Does String Cheese Go Bad?: No matter if you love to eat sandwiches or make your favorite dish with meat, it’s good to have plenty of string cheese in your fridge. Compared to other varieties of cheese, you might not use string cheese quite often.
Irrespective of how frequently you use it, you should know the signs when it goes bad. If your mind is still lingering with the query of Can String Cheese Go Bad, we are here to resolve your doubt once and for all! String cheese will go bad if it is stored carelessly. Unopened string cheese will generally last 6-8 months in your freezers and for a few months in your fridge.
If you leave it open in your kitchen, it will go bad within hours. Through this article, you will learn how to store string cheese properly to enhance its shelf-life and how to figure out whether your string cheese is still edible or not.
- Can String Cheese Really Go Bad?
- Shelf Life of String Cheese – How Long Does String Cheese Last?
- How to Store String Cheese?
- Signs of Non-Edible String Cheese
- Interesting Facts about String Cheese
- Can you get ill after eating expired string cheese?
- Which is the best place for storing unpacked string cheese Fridge or Freezer?
- Can String Cheese melt when kept in the open?
Can String Cheese Really Go Bad?
Being a semi-soft variety of cheese, String Cheese can go bad quicker than the hard varieties of cheese. You need to think twice before using a long-kept half-empty package of string cheese from your fridge to prepare some fried cheese sticks as your evening snacks. If you have stored the string cheese properly in your freezer, you don’t have to simply throw it away. But remember, like all dairy products, string cheese will go bad if you don’t store it in the right way.
Do not open the package of your string cheese unless you need it. The manufactured packaging of string cheese plays an important role in maximizing its shelf-life and keeping it fresh as well.
Shelf Life of String Cheese – How Long Does String Cheese Last?
Like all dairy products, string cheese also comes with a best-before date on its packaging. The shelf life of string cheese is a minimum of 6-8 weeks and it can last for an extra 2-3 weeks if you store it well. After opening the package, you should try to use it within a 7-day period to have the best quality.
If you store unopened string cheese in the freezer, it will have a shelf life of 6-8 months. It will be safe to eat it after this period but there will be flavor and texture changes too. Do not keep string cheese at room temperature for more than 4 hours. Following this time limit ensures that there’s no bacterial growth occurring in your string cheese. If you are taking the string cheese with you for a picnic with your family or friends, you need to ensure that the cheese doesn’t come under direct sunlight.
In case your string cheese is accidentally left out of the fridge throughout the day, you must inspect it closely. It will be best for you to discard the string cheese if it has been left out in the open for more than 4 hours. Refer to the following table to enjoy the best quality of your string cheese:
| Type | Fridge |
|---|---|
| String cheese (unopened) | The date on the label + 2 – 3 weeks |
| String cheese (opened) | 1 week |
If you are interested to know the shelf life of Cottage Cheese, go through our other article on How Long Does Cottage Cheese Last as well.
How to Store String Cheese?
The following are our recommendations regarding the storage of string cheese:
- Always store your string cheese in the fridge and try to put it in your fridge immediately after you purchase it. Even in grocery stores, you will find that string cheese is kept for sale in the refrigerated section.
- Don’t keep your string cheese at room temperature for more than 4 hours
- After opening the packaging of the string cheese, you should wrap the cheese again in the same packaging. If you damage the packaging while hurriedly unpacking the cheese, store the cheese in a container. Make sure that it is tightly sealed. If you keep the cheese in your fridge without a container, it will catch the odors within the fridge.
- Don’t keep string cheese in a container where the leftovers of other food items are stored. Doing so will alter the flavor qualities of the cheese. Therefore, always keep the string cheese separate from other food products.
Signs of Non-Edible String Cheese
The following are the signs which will help in detecting non-edible string cheese:
- The growth of mold over the string cheese is the biggest sign of in-edible string cheese. If you observe any grey or blue on it, immediately discard it.
- Once the string cheese goes bad, its texture will change. An inedible string cheese will have a slippery texture.
- You should discard your string cheese if it has developed a different odor compared to the smell it had when unpacked for the first time.
- If your string cheese doesn’t have any mold growth, smell change, or altered texture, you should judge its edibility by its taste. String cheese is good for consumption if it doesn’t have any change in its flavor.
If your string cheese has been stored for more than the recommended time, you should discard it even if there’s an absence of any signs of spoilage.
Are you curious about knowing the signs of Non-Edible Ricotta Cheese? If yes, look at our article How Long Does Ricotta Cheese Last and clear your ambiguities.
Interesting Facts about String Cheese
- String cheese can be a decent 85-calorie protein snack for you.
- 20% of the daily recommended intake of calcium is found in String Cheese.
- String Cheese may help you to promote satiety and curb hunger due to its protein and fat content.
FAQs on Shelf Life of String Cheese
1. Can you get ill after eating expired string cheese?
If you consume large amounts of string cheese which has signs of inedibility, you may face an upset stomach or even fever in some cases.
2. Which is the best place for storing unpacked string cheese Fridge or Freezer?
Both are the only suitable places for storing any kind of cheese. However, if you don’t want any texture alteration of your unpacked string cheese, you should store it in the fridge.
3. Can String Cheese melt when kept in the open?
Yes, String Cheese melts at a minimum temperature of 32°C.
Final Thoughts
We hope that your doubt about does string cheese go bad has been resolved now. Similar to all dairy products, String Cheese also has a limited shelf life even if you store it in a fridge or freezer. So, do follow all the recommendations mentioned in this article to store your String Cheese properly and enjoy it in its good quality time period. Stay tuned to our site for articles on Does Parmesan Cheese Go Bad and various other types of cheeses.