Casu marzu has been banned not only by the Italian authorities but also by the European Union.

This did not prevent the development of a thriving black market. If you know where to go and who to ask mountain villages of Sardiniayou can get your hands on it.

Eating a glistening bowl of casu marzu while the maggots inside it writhe is not for the faint of heart.

It has a spicy, peppery flavor and a creamy, almost oily texture. It makes you squint as the tangy taste rolls around your mouth. The aftertaste lingers all afternoon.

This is what makes the ripest gorgonzola look like supermarket edam.

That’s not the only thing that gives it a distinctive edge over all other cheeses. The thin, translucent maggots are surprisingly lively and can jump up to five centimeters into the air, potentially stinging the nose or eyes when the unwary consumer lifts a piece of cheese to their mouth.

Sardinian gourmands like to spread it on pane carasau, the fine and crusty bread of the island, and accompany it with a glass of Cannonau, the full-bodied red wine of Sardinia.

“Lunch, dinner, anytime”

Mr. Carta, 75, is part of the clandestine world of casu marzu.

On his farm outside the village of Perdasdefogu, in Sardinia’s mountainous hinterland, he makes around 200 wheels of cheese each year from the milk produced by his goats and sheep.

Although commercial production of casu marzu is prohibited, shepherds say they are allowed to make and sell small quantities of the cheese to friends, neighbors and a few passing tourists from the “mainland.” – by which they mean mainland Italy.

This is a gray area to which the Sardinian authorities seem happy to turn a blind eye.

“I eat it almost every day: lunch, dinner, anytime actually,” he said.

The money isn’t bad: he sells casu marzu for around 30 euros per kilo, compared to 18 euros per kilo for standard pecorino sardo, another cheese for which the island is famous.

But making casu marzu is a fading tradition.

Many young Sardinians refuse to eat cheese infested with maggots. And the young people no longer want to become shepherds – we have to bring in the breeders from Morocco, Tunisia, Albania and elsewhere to fill the gaps.

Sardinia has a big depopulation problem. Emigration has been going on for decades and it is predicted that in the next 30 years the island will lose an additional 400,000 inhabitants from a current population of 1.5 million.