Cheese Pondering...

[FruitsAlive]

If cheese is mold, why do we dispose of moldy cheese? Is it bad for us, or simply unpalateable? Perhaps we innately know it's really bad if mold has mold on it? And how can you tell when bleu cheese has gone bad?

[seannasad2k]

Well, I'm not a blue cheese fan so I can't say that I've ever experienced it after it's turned. But I kknow with other softer cheese and cheese products (Brie, cream cheese, cottage cheese) they tend to take-on a pinkish hue rather than a white or green mold that appears on bread and harder cheeses. Perhaps blue cheese has a different kind of color change to signify it's past it's prime.

[sneezles]

Perhaps blue cheese has a different kind of color change to signify it's past it's prime.

It's definitely more blue than cheese! :D

[wallycat]

If cheese is mold, why do we dispose of moldy cheese? Is it bad for us, or simply unpalateable? Perhaps we innately know it's really bad if mold has mold on it? And how can you tell when bleu cheese has gone bad?

Cheese is not actually mold, though mold eventually helps flavor the cheese.
Cheese is milk that is coagulated by rennet or similar enzymes :D ;)

[seannasad2k]

It's definitely more blue than cheese! :D


Oh! So the longer you keep it in the fridge it just gets bluer and bluer? Is there a defining blueness that says "toss it"?

[Canice]

Not exactly.
What I notice is the surface looks a little dry and has a very light (think super-thin, off-white velvet) layer of...texture. I don't know how else to put it; it doesn't look moldy or fuzzy - but like it could become fuzz in short order! If you leave it (I scrape it off and finish the cheese soon) it will no doubt become the familiar green-blue fuzz that you've seen before (surely not in your OWN refrigerator...but maybe in someone else's ;)). I don't think you could confuse that with the dense veining in the cheese.

[sneezles]

I was actually talking about bleu cheese crumbles and they do become more blue as time goes on...as for a block of bleu...it's never lasted long enough for me to know about the color or texture.

[mbrogier]

There are good molds and bad molds. In cheesemaking, sometimes good molds are used to make the cheeses--like I've heard of pennicillin being used. The cheeses are injected with mold and allowed to age.

When we get cheeses home, they start to deteriorate. Some hard cheeses can last for quite a while, and surface mold can be cut off in some cases. Not all molds are good ones and can make you sick. That would be the case when cheeses turn colors and put off strange odors. If in doubt, toss it.

I think we Americans tend to keep cheeses around longer than people in other countries do. We definitely buy cheese in larger quantities. Also, not everyone refrigerates cheese which adds moisture that contribute to molding. (some soft cheeses have to be refrigerated, but some like gruyere and parmesan reggiano don't) I try not to buy too much cheese at one time except the good deals on Parmesan and Gruyere at Costco since they're the ones I use the most. I use my foodsaver to keep cheeses fresher longer.

[Goin' Coastal]

Surface mold on cheese is not harmful at all. Years ago I worked at Hickory Farms - when they had actual stores and not just holiday kiosks in the malls. We sold probably 100 varieties of cheese. One of the morning duties was to go through the cheese case, find any pieces with mold on them, cut the mold off and rewrap. We never threw any cheese away because it had mold on it.

[tamawrite]

Surface mold on cheese is not harmful at all. Years ago I worked at Hickory Farms - when they had actual stores and not just holiday kiosks in the malls. We sold probably 100 varieties of cheese. One of the morning duties was to go through the cheese case, find any pieces with mold on them, cut the mold off and rewrap. We never threw any cheese away because it had mold on it.

Well. That's enlightening.

(Actually, it doesn't bother me terribly much, but still...)

[MrsReber]

That's what I do at home- cut off the mold or hard part and eat the rest! My mom was over and I took out some cheese that had a little bit of mold. I hesitated, not knowing if she'd be okay with me cutting off the bad part. But she was fine with it. Must be where I learned that....

As for bleu cheese, I throw it out when it grows fuzz (eeeeewwwww!) :D Unfortunately, I'm the only person in my home who will eat bleu cheese. They don't know what they're missing.

[badunnin]

I just threw out some bleu cheese crumbles. The little girl crumbles had invaded the boys - there was pink mould growing. Eeeew.