Well, these were challenging. I'm (obviously) a lover of all cheeses, clearly some more than others.
A friend's cousin has a farm in Sardinia and I was told he was coming with some special treats…
The Casu Marzu (orange tub) was interesting, once you get your head around the whole maggots thing (let's just call it extra protein 😬). It tasted like the strongest stilton I've ever had – like the ones in the ceramic pot you forgot you opened at Christmas and ate 2 months after the recommended date. It was really sharp on the tongue, almost medicinal with a mild numbing feeling kinda like Sichuan peppercorns. It worked ok with bread and washed down with wine, but was way too overpowering on its own. More interesting than enjoyable.
The round oozing cheese was apparently a form Callu de Cabrettu, this one though, wasn't matured/dried. It was a fairly fresh goats stomach still naturally filled with milk and just-set to cheese. It was still soft and was baked for 30 minutes so the inside melted kinda like the texture of a buratta.
I'd assumed the milk inside had been added later, but he explained that this one had the milk still inside from the suckling kid. You had to pick out the mother's hairs from the cheese. The smell demanded attention! I think the warm temperature, the hairs, the whole idea of the stomach all conspired against me and I struggled with this one. I managed a taste, but couldn't enjoy it – challenging sums it up. It was so, so strong like an acidic stinking bishop on the nose, but so rich in the mouth, like a baked camembert. It was served with fried eggs and plain Tuscan saltless bread. Couldn't recommend it other than to say you'd had it!
The two most memorable cheeses I've had. But, careful what you wish for I suppose.
by Loveallthe