Hi English Forum Folks

This is the product

https://www.coop.ch/en/food/dairy-pr...r-ca/p/6285559

Thanks!

If it’s not mouldy it will probably be fine,

Until it goes mouldy or smells funny.

And even then probably still good for a few more months.

Tom

And if it is, it doesn't matter, cheese mould is edible!

Tom

In that case, cut the mouldy part with a knife an eat the non-mouldy part

Just keep it in a freezer, will be safe to eat almost forever (at least, compared to an average fridge lifespan).

And do not be careless about the mold on it:

• it is cheddar, so it is not designed to be moldy. It is pasteurized and vacuum sealed in a clean environment, so whatever mold will grow on it depends mostly on what mold is prevalent in your fridge, room or storage container.
• even cheese molds can be toxic to some degree, please take a look at scientific data on that: https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...2203028182869X

If there is a mold grown on it, then cutting it off the cheese would be enough to eat safely it in most cases (if it is rotten by mold throughout, then don't do it). But it's always better to process it with some sanitizing heat into frittata, mac'n'cheese or even simple cheese melts.

Probably a year or so. Cheese doesn't "go off" it just develops it's flavour and texture to something a little more grown up. If you want to keep it for making a cheese sauce, then grate and freeze it.

And BTW, food does not "expire" (that word is the reason why a third of all food in the world is thrown away).... but it might be "best before" a certain date. Personally, I would always eat cheese a few months after that for hard cheeses, and a week or so after for soft cheeses.

And for what it's worth, I'm a cheese professional.

I’ve got some own-brand Cheddar from the Migros It’s label says

“Mindestens haltbar bis
A consommer de préférence avant le
Da consumarsi preferibilmente estro il”

This is NOT an expiry date, it’s a best before date. Which is a guess at best.

(Apologies for any typos, couldn’t find my reading glasses)

I always try to buy the cheeses they sell at 50% because its close to the "expiry" date. Not just cheaper... that is about the time they start to taste like cheese...

I prefer cheese that has not been in the fridge for at least 24 hours, I always ask in restaurants if the cheese is kept in the fridge before deciding to order any.

FTFY

I'm trying to educate the family to take cheese out of the fridge at least an hour before eating. 24 hours is expecting too much, I feel!

Any chance that flavour and texture could be something a bit deterimental to health though?

I had a cheese board at the New York Plaza Food Hall a few years ago, some lovely French cheeses but they were straight from the fridge. The server and manager both seemed quite offended when I told them how the cheeses should be served!

Generally no. Trust your sense of smell and taste. The only time I would be cautious would be if the cheese was a soft raw milk and was starting to pong too much. But even then, if you're generally strong and healthy I wouldn't worry.

In France where the temperature is seldom above 22 degrees we never even put cheese in the fridge, it's necessary in Malta where the night time temperature can be 28 & day time 10 degrees higher.

Of course this all depends on how quickly you're going to eat it - refrigerating cheese to extend its life is an essential part of our cheese-eating habits - if I were to leave it out I'd need to be shopping for it every two or three days and risking waste or shortage in between times.

So while I agree that most cheeses should be allowed to reach room temperature before eating, and indeed that some may improve for up to 24 hours (OK, even longer if you want your Camembert _really_ runny) temperate maturation, I will stick with keeping it in the fridge up until that point, TYVM.

Which is why Mediterranean cheeses tend to be hard cheeses.

My cheese never makes it to the fridge

OP - if it doesn't move, eat it!

Bah! Vegans!

My vegan years were fun, totally.

Naw - I meant - if it doesn't have bugs/germs/vermin YET, makin' it move on its own, eat it!

I gradually learned how subpar taste gets with stuff that's been overcooled. Apples, tomatoes, eggs, cheese, jambon cru. Veggies. Some people put red wine in their fridge, ick, and chocolate. I think leaving stuff out makes us not forget it and we actually eat it. Otherwise, fridge is dangerous, out of site-out of mind.

Apples, tomatoes or eggs in the fridge is a crime.

We're still eating last year's apples. Just stored in the basement. They actually turn sweeter over time.

A farmer I know says that refrigerating tomatoes actually accelerates their decay and makes them more prone to attracting moulds once they come out of the refrigerator . Which is why supermarket tomatoes go bad so quickly. Don't know about the details but refrigeration definitely kills the taste. So many other ways to conserve them. We sun dried a whole batch last year. That really brings out the spice in them.

Wine I disagree. Certain types of red wine do actually taste better when cooled. Especially cheaper wines that haven't matured properly. On a hot summer evening in Spain a chilled cheapo wine is actually more refreshing than any beer. This is the stuff from a local vineyard who are selling it out the back door. You bring your own bottles and they fill them sort of thing.

But we don't store it in the fridge. We just chill it before drinking, which is something different.