Here’s how long different types of cheese last and how to know when it’s time to throw them away
The short answer to the question of when to throw away that moldy cheese is: maybe never, depending on the type of cheese and the degree of mold – but of course it’s not that simple. Here’s something most people don’t like to hear when it comes to one of our favorite food items, but I promise it will save you the heartache of thinking you have to throw away perfectly good cheese: “Even though we were taught, ‘To be afraid of mold, all cheese is moldy,’” explains Anne-Marie Pietersma, certified professional cheese maker, educator and writer.
All cheese is moldy. Let that sink in in a moment. While some cheeses—looking at you, blue—flaunt their mold more proudly than others, cheesemaking is a process that encourages the growth of particular types of microorganisms, including mold. The bright white rinds of Brie and Camembert are moldy. The marbled exteriors of aged English cheddars and Alpine-style cheeses contain mold. The sticky orange exterior of deliciously moist washed-rind cheeses is a form of mold.
Learn more: Here’s how to store your cheese
But it’s good news when you think about it. “Just the fact that cheese is already a canned product allows us to not have to worry about a lot of the things we do with it Other meals“, says Pietersma. “The biggest mistake I see people making is thinking that cheese is something porous like bread and that you have to throw it away when it starts to mold.” In addition to its generally low content in moisture, cheese is also rich in other elements that help prevent spoilage, like salt and acid. Although black mold may be evidence of something more sinister lurking in your refrigerator, for For the most part, mold is not a big concern when it comes to cheese.
Of course, there are exceptions and variations to this rule, so here we delineate different types of cheese, in order of how delicate they are, and what to fear and not to fear if they start to mold. And for more intelligence to help you feed your addiction, here’s how store cheese correctly And how to find the best cheese for cheap.
Cream cheese: Probably throw away
Fresh cheeses like goat’s cheese, feta, mozzarella and ricotta have a much shorter shelf life than their aged counterparts.
Fresh cheeses are those that are rindless, aging with little or no time between when the curds form and when they are ready to eat. Think goat cheese, feta, mozzarella, ricotta, etc. Since these are high-moisture cheeses designed to be eaten fresh, they are a little more susceptible to spoilage.
“Moisture is the enemy of storage,” says Pietersma, and one of the elements that causes spoilage mold to grow. So with fresh cheeses, which have a much higher moisture content since they haven’t had an aging period to dry, “that moisture acts like a groundwater system,” she says, “so you can’t really tell where the mold might go, so if you see mold on a fresh cheese, you should probably throw it away.
Learn more: Fake Parmesan Is a Bigger Problem Than You Think
Certain fresh cheeses (such as feta or mozzarella) sold in Vacuum sealed Packages may have an expiration date of a few weeks to a few months, but this only applies as long as the package remains sealed. On the other hand, if it’s sitting in the back of your cheese drawer, unopened, past its expiration date, as long as it doesn’t show signs of mold, it’s probably still good to eat. Cheese will generally become unpleasant before it becomes dangerous.
Soft cheese: Cut and move on
Soft cheeses are those that are young but not fresh. They still have some moisture but have typically aged in a cheese cellar or aging environment for a week or more. Consider brie and other bloomy rind cheeses, as well as some washed rind cheeses. If it swells when squeezed or is gooey when cut, those are the soft cheeses we’re talking about.
And There you go!
For these types of cheeses, “you can just cut off the mold and move on,” says Pietersma, but notes that there is an element of personal preference here. “Cheese won’t age in your refrigerator, but it will become more of what it is,” she says, “so any time it gets too strong for you, or changes texture to the point where you don’t love it more, then throw it away. But as far as it’s dangerous. It’s really hard to get to that point.
Blue cheese: watch out for the smell
With blue cheese, your nose can tell you everything you need to know about whether it’s gone bad or not.
So what should we do with blue cheese, since it already bears its mold as a sign of identity? “People always ask what is good mold and what is bad mold,” says Pietersma, “because there are already so many blue and green veins visible.” While anything visibly on the surface or rind of the cheese can simply be cut off, blue cheese can also appeal to other senses to determine whether it is OK to continue consuming it.
“That’s where I go by smell,” says Pietersma. Blue cheese, while not the stinkiest cheese, can have earthy or funky smells, but for signs of spoilage you’re looking for something specific. “If there’s ammonia in it somehow, it’s probably done,” she says.
Some blue cheeses can have a subtle ammonia smell that doesn’t prove they’re past their prime, but “which can be accelerated by improper storage,” says Pietersma. “If you put your blue cheese in plastic wrap or a Ziploc bag, cutting off the exposure to oxygen and not letting the cheese breathe, that’s definitely what speeds up this process.”
Try this instead: Formaticum Cheese Storage Bags
Firm or mature cheese: never let me go
Those white spots on your hard cheese are just clumps of amino acids and they are safe to eat.
The harder the cheese, the longer it ages and the less likely it is to deteriorate significantly, as little or no moisture remains to encourage mold growth. You may notice at your local cheesemonger that cheeses that undergo more than a year of aging, such as Parmesan cheese, and some goudas, don’t even need to be refrigerated. Letting them sit for hours in an outdoor environment, such as serving them at a party, can cause them to dry out or change texture in such a way that they become less flavorful, according to Pietersma: “These boys are strong,” she said. “Nothing can really bring them down.”
What about those white clusters on your Parmigiano Reggiano? They are simply groups of amino acids. They are natural, should not affect the flavor profile of the cheese much, and are perfectly safe to consume.
