Is Cheese Safe to Eat If It Has Mold on It?
Cheese is a nutritious food made mostly of curd, which is a semisolid substance generated when milk curdles or coagulates. If milk is not consumed immediately, it naturally sours, generating an acid curd that releases whey, a watery fluid containing the soluble ingredients, and leaves semisolid curd, also known as fresh cheese. In some places, cheese is still created by allowing milk to curdle spontaneously, or by combining milk with juices or extracts that reduce it to curds and whey.
Is it safe to consume moldy cheese? Find out definitively so you’ll be ready the next time you open the cheese drawer.
Good vs. Bad Mold
In some senses, mold is inherent in all cheeses. And many of the molds used in cheese making are excellent. The thick layer of white mold on soft-rind cheeses like Brie and Camembert, or the blue veins in your favorite Gorgonzola. And, truthfully, none of the molds that are likely to grow on your cheeses will make you sick. However, they have the potential to adversely impact the flavor of your cheese. As a result, knowing how to deal with mold on your cheeses is critical to avoiding wasting any tasty morsels.
What Should I do With Moldy Cheese?
Assess the mold problem initially based on the type of cheese. Any fresh soft cheese—ricotta, mascarpone, chèvre, and so on—should simply be destroyed because the moist atmosphere implies that the mold has likely permeated deep into the cheese and, while not toxic, has had a bad affect on its flavor. Soft cheeses, such as Brie and Port Salut, should be cut approximately a quarter inch away from any apparent mold. Harder, matured cheeses, such as aged Cheddar or Parmesan, can simply have the mold scraped off. With a white, fluffy mold tinged green, the flavor-the effect is negligible, and the mold can be safely removed without incident. Black or gray mold is less desirable, and you should remove more of it to avoid contaminating the cheese. Any rotten cheese that smells like ammonia or is both moldy and moist should be discarded.
What If I ate Moldy Cheese?
You ate cheese, so you were probably ingesting mold. There is no reason to panic unless you ate an entire wedge of cheese densely coated in green fur.It is extremely improbable that cheese with a small amount of mold on it will make you sick. Your stomach acid is extremely powerful and will eliminate the mold spores before you notice any influence.
How Can I Keep Cheese From Molding?
To prevent cheese from molding, store it carefully and eat it within an acceptable time limit. To store cheese, wrap it in cheese paper or a layer of parchment paper. Label the sort of cheese and the date you purchased it. Store in your crisper.drawer, which will maintain a constant humidity and temperature. Cheese does better in a cooler environment, so if you have a separate wine refrigerator, you can keep cheese there.
Which Cheeses Are Not Suitable for Mold Growth?
Want to stay as far away from the mold problem as you can? Choose hard cheeses that have matured over time, such as aged Gouda, Pecorino, Parmesan, and older Cheddars. The least likely cheeses to mold on you are those that have aged for at least 18 months.
Conclusion:
Whichever cheeses you most enjoy, make sure to get them fresh, store them correctly, and don’t worry if a small amount of mold appears. After all, when it comes to cheese, sometimes the mold is the best part!
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