Never seen cheese sweat before
August 13, 2016 9:32 AM Subscribe
Left a pound of extra sharp cheddar cheese out of the fridge exposed to the air in an 80-degree kitchen for about twenty hours. It's "sweating" oil of some sort. Can I Eat This?
Best answer: Yeah. Hard cheese sweats when it gets warm. The texture might be slightly affected, but you can absolutely eat it.
posted by mollymayhem at 9:39 AM on August 13, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by mollymayhem at 9:39 AM on August 13, 2016 [7 favorites]
Best answer: I'd eat it, but it might not be as good as it would have been 15 hours ago -- it's probably dried out a bit.
The sweating oil thing is just what cheese does.
posted by erst at 9:40 AM on August 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
The sweating oil thing is just what cheese does.
posted by erst at 9:40 AM on August 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Ms. Window will be pleased. Thank you all!
posted by infinitewindow at 9:41 AM on August 13, 2016
posted by infinitewindow at 9:41 AM on August 13, 2016
Best answer: That's totally normal. I would eat it, but I'm finding not a ton of info on the safety of leaving hard cheeses at room temp, so that's not official advice.
posted by lazuli at 9:42 AM on August 13, 2016
posted by lazuli at 9:42 AM on August 13, 2016
Best answer: I'm finding not a ton of info on the safety of leaving hard cheeses at room temp
Cheese is one of civilisation's many ways of keeping milk from spoiling at room temp. Since it's already pasteurised, it should be fine; in France it would routinely be left (covered) at room temp.
The taste of oily, slightly plasticky cheese sandwiches that had been left in a hot car is something I always associate with childhood day trips to the seaside or all-day fishing trips with my dad, and I survived my childhood.
posted by holgate at 10:07 AM on August 13, 2016 [8 favorites]
Cheese is one of civilisation's many ways of keeping milk from spoiling at room temp. Since it's already pasteurised, it should be fine; in France it would routinely be left (covered) at room temp.
The taste of oily, slightly plasticky cheese sandwiches that had been left in a hot car is something I always associate with childhood day trips to the seaside or all-day fishing trips with my dad, and I survived my childhood.
posted by holgate at 10:07 AM on August 13, 2016 [8 favorites]
Best answer: When I was a tween I used to actually prefer sweaty cheese and would deliberately leave it out. I am not dead yet.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 10:19 AM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 10:19 AM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Room temp in France is not room temp in SoCal in a west-facing room, but all signs are pointing to "95% confidence safe for humans to consume." At this point my biggest concern is "did the cat get at it," and I don't see any nibble marks.
posted by infinitewindow at 10:27 AM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by infinitewindow at 10:27 AM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
You can totally eat that.
Soft cheese would be a little more iffy.
(Be sure to report back if you die).
posted by Jahaza at 11:50 AM on August 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
Soft cheese would be a little more iffy.
(Be sure to report back if you die).
posted by Jahaza at 11:50 AM on August 13, 2016 [5 favorites]
Cheese oiling up like that in that situation is normal, but I wouldn't eat it. It's not worth it.
posted by grouse at 12:56 PM on August 13, 2016
posted by grouse at 12:56 PM on August 13, 2016
Best answer: If you don't like the texture but have a large block of sweaty cheese, you can coarsely shred it on a grater and freeze loosely in an airtight container. If you feel like a cheesy crisp, grab a microwave safe plate, drop on a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle a thin even layer of frozen grated cheese on the paper. Microwave on reheat - keep an eye on it - it will start to melt, bubble, then turn delicately crisp. At this point, stop the microwave and enjoy. It might sweet some more oils in the process, but this helps to liberate the crisp from the parchment paper.
posted by porpoise at 1:28 PM on August 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by porpoise at 1:28 PM on August 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I used to sell cheese and still eat a lot of it. We regularly take Cheddar and harder cheeses (aged Gouda, e.g.) on long hikes and for snacks when we're outdoors at 80F+ temps for six hours and more and they will get a little greasy - cheese is full of fat after all - and they are fine. They are supposed to do this.
Many parts of cheese-eating France regularly get as hot or hotter than Southern California. Ditto cheese-making and -eating places like Italy and Greece. It's really fine to eat.
posted by rtha at 1:37 PM on August 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
Many parts of cheese-eating France regularly get as hot or hotter than Southern California. Ditto cheese-making and -eating places like Italy and Greece. It's really fine to eat.
posted by rtha at 1:37 PM on August 13, 2016 [6 favorites]
Cheese is already spoiled milk. Delicious spoiled milk. If it doesn't have anything growing on it, yer probably fine. Eat up!
posted by SansPoint at 2:33 PM on August 13, 2016
posted by SansPoint at 2:33 PM on August 13, 2016
Best answer: Agreeing with rtha, cheddar cheese is a hiking cheese. I had cheddar cheese sandwiches for lunch three days in a row recently, and they were fine. It can go for days out of the fridge without a problem, just gets kinda soft and crumbly.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:28 PM on August 13, 2016
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:28 PM on August 13, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
I have eaten sweaty cheese many, many times and I am 100% alive.
posted by terretu at 9:39 AM on August 13, 2016 [5 favorites]