Can Hard Cheese Go Bad?: Love to add a topping of grated hard cheese to your spaghetti or pizza or salads. If yes, then you must be stored a particular flavored hard cheese in your refrigerator right? Are you done with eating such food and the hard cheese of your favorite is sitting in your fridge past the best-by date and worried about can hard cheese go bad?
We are here with the best solution to identify whether it is bad or not and how to store it properly to extend the storage time. Also, we have tabulated the shelf life of opened hard cheeses in this guide and support you in a confused state. Simply erase all your queries regarding hard cheeses and dive into the modules below for better clarity.
- What is Hard Cheese?
- Can Hard Cheese Go Bad? How To Tell If It Is Bad?
- How To Store Hard Cheese?
- How Long Does Hard Cheese Last?
- Shelf Life of Hard Cheese After Opened
- Can You Freeze Hard Cheese?
- Fun Facts About Hard Cheese
- FAQs on Does Hard Cheese Go Bad
- Can I eat expired hard cheese?
- How can you tell if hard cheese is bad?
- How long does hard cheese last once opened?
What is Hard Cheese?
A dairy product that has distinctive robust, concentrated flavors is called hard cheese. It sits for the longest time because of the less water content presented in it. It evolves more flavor and quality when it stores for a long time. The preparation of hard cheese can be done with the finely chopped curd and cooked at more than 55°C temperatures. For more information about hard cheese or does hard cheese go bad, continue your read.
Can Hard Cheese Go Bad? How To Tell If It Is Bad?
Yes, Hard Cheeses can go bad like all dairy products it if is stored without any care after opening. Following the storage tips that can help you prevent hard cheese from spoilage.
Doesn’t matter what you had opened whether it’s Asiago, Pecorino Romano, Gruyere, Parmesan, or famous Gouda or Edam Dutch cheeses it can go bad at some point. One of the greatest advantages is less water content in the hard cheeses unlike soft cheeses such as Brie, and Ricotta. This makes the cheese stay longer time compared to other types of cheeses.
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Are you confused to check whether it gets spoiled or not? Not to worry anymore here we have also covered the Hard Cheese signs of spoilage to easily identify whether it goes bad or not.
The primary sign that you can identify in all dairy products is a moldiness. If the mold growth is visible then it’s time for trashing. But when it comes to cheeses like hard cheese there is a chance of using the cheese blocks again by cutting out the mold part. Ensure that the knife should place away from the mold while cutting, as it can contaminate the rest of the block too which is not recommended.
When it comes to any grated or shredded hard cheese then discard the whole container. After ages, the stuff like white in color may grow on the surface of the cheeses, which doesn’t indicate any spoilage so you can eat it as normal.
Dry out is one more sign that you found apparently for all hard cheeses. It happens when you left the cheese over time without proper storage. You can eat the dry-out part but it won’t be the tastiest anymore. So, we would like to suggest you melt it before using it or else discard the part.
For some hard cheeses, you need to consider the best-by date on the package and go with the consumption. But don’t take too much of risks of eating expired cheeses. Also, keep an eye on all the common signs of spoilage like the sour smell, changes in appearance, off taste, etc.
How To Store Hard Cheese?
Almost all types of cheeses go into the refrigerator to store and prevent spoilage either opened or unopened. Wait, there are some of the hard cheeses that can still store at room temperature for a short time because there is a chance of dropping their quality faster than the fridge-stored cheese.
When you pick the store-bought hard cheeses from the refrigerator then the perfect storage place at your home is also a refrigerator. If shredded and grated hard cheese is placed outside the fridge at stores then it remains fresher at room temperature but it’s good to be in the refrigerator as well for longer shelf life.
You can also store all kinds of hard cheese in the refrigerator at below 4°C (40°F ) safe temperature by wrapping it in cheese paper or parchment once open. Follow all these storage tips or instructions while storing the opened or unopened hard cheeses.
Do Check:
Ingredients:
Cheese, Emulsifying Salts (452, 339, 331), Iodized Salt, Class II Preservatives (200, 234).
Allergen Information: Contains milk.
| Nutritional Information | ||
| 8 servings per container | ||
| Serving size | 25 g | |
| Amount per 100 g* | %RDA** | |
| Energy (kcal) | 311 | 4% |
| Total Fat (g) | 25.0 | 9% |
| Saturated Fat (g) | 16.0 | 18% |
| Trans Fat (g) | 0.0 | 0% |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 67 | |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 1.5 | |
| Total Sugars (g) | 1.5 | |
| Added Sugars (g) | 0.0 | 0% |
| Protein (g) | 20.0 | |
| Sodium (mg) | 1220 | 15% |
**RDA stands for Recommended Dietary Allowance per serving
*Average values
How Long Does Hard Cheese Last?
