Can I eat this? Paneer edition.

February 17, 2015 10:07 AM

I'm busy making curry right now, and I found a vacuum sealed square of paneer in the fridge. Now, according to the package it's best before 23 January. I've smelled it (not sour), tasted it (not sour). Is it safe to eat?
posted by leopard-skin pill-box hat to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

Three week out-of-date cheese? I'm eating it.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:08 AM on February 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yeah, if there's no bubbles/bloating in the packaging I would have zero concerns about eating it myself or serving it to someone else.

Paneer's such a straightforward, firm cheese, it really should last quite some time after best-by.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:10 AM on February 17, 2015

I'd eat it as long as it tasted fine and there was no mold growing on it, so I think you're good.
posted by cabingirl at 10:17 AM on February 17, 2015

I'd eat it.
posted by Urban Winter at 10:20 AM on February 17, 2015

I'd eat it, but if you're worried about it, you can cube it, fry it, and throw it in the curry. It'll be delicious.
posted by AaRdVarK at 10:24 AM on February 17, 2015

I would eat it as well, with no compunction. If you wanted to be super safe you could cut the outer surface off. But I wouldn't if it visually appears and tastes fine.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 10:30 AM on February 17, 2015

I'd eat it, but if you're worried about it, you can cube it, fry it, and throw it in the curry.

I would eat it as well, with no compunction. If you wanted to be super safe you could cut the outer surface off.

Neither of these things are proof against certain toxic residues from pathogens, nor mould.

That said, if it's vac-sealed I would personally eat it, but would not serve in a restaurant, to anyone young (12 or under), old (>60), or immunocompromised.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:03 AM on February 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

I'd eat it.
posted by Enchanting Grasshopper at 11:40 AM on February 17, 2015

Neither of these things are proof against certain toxic residues from pathogens, nor mould.

Paneer is a pressed milk cheese much like a dry yogurt. If it goes bad it's going to be in flavor, not in edibility. I'm not s food science guy, but I wouldn't worry about toxins or even any mould.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:52 AM on February 17, 2015

I know what paneer is; I've made it many times :)

Contamination happens in food processing all the time, and an anaerobic environment is exactly what many pathogens love. Cutting the surface off cheese doesn't necessarily deal with potentially toxic mould, as the spores go past the surface. This was food safety 101 in culinary school.

I'm not getting into an argument here; folk wisdom about food safety is a large part of why so many people are hospitalized every year for food-borne illness.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:04 PM on February 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

The best-before date is exactly that; it's not a toxic-after date.
posted by jon1270 at 12:17 PM on February 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

"Best before" dates are meaningless. I'd eat it.
posted by zug at 1:09 PM on February 17, 2015

> The best-before date is exactly that; it's not a toxic-after date.

This. It's fine. It doesn't have any toxic residues from mold that it never had.
posted by desuetude at 1:13 PM on February 17, 2015

Response by poster: For future reference: We ate it and lived to tell the tale.

Thanks!
posted by leopard-skin pill-box hat at 3:03 AM on February 22, 2015