Mold on Cheese?

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Article on AoL. One guy ** -- a former cheese shop employee whose follow-up comment is posted below -- scoffs at the one inch 'rule.' Is he right? .....or is he a cheesehead?

__________________________________________________

Is Moldy Cheese Safe to Eat?

by Carrie Coolidge

According to the Mayo Clinic, some moldy cheeses are safe to eat after the mold has been sliced off, while others are toxic.

The answer depends on the type of cheese, says Mayo Clinic nutritionist, Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D. "Molds are microscopic organisms that have thread-like roots that burrow into the foods they grow on," she says.

There are good molds and there are bad molds. Most molds are harmless and safe to eat (unless you are allergic to mold, of course). These molds are even used to make some kinds of cheese, including brie, roquefort, gorgonzola, and camembert. Some bad molds produce mycotoxins, which can make you sick.

With hard and semisoft cheese, such as parmesan, Swiss, romano and cheddar, you can cut away the moldy part and eat the rest of the cheese, says Zeratsky. "Keep the knife out of the mold itself so that it doesn't cross-contaminate other parts of the cheese," she warns. "Cut off at least one inch around and below the moldy spot."

With soft cheeses, such as brie, chevre, blue cheese and ricotta, however, the mold that grows cannot be safely removed so these cheeses should be discarded. The same goes for any cheese that has been shredded, crumbled or sliced.

** Lotte

Oct 29th 2009 4:21AM

I'm sorry, but I am sick and tired of the "experts" (and that includes "scientists") telling us eat this, don't eat that, this will make you sick, that won't.

My first job in high school (waaaay long time ago) was in a "cheese house". We carried over 70 different types of imported and domestic cheeses and smoked meats.

It wasn't/isn't at all uncommon for cheeses to get mold - we would slice it off, sometimes a customer WANTED it on there (and I don't mean those meant to have mold i.e. the 'famous' bleu and roquefort - ewww). We were always taught that as long as all of the mold was removed it was fine. And not an INCH in all directions either!!! None of this 'some has long roots and this and that and on and on ad nauseam! Well, guess what? Over forty years later, after all our friends and family have eaten the cheeses after removing mold, NO ONE EVER GOT SICK!!! The absolute only cheeses we were told to never use even after removing mold were the "processed" cheeses, such as american. And this information came directly from the doctors and other experts back then!

Just more scare tactics - we're all sanitizing, anti-bacterializing and scaring ourselves to death! Give it a bloody rest already!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Yeah, Lotte is right - just cut it off - an inch! Good grief, what extravagance!

Cheese isn't around long enough in our house to get mouldy, anyway, these days.

MG

[Brownian Motion]

The one inch rule has been around for years now, and I obey it. Why should I risk illness to prove conventional scientific wisdom wrong?

[sal]

I love cheese

[Chuck Nessa]

I have cut off about 1/16th off and am still alive.

[7/4]

cheese, please.

[BFrank]

[Free For All]

I have cut off about 1/16th off and am still alive.

You must have a good mohel.

[kenny weir]

I prefer my mold on old figs.

[Christiern]

I think we all have known people who cut mold from their cheese and are no longer with us. I have known even more people who didn't cut cigarettes from their daily habits and skipped out early.

Why did you start this thread, Weizy? Did you encounter a ghastly Gouda?

[JohnS]

I have cut off about 1/16th off and am still alive.

Same here.

[Tom Storer]

Anyone who says this: "the 'famous' bleu and roquefort - ewww", cannot be taken seriously in any discussion of cheese.

[JohnS]

Roquefort! Lovely! One of the very best.

[Christiern]

Back in the unenlightened age when I arrived here as an immigrant, Danish Blue was often the cheese I heard elitists discuss with a glint in their eyes. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was plain old Roquefort (as we called it in Denmark)! Actually, my absolute favorite cheese is not available here, not even in gourmand hangouts, but that may be due to its potent presence. It's called Gamle Ole (Old Ole) and it packs a most delightful punch. I daresay that mold finds old Ole unfit for residency. I find that cheese sold in the U.S. (at least in NYC) tends to be bland. Any recommendations?

[AllenLowe]

I'm a preservatives guy - I have a pack of Kraft American Cheese which has been in my frig since 1992. And I'm stocking up on bottles of Cheese Whiz in anticipation of the next Great Depression or World War III, whichever comes first.

[Peter Johnson]

Chris--why not jump on the A train down to Murray's in the W. Village??? I highly recommend it...if anyone in the city is likely to have Gamle Ole, they are...and if they don't have that, they've lots of stuff I'd never characterize as bland. Take a number and tell them what you're looking for...plenty of "under the counter" unpasteurized stuff too, if you know what to ask for.

Murray's (254 Bleecker @ Cornelia)

Back in the unenlightened age when I arrived here as an immigrant, Danish Blue was often the cheese I heard elitists discuss with a glint in their eyes. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was plain old Roquefort (as we called it in Denmark)! Actually, my absolute favorite cheese is not available here, not even in gourmand hangouts, but that may be due to its potent presence. It's called Gamle Ole (Old Ole) and it packs a most delightful punch. I daresay that mold finds old Ole unfit for residency. I find that cheese sold in the U.S. (at least in NYC) tends to be bland. Any recommendations?

[JohnS]

Back in the unenlightened age when I arrived here as an immigrant, Danish Blue was often the cheese I heard elitists discuss with a glint in their eyes. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was plain old Roquefort (as we called it in Denmark)! Actually, my absolute favorite cheese is not available here, not even in gourmand hangouts, but that may be due to its potent presence. It's called Gamle Ole (Old Ole) and it packs a most delightful punch. I daresay that mold finds old Ole unfit for residency. I find that cheese sold in the U.S. (at least in NYC) tends to be bland. Any recommendations?

I doubt that the cheesemakers of Roquefort would appreciate their cheese being called Danish Blue