Can we eat expired cheese?
Who has never found a piece of expired Camembert or Comté in their refrigerator? Should we throw it away or can we still eat it? We lift the veil!
We have all been at one time or another, faced with this dilemma when faced with a product whose DLC or DDM is outdated. Can I still consume it? Will it still be good? And above all, is there a health risk? Don’t panic, we’ll explain everything to you!
How to properly store cheese?
The ideal is to keep your cheese in the paper provided by the cheese maker. Thick and waterproof, it leaves breathe the cheese and allows it to preserve all its flavors. Place your piece(s) in the refrigerator, in a cheese box or in the vegetable drawer. They will thus be kept in optimal conditions.
You can also ask the cheese maker to put them under a vacuumwhich will extend their shelf life.
Another option, if you bought too much cheese for a raclette evening for example, feel free to freeze it : wrap each slice in cling film, place everything in a special freezer box or bag. Your cheese will keep for several weeks without any problem.
Cheeses purchased from the self-service section of the supermarket can be kept under the same conditions, in their original packaging.
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DLC or DDM?
If you bought your cheese from the supermarket, you will find that some have on their packaging a DLCs (Best Before Date), and others, a MDD (Date of Minimum Durability).
The first mainly concern the fresh cheeses (cream cheese, ricotta, fresh goat cheese…) which are more fragile, and that you have to throw away if you notice traces of mould. Soft cheeses (camembert, brie) or pressed cheeses (comté, emmental, parmesan, etc.) keep longer and most often benefit from an MDD. Simply put, the harder the dough, the longer the cheese will keep. In other words, once the DDM is exceeded, you do not risk much to consume it!
How to spot expired cheese dangerous to health?
Look, feel, use your senses! Know how to spot the unmistakable signs and refrain from consuming a cheese if its smell is unusual and repulsive (this is common sense!)if its taste is unpleasant, or if its appearance and texture are greatly altered.
If pathogenic microorganisms appear on the cheeses, the toxins they generate can be dangerous to health. Better to be careful. This precaution is all the more important in fragile people (children, pregnant women, elderly or immunocompromised) .
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What to do with expired cheese?
In absolute terms, therefore, and in healthy people, there is no real risk in consuming expired cheese, especially if it is a hard cheese. The simplest, and most prudent, is to “recycle” it, especially if it is less appetizing!
If you find in your fridge, for example, Comté cheese, Emmental cheese, Raclette or an expired Tomme, cook them: you can incorporate them into a ham cake, a potato gratin or a croque monsieur. Perfect with a nice green salad!
Read also :
50 cheese recipes
7 products from the cupboard that you can still consume after the expiry date
What to do with puff pastry soon to expire?
Food Editor
Always passionate about the world of gastronomy, I have worked as an author and journalist for several years. Curious, I like to test new recipes and I’m always on the lookout for culinary experiences. My …
