Would you eat out of date cheese?

[37KAT]

Today I found some out of date unopened cheddar cheese in our second fridge, use by date 24/12. It looked ok ish. I cut a few bits of mould off and used it

Logically I reckon we'll be ok due to the maturing process however I'm having niggling doubts due to the Use By label..
Should I ditch the cheese straws I've just made? Would you eat it?

I would, without a second thought - especially in something cooked.

Yes. Anyway you’ve cooked with it thereby killing any (non-existent) pathogens.

Of course. I think it might be better cooked, if the flavour has matured a bit.

It's fine, don't sweat the small stuff

Hard cheese yes, definitely.

It been out of date wouldn't bother me, but I'm not sure about cutting mold off. Cheese straws might be ok as the heat will have killed anything nasty, but I wouldn't ear raw.

Yes, id eat it.
When we lived out of the UK, cheese typically was soft or in a jar... when British or Irish cheddar hit the shelves, I would buy as much as I thought we could eat. We frequently aren't after the date. Especially if it has stayed sealed.

Definitely, cooked or otherwise. I might not mention it to anyone else, though.

Yes, no hesitation at all as long as the mould is cut off

Great thanks. Pleased I'm not alone!

I don’t know why they bother putting use by dates on cheese, it keeps for months. Don’t throw the cheese straws away, I’ll have them if you don’t want them, OP.

@simbobs absolutely!

If you've ever seen Cheddar before it's cut and sealed in plastic, you'll know it's covered in mould as an essential part of the ageing process.

I am ridiculously fussy about food hygiene, but mould growing on hard cheese is how they make it in the first place. Soft cheese, throw away, but not hard cheese.

Yes.

Yes.

can't think of a reason not to use it

Yes. Hard cheese doesn't go off. Once u scrape off the mould it'll be fine.

Yes and have done frequently. Still living and breathing.

Well the ‘rind’ on some cheese is mould anyway... my rule of thumb is - as long as it’s not black and spidery, you’re probably ok if you cut it off. The black spidery stuff freaks me out!

Oh God, yes. It’s rotten milk anyway!

If the mould isn’t so much that it could walk itself to the bin I reckon you’re fine

I would definitely eat it without a second thought. I eat out of date cheese all the time. Some of them are just starting to ripen nicely by the use by date.

I make cheese and I can tell you anything hard and matured is fine for decades. Soft or fresh cheeses (moz, cream, Brie) use your finely tuned instincts. You don't want to see anything blue, pink or black on a soft cheese

If it looks ok and it smells ok it's ok. I've cut mould off cheese and used the rest. Nowt wrong with that.

Unless it jumped out of the fridge and went for my jugular, yes.