So I have an unopened block of Monterey Jack cheese that expired on March 12th. Can I

[GreenPartyVoter]

still use it or will I be up all night crying and clutching my gut??

[Blue Gardener]

1. If it isn't moldy

Eat it.

[CatholicEdHead]

2. If it is only lightly hairy you c an eat it

If it has a thick beard then move it on.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. I hope you are right. I once gave ElderGreenKid milk that was a day older than

the exp. date, and he was up sobbing all night in my arms. :( *major parenting FAIL!*

[CatholicEdHead]

7. Milk is more sensative than cheese

I have eaten cheese after the expiration date before without any problems. I never go past milk's date.

[elleng]

27. As the Chinese (I believe) say,

cheese IS ROTTEN MILK!

But there's more to it than that. We can eat cheese forever, if we remove whatever unusual stuff is hanging around it; just cut it off. It becomes cheese after particular elements are introduced; they are not unhealthy. 'To make cheese, rennet, an enzyme complex produced in the stomach of all mammals, is introduced to milk. Most rennet comes from the stomachs of calves, although rennet from other young mammals is also used. Non-animal sources of rennet are available for vegetarians and those observing kosher diets. Rennin is the active enzyme in rennet, and when introduced to milk, it causes it to separate into solid curds, leaving whey behind'.. . . http://www.wisegeek.com/how-is-cheese-made.htm

Bad milk contains whatever bad stuff has been hanging around.

[kentauros]

28. That's what cheese is:

"Gone off milk with bugs and mold!" :rofl:

[SPKrazy]

3. eat it

[DS1]

5. expired or sell by?

either way, make some awesome nachos with it

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Hmmm... Not sure.. Maybe it was the sell-by date which would make it ok, yah? I would make 'chos but

I am lacking the tortilla chips. Gonna chunk it up for my salad instead.

[Tommy_J]

8. Probably OK

Use your nose and appropriate caution.

[FloridaJudy]

9. If it looks and smells okay

Go for it. They do age cheese after all. And if it hasn't been exposed to the air, the chances of it's going bad are infinitesimal.

[Nikia]

10. If it is block and unopened

The chances of it being bad at this point are very small. It would be best if you used it within a couple of weeks though.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. It's fine

I'm absolutely neurotic about food and germs (just ask LostinVA), and I'll eat block cheese past the date.

[hobbit709]

12. That's a sell by date

Cheese doesn't expire. Correction: Real cheese doesn't expire.

[petronius]

13. It'll be fine - cheese is just rotten milk anyway, right?

:)

Personally, I never even look at dates on cheese - I just trim off any fuzz and trust my nose...

Good luck!

[Pharlo]

14. If there's any visible mold on it, remove the mold and eat it.

If there is no mold on it, it's fine.

I worked in a cheese factory where we made 'aged parmesan and romano'. It would be vacuum packed in plastic bags and placed in a cooler for storage, but after 5 or 10 years, air would permeate the bags or they'd get punctured. Either way, after the 5 to 10 years were up, the large (generally 50 lb blocks) were removed from the cooler, the mold was cut off (we're talking an inch or so of black fuzz over the entire surface area of the cheese block) and the cheese was packaged for shipment and sale (cut into 2 to 10 lb blocks). Any 'aged' cheese is produced, in essentially, this manner.

Mold on block cheese can be removed from the block and, no harm. Mold on shredded or sliced, not so good because the mold can permeate the product.

[XemaSab]

16. I'm guessing you had a mold cultivar that was not toxic, similar to blue cheese

The other day I got a moldy block of cheese that I took right back to the store. x(

[Gormy Cuss]

18. The guideline that I follow is cut off mold from hard cheese, but throw out moldy soft cheese.

Sorta like this advice:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/CheeseMold.htm

[XemaSab]

15. Eat it

:9

[Tuesday Afternoon]

17. in the immortal words of Weird Al Yankovic: Just Eat It

How come youre always such a fussy young man?
Dont want no captain crunch, dont want no raison bran
Well, dont you know that other kids are starving in japan
So eat it, just eat it

Dont want to argue, I dont want to debate
Dont want to hear about what kind of food you hate
You wont get no dessert till you clean off your plate
So eat it

Dont you tell me youre full
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Get yourself an egg and beat it
Have some more chicken, have some more pie
It doesnt matter if its boiled or fried
Just eat it, eat it, just eat it, eat it
Just eat it, eat it, just eat it, eat it, ooh