The shelf life for hard cheeses varies based on the type of cheese as we all know that hard cheeses’ shelf life is longer than soft cheeses. Pointing out all the types of hard cheese with their storage time is tough but we figured it out for some main hard cheeses after opening and formatted in the table below. Just take a look at the table and get an idea of the shelf life of each hard cheese.
Shelf Life of Hard Cheese After Opened
Here is the table that shows the storage time of opened hard cheese. If we missed any of the cheese types then make sure to follow the guidelines that are mentioned below the table and get the benefit.
| Cheese | Type | Shelf life (after opening) |
|---|---|---|
| Cheddar | hard | 3–4 weeks |
| Colby | hard | 3–4 weeks |
| Gouda | hard | 3–4 weeks |
| Parmesan | hard | 3–4 weeks |
| Shredded | hard | 3–4 weeks |
| Swiss | hard | 3–4 weeks |
| American | hard | 1–2 months |
- The age of hard cheese blocks which are unopened or best by date and longer than that. We can’t predict how long that cheese lasts but following good storage methods will extend the shelf life.
- When it comes to hard cheese blocks, the longer time you store them in good condition gets tastier and has a longer shelf life.
- Unopened parmesan cheese can easily last for 6 – 12 months whereas Gouda and Mozzarella blocks stay only for a month or half. Do you want to know the exact shelf life of parmesan? Check out Can Parmesan Cheese Go Bad article.
- There is a thumb rule that if any particular cheese lasts for a longer time the quality degrades slower which means good to eat after the use-by date printed on the package.
- If you are bothered about the shelf life of shred or grated cheese of hard types then go with the best by date instructed on the label.
- Use the opened shredded hard cheese freshly and finish it in a week.
- When you talk about sliced hard cheese like Gouda or Edam, the shelf life of unopened cheese is the date on the label and a week additionally if it is stored properly. If it is
Can You Freeze Hard Cheese?
Yes, freezing the hard cheese is acceptable when you want to eat the quality cheese every time before it comes to the end of its shelf life. Hard cheeses after thawing also work best and are as fresh as it is original. Check the process of how to freeze hard cheeses properly:
- Initiate with separating the cheese into dish-sized chunks from blocks.
- Cover the cheese by wrapping or sealing it in air-tight packaging.
- When you use the freezer bags, do squeeze out the air from the bags before freezing.
- At last, stick the bags into the cold storage.
If you want to use the frozen blocks of cheese, follow this defrosting way. Take out enough amount of hard cheese from the freezer and keep it in the fridge overnight and then it’s good to go in dishes like soups, spaghetti, salads, etc.
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Fun Facts About Hard Cheese
The following are some of the important yet interesting facts about hard cheese that should be known by each and every cheese lover:
- In this world, the most popular cheeses like Cheddar, Parmesan Cheese, and “Swiss” (aka Emmenthaler) are hard in texture and different in taste, quality, and aromas.
- The spots in white colored on hard cheeses don’t resemble moldy as they are probably amino acid clusters.
- In past, small pieces of hard cheeses were utilized for complimenting savory dishes.
- Hard cheeses are rich in vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A and Calcium.
FAQs on Does Hard Cheese Go Bad
1. Can I eat expired hard cheese?
Yes, you can eat the expired hard cheese as the quality increase when it stays for a long time after its use by date. So, no issues with consuming the hard cheese after the expiration date but check for the spoilage conditions and then decide to have it or not.
2. How can you tell if hard cheese is bad?
We can see some signs of spoilage if the products go bad like more greasy surface, extra dry, dark, batty areas in hard cheese, or some yellowish splotches on blue cheese. If you identify any of these then you can tell hard cheese is bad.
3. How long does hard cheese last once opened?
Almost all hard cheeses’ shelf life in the fridge after opening is for three to four weeks except American hard cheese. It lasts for 1 – 2 months longer.
Key Takeaways
Believing that the shared data above with respect to Can Hard Cheese Go Bad showed some useful paths in terms of storage and spoilage. Follow all guidelines, instructions, and key points that were discussed on our page regarding how to store, freeze, or signs of spoilage of hard cheese and extend its shelf life. Want to know more about all dairy products’ shelf life and storage tips, reach us via the main page at CanFoodGoBad.com and collect the necessary info in no time.