Cheesy and Fondue, inspired by the Cricket World Cup talk about bugs and cheese. We talk about the grossest cheese, mites and Peta. We learn about a bugs and cheese dish in Boston and learn where you can buy cheese covered edible bugs. And of course, we tell a very cheesy joke!

Find us at www.justcheesy.com and everywhere you enjoy social media! https://linktr.ee/JustCheesy

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Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp!

134 Show Notes

Bugs

https://www.britannica.com/topic/casu-marzu

https://www.eatcrickster.com/about-us

https://edepot.wur.nl/443591

Episode 82 Bad Cheese Bad Cheese

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-cheesy-the-podcast/id1594272993?i=1000616457530

https://rennetandrind.co.uk/blogs/perrys-blog/the-tiny-insects-that-make-cheese-so-delicious-an-ode-to-cheese-mites

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_mite#:~:text=Cheese%20mites%20are%20mites%20

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4325075/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dennishollier/2017/03/27/you-eat-bugs-and-it-doesnt-bother-you-at-all/

https://support.peta.org/page/1366/action/1?locale=en-US#:~:text=Candy%20lovers%20beware%3A%20The%20hard,to%20make%20a%20confectioner's%20glaze.

Bugs and Cheese

https://order.bostonpizza.com/en-ca/menu/kids-menu

https://21bites.com/products/party-bugs-blue-cheese-mealworms

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232274290152?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=e0azrAvLQaq&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=9vc0f-QKR8C&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Just Cheesy the podcast presented by Just

Cheesy Productions.

Hi, there. I'm your host, Fondue.

This is cheesy.

In this week's episode, we're inspired by the Cricket

World cup, and we're going to talk about bugs

and cheese.

What?

We're going to talk about the world's grossest cheese.

mites and PETA?

No.

We're going to learn about a bugs and cheese dish in

Boston, and we're gonna learn where you can buy

cheese covered edible bugs. And of

course, no episode would be complete without our very

cheesy jokes.

Jokes.

Stay tuned for episode 135,

cricket on just cheesy, the

podcast.

I don't know how many times we can cover this same

cheese, but I feel like every time we

do, we learn something new.

Huh?

It's considered the world's most dangerous cheese,

or the grossest thing I've ever heard of. And

it's none other than casu marzu.

Marzu, that's right.

Yeah.

To some, I don't know who, but to

some, this cheese is considered a delicacy.

It starts off as a pecorino.

Yum.

It's made in Sardinia. They say it's

smooth and creamy, and it has a,

spicy taste with a hint of bitterness. You're

saying to yourself, gosh, that doesn't sound too bad, right? until

I tell you that it's fermented

using live maggots.

Maggots?

Yeah, that's right. This is our favorite maggot

cheese.

Oh, yeah.

According to britannica.com, comma, the word casu marzu

means rotten cheese.

Of course it does.

Pecorino sardano is made with ewesmeal.

Okay.

Then a few cuts are made into the rind.

Why?

The larva, known as piophila

caseae, are introduced to the cheese. The

grubs are allowed to grow inside the cheese

paste to encourage, quote, an

advanced level of fermentation, one that

most people would describe as

decomposition. Uh, they say

casu marzu is normally eaten with sardinian

bread accompanied by a strong red wine.

Yeah, I don't. I don't know. Do you really believe

all of this? I, uh, mean, come on.

No.

Do people really eat this stuff?

No. Who eats this?

It says, you know, the maggots should be alive

when the cheese is eaten. They're about a third of an inch

long. If they're not wriggling, the cheese has

become toxic.

Oh, no.

Some people prefer to remove the larva before eating.

Others devour them. It says. And

according to eatcrickster.com,

these little guys can jump.

Yeah.

Yep. That's right. Yeah, we've read this before that

you wanna, if you're gonna eat this, you wanna cover your

face because they can jump as high as nine

inches when they're disturbed.

Nine inches. And you

know, if you, if you eat it and you, you didn't

chew it up really well, it's possible it can live

inside you.

Ew, ew, ew.

In the article here, they've discussed something else that

we hadn't considered before.

Oh, man.

They say here, ready for one more yuck factor?

Seriously? There's more? No, I mean, come on.

Right?

It says the yummy, creamy, tasty

casu marzu is what the

maggots have pooped.

Holy cow.

It says cheese goes into the wormies, but it also

has to come out that way.

Oh.

The irony of this website,

eatcrickster.com is this is a website,

whose mission is to help food

enthusiasts, innovators and thought leaders

improve their lives and the environment. And

yes, to eat bugs. They say they

are delicious. The article goes on to say

that the Guinness Book of World Records in 2009

talked about this cheese becoming the most dangerous cheese in

the world for human health because,

and they quote here, some who have tasted it have felt

its burn and have even suffered from irreparable

damage to their stomachs.

Oh my.

And apparently this upset the Sardinians.

Really?

And it could actually be dangerous. If the

maggots survive digestion in the stomach, they can

travel to the bowels.

Oh no.

