So you can cut away the moldy part and eat the rest of the cheese. Cut off at least 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) around and below the moldy spot. Be sure to keep the knife out of the mold, so it doesn't contaminate other parts of the cheese. Of course, not all molds pose a risk.
Discard any soft cheese showing mold. For hard cheese, such as Cheddar, cut off at least 1-inch around and below the mold spot (keep the knife out of the mold itself). After trimming off the mold, the remaining cheese should be safe to eat.
This is particularly important with soft cheeses. For hard cheese, such as cheddar or Swiss, dampen a paper towel with just a splash of vinegar, wrap the cheese in the towel, then cover with plastic wrap and put it into a plastic bag. Vinegar does kill and prevent most molds from growing, and it won't hurt the cheese.
As soon as you realize the cheese is moldy, throw it out. If you notice mold on a block of hard or semisoft cheese, it is safe to cut it off, along with a one-inch radius around it. While rare, possible symptoms of eating mold may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath and allergic reactions.
For fresh cheeses like mozzarella or ricotta, mold is an unfortunate sign that it's time to part ways and discard your cheese. Because fresh cheeses are high in moisture, mold can spread quickly and make the cheese unsafe to eat.
One common cause is too much moisture when the cheese is being stored. The use of plastic wrapping or zip top bags can retain moisture levels past 55% humidity, which is the ideal level for mold to grow.
Neglecting the Fridge
"Any moldy food will put additional spores in your refrigerator and could cause your cheese to mold faster," says Kerry Henning, master cheesemaker at Hennings Cheese. For food safety reasons, your refrigerator temperature should always be below 40°F.
Storing cheese after slicing
Once you've broken into a new cheese, keep it contained in a sealed Tupperware box. This will prevent the smell from filling the rest of your fridge, and also keep the cheese free of any other strong smelling items in there.
It is basically a natural calcium buildup that occurs over time during the aging process, and it sometimes will become visible on the surface of the cheese. Don't worry – it is completely natural and safe to eat!
The best way to keep cheese fresh and mold free is by using cheese wrapping paper, parchment paper, or cheese bag. These wraps ensure that the cheese can “breathe”, but prevent unwanted air from entering the cheese. Never use plastic wrap. It suffocates the cheese, making it trap moisture and lose flavor.
Mold is an integral part of the cheesemaking process. Almost none of it will kill you, but it could negatively impact the flavor and texture of the cheese it's growing on or at the very least make it taste pretty different from how it was supposed to.
Baking moldy cheese at high temperatures to kill the mold is not recommended. Feel free to bake intentionally moldy cheeses, like gorgonzola or brie, for tasty and warming recipes — but if your cheese is not meant to be moldy, baking it won't help salvage it.
They're most likely calcium lactate crystals, also known as “cheese crystals.” They are completely safe to eat, and usually signify that a cheese is flavorful and well-aged. Calcium lactate crystals form naturally during the aging process and are most commonly found in aged cheddars, including Smoked Medium Cheddar.
It depends on the variety of the cheese. Different cheeses mold differently. Cheese with higher moisture, such as cream cheese, can mold within two or three weeks, whereas more rigid varieties of cheese, such as Parmesan, can take up to 10 months to mold.
Cheese keeps best when it is wrapped in waxed paper. This strikes the right balance between stopping the cheese from drying out and preventing too much moisture from building up. Cling film tends to trap moisture, which can encourage mould to grow on the surface of the cheese.
To keep cheese moist—but not mold-prone—first wrap it tightly in waxed or parchment paper and then loosely in aluminum foil.
Cheese is best stored in the refrigerator as close to the bottom of the appliance as possible - the vegetable compartment is ideal. Wrap it in aluminum foil or waxed paper (waxed paper being the best of the two). Wrapped this way, the cheese will be able to breathe and further develop without drying out.
First things first: “Always double-wrap your cheese – in waxed paper or baking parchment, ideally – and put it in a plastic container lined with dampened kitchen towel or J-cloth.” Then clap on the lid and put it in the top of the fridge – that's where the temperature is usually the most constant, unless you have a ...
Exposure to air causes cheese to mold. If you see mold on your loaf of cheese, don't worry. Most molds are harmless - all you have to do is cut it off. Cut away at least a half inch of cheese on all sides of the visible mold.
Look for visual cues such as an extra slimy surface; dark, dry, and cracked areas in a hard cheese; or yellow splotches on a blue cheese (remember, unintended mold doesn't necessarily mean the entire wheel is done for). If the cheese is unopened, bloated packaging can also be an indicator.
Store all types of cheese in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator, where the temperature is cold and stable. Use a fresh piece of plastic wrap or wax paper to rewrap cheese after each use. The length of time you can keep cheese differs by variety; in general, the harder the cheese, the longer it will last.
We found that as long as you wrap the cheeses extremely well (or better yet, vacuum-seal them) to prevent freezer burn, it's fine to freeze cheese for up to two months.