Casu marzu is technically outlawed throughout much of Italy, and many would consider it more like garbage than food. Nevertheless, its preparation is as meticulous as a fine dessert: cheese from sheep’s milk is left outside to ferment and in the process is introduced to a certain species of fly, which is allowed to lay its eggs on the cheese. The eggs hatch and dinner begins… for the maggots, that is — not you; the best is yet to come.
Eventually, the maggots soften the cheese enough for consumption, but they must be eaten alive along with the cheese to prevent extra toxicity. If you don’t want to eat live maggots (what? you don’t?), you can starve their oxygen supply by placing the cheese in a sealed paper or plastic bag; the larvae will eventually jump out of the cheese in search of air and, finding none, die.
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