And theres a term for this, an infestation of

live humans or animals by living fly

larvae is called miasis. And

they do say here that the larva of the cheese fly

has the capability of resisting the acid environment

of the human stomach up to 120

hours. What they go on to say though, that since

1952 there have been no reports of miasis

caused by Casu Marzu.

Yeah. Cause who's gonna admit it?

Casu marzu is currently illegal.

It should be.

But this article had a link to a study that was

done on Edepot war

dot nl. There is a

68 page master thesis, food

safety law, called unsafe casu

marzu.

Why? Why?

And the point to this thesis, can casu

marzu be deemed safe?

Why do we want that?

Hey, I don't know. I don't know why we want this. We

don't to be something we eat. I mean, it's got maggots in it,

people.

Nobody, nobody wants it.

And that's so gross. Yeah, the article talks a little bit

about not placing casu marzu on the market due to

safety reason, and that it's forbidden to market a food

product that has been infested by intruders.

But they also talk about the shift to insects as

an edible, sustainable protein source.

One of the risks could be a biochemical

risk, they say. There could be a

tiramine, histamine or probably an

NDMA risk for casu marzu.

Histamine can cause nausea, sweating,

headaches and hypo or hypertension.

Oh my.

The paper looked at some of the health risks of mushrooms

and Gorgonzola and even oysters.

That's not maggots.

The paper did not definitively say whether this

cheese is safe, but it's gross. We at just cheesy

the podcast do not desire to eat casu

marzu.

Nope.

Even if it was a sponsor and its ad went

right here.

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You can listen to trending articles on the web on

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Cheese.

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Now back to the podcast.

Tired of talking about maggots? Oh yeah, let's talk about

cheese mites.

Mites.

Yeah, that's right. Cheese mites are used to

produce cheeses such as milkenkas,

cantal, and mimolette. According to

Wikipedia, these living mites on the surface of the

cheeses contribute to the flavor and give them a decent,

distinctive appearance. Mimolette

has live cheese mites in its rind, and

that's thought to contribute to the cheese's distinct rind

texture. According to

Rennetandrind Co. UK

cheese mites are small, soft bodied insects that

are part of the ikari family. They live and breed

on the surface of aged cheeses. They feed on the

proteins and fats in the cheese. Of course, Stilton

is also a cheese mite. Cheese.

Come on.

This is a semi soft cheese. It's produced in the

UK and during the production process the

cheese is pierced with a stainless steel needle,

which allows the cheese mites to enter.

Knock it off.

They colonize the surface. they create small tunnels

in the cheese, and this allows air to circulate through

the cheese, ultimately resulting in the

iconic blue mold. And we all know

that you can use something called annatto to color

cheese.

Is it bug?

It's made from tree bark. Okay, but did you

know that there's also another food dye

and an additive that's made from none other

than bugs?

Why?

According to forbes.com, comma, back in the

1970s, there was a market for natural food

dyes. Carbonic acid. Natural

red number four is used in the food industry.

It's used in strawberry flavored yoplait,

blueberry, denin yogurt, ocean spray, ruby

red grapefruit, Betty Crocker's red velvet

cake mix. It's in frozen sausage,

and it makes your fake crab meat look real.

Do you know what it's made of?

Yeah.

Bugs.

Bugs.

Uh, and according to supportpeta.com,

the shiny hard shells on junior mints,

red hots, lemonheads, and Boston baked

beans are glazed with secretions from

lac bugs.

Secretions?

It takes about 100,000 bugs to produce one

pound of shellac flakes. And this is

combined with alcohol to make confectioners glaze.

Holy cow.

Apparently even Tootsie rolls, uh, the shine on

them, is made from this bug glaze.

A lot of companies are changing to vegan

alternatives.

Wow.

According to orderbostonpizza.com, comma, there is something

called bugs and cheese on their menu.

Oh, come on.

this is not an actual bug dish.

This is colorful bug shaped pasta.

Oh, good.

Pizza, mozzarella, and Alfredo sauce.

Yum. But, oh, no.

If you want some real bugs, no. 21

bites.com has party bugs.

Party bugs.

Blue cheese, mealworms.

This is dried larva and

a spice mix.

No allergens are listed.

Mealworms, of course, lactose. It says

people who are allergic to shellfish, mollusks, or

mites may also be allergic to insects.

And not to be outdone, but eBay has

hot licks, cricket bacon, and

cheese flavored. And this one

says, whether you're buying them to gross out your

children or you desire a savory and

crunchy treat.

Nope.

Hot licks. Cricket will get the job done.

I'm ready for a joke. Fun.

Oh, my gosh. Yes, please.

Yeah.

What is a bug's favorite cheese?

Who cares?

Mozzarella.

Oh, no.

Get it? Moffarella.

That's kind of gross.

Oh, I know. This one was gross and

a little bit cheesy.

Thanks for listening to just cheesy. The podcast

episode 135 Cricket thank

you. Check out some of our previous episodes where

we talk about the wonderful cheese.

Casu Marzu and stay cheesy,

everybody.