I don’t know what to make of this so I’m turning to you guys. I was turning my gorgonzola that I had wrapped in foil. And there was a wiggly short white worm on the bottom! Then I saw one in the bottom of my fridge. I’m appalled. I’m grossed out. 

What would you guys do? Where would they have come from? The gorgonzola was a pain to make and it’s only caused my grief since it’s been in the cave for three months now—cracking occurred early on because my fridge got wet and ended up soaking the mat it was on.

What would you guys do? I think maybe I suffocated it. It doesn’t smell that great.

I have no experience with gorgonzola, but that sounds very much like a maggot to me.  Apparently a fly got on your cheese at some point - probably while air drying - and deposited at least one egg.  It was able to hatch because of the excess moisture.  If you’re not too grossed out by it, I think I would wash it thoroughly with vinegar, then again with saltwater.  Then I would clean everything near it as well.  The next thing would be to prevent flies from touching your cheese at any point.  I usually keep mine covered with a wire mesh colander during air drying for this very reason.

Thanks for your feedback. It does look like a (gulp) maggot so I’ll try to overcome my repulsion and do some cleaning to the cave and the cheese. Normally I place a clean cheese cloth over an air drying cheese. Gorgonzola is airdried for 30 days so your theory is likely. I’m actually very relieved. To make Gorgonzola you have to make the two batches of curds so it’s not exactly one I’m eager to throw away.

Thanks!

I would look the cheese over closely for holes and the telltale signs of worm excrement.  If you don’t have those, you are probably fine.  Wash the cheese as recommended and clean the cave and you should be alright. 

When you finally crack the cheese to eat, let us know what you find.  GULP!

I was just thinking how great it would be to have a pic.  Not of the worm, but of your reaction when you saw it.  I have been accused of having a warped sense of humor.

I am almost warped enough to send a pic of the worm.

I would have loved to send a picture of my reaction but I didn’t want anyone in my family to know about my secret crisis. I told them I was just doing some “emergency cheese maintenance”. Otherwise they would never try my cheeses again and I’m already on thin ice for storing my stinky cheese cave right in the middle of our kitchen.

I did check for evidence of more and saw nothing.

Thanks for putting me at ease!

LOL, their are world renowned cheese that are famous because they do have worms in it and create a unique taste. I have Made Gorgonzola and it it very time consuming to make, very taste. I would say u didnt have enough salt on the outside that prevented critters to make a nest. I would wash the surface with brine with your hands so its well covered and worked in.

I’m not sure if I could try one of those.  Worms are not my thing.  Maybe after a couple shots of tequila LOL.

I’ll try most things once anyway…even cheese mites! Individually their invisible to the naked eye and that’s reassuring!

Can always use it in cooking.

i will never eat this cheese

I thought a little about this. I personally would throw it out.

yuck

LOL, if only u knew how much crap is in the food u get from the store, mice love hanging out in the flour cylo bins And magots are staple food in allot of counties, O and their good for gangrene body parts.

They put a big maggot in the bottom of a Tequila bottle.  Last swig gets the worm.  I would not throw it away if there are no holes and evidence of nastiness on the cheese.  Wipe it off, clean the area and let it age.  In 4 months you won’t remember which hunk of cheese was affected. 

I think of maggots as fly larvae that live off rotting animal material. The critter in the bottom of the Tequila bottle is the agave worm, which is actually a butterfly larva (caterpillar) that lives off of plant material.

Regardless of one’s personal tolerances, the main issue seems to be the prevention of a recurrence.