Will it kill me - cheese edition

April 18, 2022 8:16 AM

A vendor we work with is having a virtual wine and cheese event, and mailed cheese to attendees. Cheese was delivered... sometime. It's fine... right?

It's a variety of cheeses - blue, Toma, Gouda. The address label says "TUE APR 12 4:30P STANDARD OVERNIGHT." There were ice packs included. The ice packs were not cold (at all) when I opened it. The cheeses were room-temp. Two were oily/drippy. I did put them in the fridge immediately. A chef told me once that cheese doesn't go bad, but I'm not sure this is what he was talking about.
Judging from my experience with Hello Fresh, I'm assuming the ice packs were worth 48 hours, which would have put me at Wednesday or Thursday. Today is Monday.
Previous AskMe's indicate 'ok to eat' but none look like they've gone THIS long without refrigeration.

posted by BekahVee to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

So, it was on your porch or something for like four days? Cheese is, at its heart, a preservation method for dairy products so it's very likely safe to eat. But it might not be an optimal tasting experience either! What kinds of temps (and temperature swings) have you been seeing?
posted by mskyle at 8:20 AM on April 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: whoops forgot that part. It was indoors- a 'climate controlled' office. I assume the climate control runs over the weekend.
posted by BekahVee at 8:30 AM on April 18, 2022

It is almost certainly edible (cheese by and large does not go off in dangerous ways), but has definitely degraded in consistency (as you noted, they've exuded oils) and probably in flavor. I would eat it without hesitation, but I wouldn't expect it to be very good.
posted by jackbishop at 9:37 AM on April 18, 2022

Unless there is some obvious sign of spoilage, I would not hesitate to eat this cheese (and have eaten a lot of cheese that has warmed up enough to lose oil). The cheeses that have lost oil probably won't be that tasty, but they won't hurt you. Others might actually be tastier as they've had a chance to ripen a bit. It is common to store cheese at room temperature in other parts of the world.
posted by ssg at 11:05 AM on April 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

For what it's worth, we buy Gouda here in the Netherlands and it is sold unrefrigerated. It is almost certainly fine.

The blue cheese should be fine but if you taste it and it has a hint of an ammonia smell then toss it. It still won't hurt you but it won't be enjoyable so why bother.
posted by vacapinta at 11:07 AM on April 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, all! Will confidently at least *try* all the free cheeses! 🧀🧀🧀
posted by BekahVee at 11:29 AM on April 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I am familiar with quantities of cheese kept at various temperatures. These should all be fine, though as another response indicated, a reduction in flavour may possibly occur. Bon appetit!
posted by Wordshore at 12:24 PM on April 18, 2022 [2 favorites]