Whether you’re preparing a charcuterie board soon or just like to have a few blocks around for snacking, chances are you’ve got cheese in your fridge. And if you’re a seasoned cheese lover like we are, you’ve probably run into some mold—it’s nearly inevitable when it comes to dairy.
When the whole block is moldy, tossing the entire thing is clearly the way to go (unless it’s blue cheese, of course!). But what if there’s just a spot of mold, or there’s a corner that’s looking a little unseemly? Should you discard the whole block, or try to salvage what you can?
Luckily, when it comes to cheese, finding mold isn’t necessarily a death sentence—you may be able to keep the block around. Here’s everything you need to know about moldy cheese, and what you should do if you find some of the fuzzy stuff in your fridge.
With softer foods like bread or fruit, mold can take quite a bit of food out of commission. Because bread, for example, is more porous than cheese, mold can spread quite easily throughout it without you knowing—even if the it seems to be sequestered to just a corner, it might have started to spread through the entire loaf.
Although it can really depend on what type you’re dealing with, cheese offers a bit more flexibility. With hard and semisoft cheese—think cheddar, parmesan, or gouda—there’s some good news: The mold most likely hasn’t traveled farther than what you can see.
According to Mayo Clinic, you can simply cut around mold that’s grown on hard or semisoft cheese, making sure to cut about one inch to either side and underneath the mold—this way, you’re ensuring any mold that’s spread is taken out along with the visible stuff. Just make sure that the knife you’re using doesn’t touch any mold, as you don’t
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