Week. 

*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*

 Here's to a week filled with a small batch of cheese and stories cured on farms and shelves, surprisingly humid and punctured with culture.
                    

Small Batch:

Because it's only produced in small batches, Dunbarton Blue remains in high demand at cheese shops across the country. The same could be said for John Lennon's teeth, since only a small batch of about 30 ever existed. Luckily, there's probably only a small number of people trying to buy these chompers with an auction price of $31,000.

John Lennon's Tooth Sells for More Than $31,000 at Auction (rollingstone.com)

Cured:
This cheese, as well as these people and animals, have all experienced a cure on a farm. Dunbarton Blue spends time on a shelf, departing with a unique flavor and consistency. Humans and animals spend time at the Gentle Barn to overcome emotional and physical challenges, departing with a new set of friends and strong sense of hope.
In the Company of Animals, Healing for Humans (nytimes.com)

Humid:

Conditions must be perfect for both a great cheese and a great wedding. For Dunbarton   Blue, the perfect cave is filled with 90% humidity. For this runner-couple, the perfect marriage location was at the very sweaty 22nd mile of the NYC Marathon.

Couple runs into married life as they tie the knot during New York City marathon (dailymail.co.uk)

Punctured:

Dunbarton Blue is punctured with culture for flavor's sake, and this rhino was punctured with a tranquilizer for safety's sake: he was sedated for his helicopter flight away from the threat of poachers. If only he were awake to enjoy the view.

Rhinos get upside-down helicopter ride to safety (msnbc.com)

Now go out and eat some cheese.

The Dawning of the Grilled Cheese Era

The beauty of cheese doesn't only come from its individual flavors and textures. The combinations we create, through pairings and mixings and stackings, often result in a fantastic dishes much greater than the sum of their parts.


The most classic example of a winning cheese compilation is the Grilled Cheese- a perfect combination of two of humankind's favorite foods: bread and cheese. Throughout history, in various cultures across the globe, both of these foods are staples in society.


I cannot tell you how to make the perfect grilled cheese, as there exist millions of perfect combinations. But for inspiration, here are some helpful guides:


For a truly mouth-watering read, check out Food & Wine's slideshow of the 25 best grilled cheeses in America. Each sandwich defies the norm with unexpected tastes from a variety of ingredients added to the two classic constants.
 Best Grilled Cheese in the U.S. (foodandwine.com)






Find even more suggestions of places to visit here:
"Grilled" News for Cheese Lovers (iledefrancecheese.com)



And if you don't want to travel for your grilled cheese, just head on over to your local stovetop. For something new that you can make at home, try one of these epic recipes:

40 Amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipes (buzzfeed.com)

Finally, when you have created your masterpiece, you can enter it in the official grilled cheese competition:

The Grilled Cheese Invitational.

Now go out and eat some (grilled) cheese.

A Cowgirl, A Plateau, and a Pair of Bionic Legs

For our second week of World According to Cheese on the Road, we find ourselves in America's Capital,Washington D.C. Here, wandering with my childhood friends Francesca and Mia among the presidents and  "malls" where you can't shop, I was surprised to come across the famous Cowgirl Creamery, which I believed only to exist in the Bay Area of California! Once in the shop, I learned that the location was thoughtfully chosen by Cowgirl Creamery's founders, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, both originally from the D.C. area. 

cowgirlcreamery.com

The Cowgirl folks were quick to share this fact with me, as well as their own opinions of and experiences with the cheeses. I always enjoy this tell-all quality in professional cheesers. After all, I'm not just visiting the shop to buy cheese, I want to learn something while I'm there! When I finally left, I had in tow an unassuming cheese named Cumberland and a smile on my face.

sequatchiecovefarm.com

This cheese is a simple tomme, a general word referring French and Swiss cheeses that use skim milk or milk left over from making richer cheeses. It is produced at Sequatchie Cove Farm in Tennessee, (although the cows come from Maryland), and is named after the plateau surrounding the farm. The cheese, though simple, packs quite a punch. When I first bit in, I feared that the farmy taste would be too strong for my liking. But the flavor stopped right at the edge of too farmy, creating a delightfully unique experience.

Oh Cumberland, I hereby crown ye Cheese of the Week. 

*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*Clap*

Here's to a week filled with stories and cheese that are inspired with flavor, firm with a hint of wild, while remaining very simple.

Inspired:

Cumberland is inspired by the famous French tomme de Savoie.  Just as Cumberland was inspired by a great cheese that came before it,  this week hundreds of Indian girls chose names inspired by Bollywood idols and Hindu goddesses to replace their negative birth names.

The Indian girls called 'Unwanted': Children branded by their families chose new names for fresh start (dailymail.co.uk) 

Firm:

Cumberland boasts a firm interior as a result of its 90 day aging. And now individuals who couldn't walk before can stand firm too, as a result of the new bionic exoskeleton introduced by Ekso Bionics this week. 

Bionic exoskeleton helps wheelchair users walk (sina.com)

Wild:

Producing a scary haunted house becomes quite a challenge as people become desensitized to scare tactics. At Universal Orlando, employees spend months developing new ideas for Halloween- making it more wild every year. Cumberland fits perfectly with this spooky theme- some of the organisms contained in the cheese aren't inoculated, meaning they're wild!

The Real Scare Is Not Being Scary (nytimes.com)

Simple: This cheese has a no frills type flavor that is intriguing in its simplicity. I was similarly intrigued by the stories these young adults chose to tell, simplifying the complicated lives of their subjects through striking photographs and captions.

Bright Young Things: Andrea Morales Wins TIME’s Next Generation Photography Contest (lightbox.time.com)

Brad Vest- Second Runner Up

Now go out and eat some cheese.