Waste not, want not is a common and wise expression in the English language. What could be better than making the most of what we have for personal benefit, not to mention in order to help those around.

In the world of cheese making such a philosophy also exists. Over the years, as cheese making techniques developed, cheese makers found ways to make the most of any by-products or waste. One shinning example are whey cheeses such as Ricotta, which are made from the liquid part of milk called whey. The majority of cheeses are made from the solid part of the milk, but so as not to waste the whey, methods were developed for making cheeses out of the proteins which can be extracted from this whey by heating it.

Another are cheese in the mould (as it were!) of Marcetto. These can be thought of as cheeses that are an attempt to salvage something from gone-off sheep’s cheeses. Whilst the thought of saving what would otherwise be waste cheese, is a noble one, the details involved are not for the faint hearted, or indeed weak stomached!

A Different Way to Mature Cheese

In making cheese, there are two essential steps. Firstly, getting the protein out of the milk to form a solid. Secondly, this protein needs to be worked and matured to form the final cheese. There are many different variations on how to do this thus such a wide range of cheese are in existence.

In the case of Marcetto, a very special method is employed to mature the cheese. A big clue to what this method might be is given when we think about the origin of the name Marcetto. It is very likely that this is a dialect term for maggot!

It sounds ominous and not altogether appetising, but it is actually true that certain maggots when introduced into cheese, break down fat and produce a soft cheese that is edible!

Flies are Actually Good for Something!

Sometimes we could ask ourselves the question, what flies are actually good for? Well, in the wonder of God’s creation, even the more insignificant beings have their part to play.  In the case of the so-called cheese fly, Piophila casei, one good thing that could be said is the larvaes’ role in helping to mature bad cheese.

Sheep, or in Italian Pecorino, cheese is widely produced in Italy. With such a large production and less than well developed preservation techniques in days gone by, it was obviously the case that often not all the cheese produced was consumed. As a result, it would not have been uncommon for people to come across spoilt Pecorino.

At some point, maybe by a daring cheese maker or seller, it was realised that over-ripe Pecorino cheese, if left for a long time, actually became edible again. The reason is mentioned above. Cheese flies landed on this cheese, laid their eggs and eventually cheese fly larvae hatched. These larvae began eating the cheese fat, which results in it being broken down and becoming soft. This soft product, once ready, it quite edible.

Maggot Made Cheese

Over time, in varying regions of Italy, different types of cheese produced by maggots eating left over cheese developed. Amongst them, there are obviously differences depending on the origin cheese that was being consumed by the maggots.

In the Abruzzo (South Central) region of Italy, Marcetto is the version of maggot, otherwise known as pitted (which sounds somewhat more appetising!), cheese.

It takes about a year for the Marcetto to be ready. It starts with Pecorino cheese (a popular cheese in the region) which is in excess or no longer required because of poor quality or aging, being left in conditions where cheese flies have access to it. These in turn do their thing in laying eggs, which result in time with the bad Pecorino becoming infested with maggots. These eat their way through the cheese, until it suitably processed and ready for human consumption!

The final product has a light pink colour and a creamy, but variable consistency (obviously, the maggots are fussy eaters!).

Other Types

Marcetto is not unique and as mentioned above there are a number of other cheeses produced in this way. Probably the most famous of them is Casu Marzu.

Casu Marzu is made on the island of Sardina. In essence, it is simply a Sardinian version of Marcetto, with old Pecorino cheese being allowed to decay until the cheese fly larvae living in it have fermented it enough to eat. Again, the name gives the game away as to what the cheese is all about, Casu meaning cheese and Marzu a dialect word for maggot.

Other variations on this theme in Italy would include Bross Ch’a marcia in Piedmont, Cacie’ Punt in Molise, Furmai nis in Emilia-Romagna, and Salterello in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

The Final Word

The Salterello cheese also has a very telling name, as this term refers to the fact that the cheese contains little jumpers! This is in fact the main issue with Marcetto and other insect matured cheeses. There is not necessarily anything wrong with eating the cheese (apart maybe from the thought of eating something that has been processed by insect larvae!), but unavoidably the final cheese is obviously still full of possibly thousands of the larvae.

Different techniques exist for killing off the little inhabitants before consuming the cheese, such as refrigeration or wrapping the cheese in an air tight plastic bag to starve them of oxygen, but it still means eating something that contains dead larvae, and who knows, maybe some have survived!
Indeed, there have been cases of people being taken ill as these cheese fly larvae can survive digestion and remain in the peoples intestines.

So the bottom line, before tasting Marcetto or any of its cheese cousins, make sure you take into consideration the risks. Probably, its best left to those with well worn stomachs or people who are looking for a real culinary adventure!