Cheese

[mwchron1]

How long can you keep cheese in the fridge vacuum sealed

 

[old sarge]

I have had cheese last several months. I generally look for a color change, first white spots I see I open, remove the portions starting to mold and use as soon as possible.  Something to keep in mind is that the outside of the package as purchased from the store is anything but free of germs and microbes.  So wash the outside of the package and after opening, wear gloves when handling the raw product so as not to transfer anything from your hands.  I am not a germ-a-phobe by any stretch of the imagination. But anything you can do to minimize contamination during repackaging will extend the life of the product.  Hope that helps.

 

[id2nv2nj2ca]

I have had cheese last several months. I generally look for a color change, first white spots I see I open, remove the portions starting to mold and use as soon as possible. I just saw this about what might be the white spots you're talking about. Sounds like it might be calcium lactate. https://www.tillamook.com/faq.html#faq-72 Something to keep in mind is that the outside of the package as purchased from the store is anything but free of germs and microbes.  So wash the outside of the package and after opening, wear gloves when handling the raw product so as not to transfer anything from your hands.  I am not a germ-a-phobe by any stretch of the imagination. But anything you can do to minimize contamination during repackaging will extend the life of the product.  Hope that helps.

 

[EFGM]

Thanks David, very good advice about washing the outside of package. You just changed my MO.

 

[old sarge]

My wife and I stocked shelves in the commissary at night for 14 years and even though we scrubbed up and wore gloves on chilled and frozen items few others did. I saw a lot of dirty hands handling packages. And the clumsy would drop items on the floor and put them right into the displays. Not good.

 

[SconnieQ]

My wife and I stocked shelves in the commissary at night for 14 years and even though we scrubbed up and wore gloves on chilled and frozen items few others did. I saw a lot of dirty hands handling packages. And the clumsy would drop items on the floor and put them right into the displays. Not good.

Great advice about washing the outside of the package before handling. I always thoroughly wash my hands before handling food. Even with impeccably clean hands, I had some cheese grow blue mold, in the exact pattern of my fingers holding the block of cheese. Hilarious. I always handle my cheese now using a saran wrap barrier, but gloves are a good idea if you are handling cheese for long term storage. Granted, here in cheese-head country, cheese is eaten in a pretty timely manner.

 

[old sarge]

Did you know that you can make killer sourdough style bread with the bacteria on your hands?  And it is good for you.

 

[SconnieQ]

You can also "harvest" your own local yeast from the air for bread. I love limburger cheese, so I guess I like my bacteria where it is expected, and not so much where it is not supposed to be. I grew up on a dairy farm, so I am not a germophobe by any means. Just good basic food handling hygiene.

 

[old sarge]

Yup!  Just a starter of 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup flour sitting out for a few days will will start smelling very yeasty.  Then it is off to the races.

 

[NDKoze]

For hard cheeses like cheddar, you can keep for years as long as they are properly dried and vacuum sealed. I have some in my fridge that has been aging over a year. The longer a cheddar ages the sharper it gets. So, after a year, a mild cheddar cheese might be considered sharp, and after two years it may be considered super sharp. Most of mine doesn't last much past 3-4 months though. Some day I may get into waxing my cheese. Then you would be able to keep it even longer.