Your table manners are some cryin shame
Youre playin with your food, this aint some kind of game
Now, if you starve to death, youll just have yourself to blame
So eat it, just eat it

You better listen, better do what youre told
You havent even touched your tuna casserole
You better chow down or its gonna get cold
So eat it

I dont care if youre full
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Open up your mouth and feed it
Have some more yogurt, have some more spam
It doesnt matter it its fresh or tanned
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Dont you make me repeate it
Have a banana, have a whole bunch
It doesnt matter what you had for lunch
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it

Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
If its gettin cold, reheat it
Have a big dinner, have a light snack
If you dont like it, you cant send it back
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Get yourself an egg and beat it (oh lord)
Have some more chicken, have some more pie
It doesnt matter if its boiled or fried
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Dont you make me repeat it (oh no)
Have a banana, have a whole bunch
It doesnt matter what you had for lunch
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it

[Kali]

19. its cheese - some people pay lots o' $$$ for moldy cheese

but if it isn't all slime and moldy it is fine. I just opened a carton of heavy cream that expired in DECEMBER! I poured it in a glass measuring pitcher and it seems to be fine. I'm gonna use it in my fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and broccoli. I was sure it was going to be bad but it looks/smells good I'm not wasting $4!:9

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. Be careful. The milk I gave ElderGreenKid was only 1 day past its

exp. date and he was up for about 7 hours of the night sobbing and moaning. All I could do was hold him in my arms and tell him how sorry I was. :cry:

Dairy cramps are the worst and certainly not worth $4.

[Kali]

21. was that out of an opened container? I've had open milk go bad BEFORE the date - always smell.

I keep my fridge pretty cold and dairy at the bottom - in fact with most of the house gone the last few weeks my lettuce was frozen tonight.

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. That was the scary thing. It smelled perfectly fine which us why I let him have it.

[Kali]

34. it might have been a coincidence - did anybody else get sick?

it is almost a universal belief that stomach illness is "food poisoning" from whatever was most recently eaten. Reality is that the sources for illness are numerous and have varied incubation periods from dirty hands to two weeks.

Of course it could have been one day expired milk, but I would ascribe it to be from some earlier contamination of the container rather than sudden rottenness based on a stamped date.

[GreenPartyVoter]

35. He was dfinitely the only one who drank from it and there was no doubt that

he had milk cramps since his dad and I have been through it ourselves. I bet you are right, though. Someone probably drank from the container and contaminated it.

[BikeWriter]

22. Eat it or send it to me. :)

[DeepBlueC]

23. if there's no mold showing, eat it

If there is mold showing cut off ends until no mold shows. Then eat. Crackers optional.

[DainBramaged]

24. No one I know ever died of cheese mold.

As I was walking, lonely, down the street

Suspicious of people I will never meet

I came to a little cafe run by pete

Thought I'd go right inside and get something to eat


Now I regret as I

Sit on the toilet

My arse was sore

As I started running for the door



It's coming out like gravy

As I fill up the toilet

This mouldy cheese sandwich

Has given me the shits



The chef was dirty; he had food in his beard

And the food that I ate tasted unnervingly weird

But I thought nothing of it as I gulped down my beer

Though I glanced at the toilet, to check it was near



My arse explodes

I paint the wall

Klingons galore

And the crap begins to fall



It's coming out like gravy

As I fill up the toilet

This mouldy cheese sandwich

Has given me the shits


http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/the_potato_pies/mouldy_cheese_sandwich-lyrics-447030.html

[DeepBlueC]

25. you're KILLING me...

Could be it's not so disgusting accompanied music loud enough so I can't make out the lyrics?

x(

[DeepBlueC]

26. what year?

:shrug:

[Historic NY]

29. Wait a minute people eat "blue cheese" & thats moldy cheese...

if it tastes good just eat it. Old cheddars are at least 2 yrs old, scrape off the blue or green if it bother you.

[cherish44]

31. Well I used to feed my hubby expired eggs all the time and he's still alive and kicking

"Honey, I'm not sure if this is still good, taste this will you?"

[old mark]

32. Take a chance! nt

[PfcHammer]

33. Mold is gold. I use moldy cheese all the time in

grilled cheese sammiches and omlettes.