Should I eat this questionable cheese?
March 4, 2010 3:37 PM Subscribe
Should I eat this? Ricotta that may be bad (weirdly so).
So I'm making a lasagna (ideally for dinner tonight), and I just opened a brand new container of fat-free ricotta. The sell by date is March 27. There are some pink spots on the top of the cheese, and a drop of pink liquid on the inside of the plastic film on top. Googling for pink mold on ricotta isn't really helping. The container itself is blue, with a little bit of orange/red for the Shaw's logo, so it's not likely to be dye from the container. What on earth could this pink stuff be, and more importantly, would you toss the top layer of cheese and use the rest? Complicating factor: I'm pregnant and following the annoying cautious-cheese-eating guidelines that already mean I can't eat soft cheeses unless they're cooked.
I can't believe I'm using my question for this. Help me, Metafilter!
So I'm making a lasagna (ideally for dinner tonight), and I just opened a brand new container of fat-free ricotta. The sell by date is March 27. There are some pink spots on the top of the cheese, and a drop of pink liquid on the inside of the plastic film on top. Googling for pink mold on ricotta isn't really helping. The container itself is blue, with a little bit of orange/red for the Shaw's logo, so it's not likely to be dye from the container. What on earth could this pink stuff be, and more importantly, would you toss the top layer of cheese and use the rest? Complicating factor: I'm pregnant and following the annoying cautious-cheese-eating guidelines that already mean I can't eat soft cheeses unless they're cooked.
I can't believe I'm using my question for this. Help me, Metafilter!
It's a container of ricotta. Take it back to the store where you got it and make them give you another one.
If you are being super-cautious for pregnancy, either exchange it or get a new one. It's not just your gastro-intestinal integrity that's on the line right now.
posted by ambrosia at 3:47 PM on March 4, 2010
If you are being super-cautious for pregnancy, either exchange it or get a new one. It's not just your gastro-intestinal integrity that's on the line right now.
posted by ambrosia at 3:47 PM on March 4, 2010
Best answer: Don't. And I'm normally in the "eat it!" camp. But I worked at Whole Foods in the cheese dept and the only cheeses that got tossed without even being tasted were the ones with pink spots.
(That is, if a cheese had mold that wasn't supposed to be there, it got scraped to see if the mold was surface mold; it was also tasted. But the ones with pink were gone gone gone immediately.)
posted by rtha at 3:47 PM on March 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
(That is, if a cheese had mold that wasn't supposed to be there, it got scraped to see if the mold was surface mold; it was also tasted. But the ones with pink were gone gone gone immediately.)
posted by rtha at 3:47 PM on March 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks not on display, I searched for variants on ricotta and pink but not cheese and pink (some librarian I am). Ambrosia, I'd love to take it back to the store but that involves a half hour drive 2 ways in after work traffic, so it won't be happening until this weekend.
Thanks everyone!
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2010
Thanks everyone!
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2010
Pregnant ladies should avoid eating iffy food of any kind. Especially pink cheese.
posted by fifilaru at 5:39 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by fifilaru at 5:39 PM on March 4, 2010
I don't even need to read your extended explanation to answer this question: no.
posted by sickinthehead at 6:16 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by sickinthehead at 6:16 PM on March 4, 2010
According to the USDA fact sheet on moldy food you should toss it.
posted by 26.2 at 9:04 PM on March 4, 2010
posted by 26.2 at 9:04 PM on March 4, 2010
pink if often a sign of yeast. yeast is a common spoilage organism in cultured dairy products such as ricotta. i do not believe it will kill you but i wouldn't eat it.
posted by catseatcheese at 4:02 PM on March 5, 2010
posted by catseatcheese at 4:02 PM on March 5, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by not_on_display at 3:46 PM on March 4, 2010