Can You Eat Moldy Cheese?
Moldy cheese is a type of cheese which contains some amount of mold. When it comes to eating moldy cheese, there are several things you need to consider:
1) If you have no allergies or sensitivities then you shouldn’t have any problems with eating moldy cheese.
However, if your immune system is compromised or weak, then you may experience symptoms such as nausea and vomiting after consuming moldy cheese.
2) If you have food allergies, then you will probably want to avoid eating anything containing milk products (like cottage cheese), eggs, soy products, peanuts and tree nuts.
3) If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, then you should consult your doctor before eating moldy cheese.
Your doctor may recommend avoiding all dairy products while taking certain medications.
4) If you are suffering from celiac disease, then you should consult your doctor before eating moldy cheese.
Celiac disease is a gluten intolerance disorder where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the small intestine lining. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss. Some individuals may experience other complications including osteoporosis and cancer later in life.
5) If you are allergic to penicillin, some types of cheese such as brie, roquefort and camembert may cause a severe allergic reaction.
6) Moldy and spoiled food may contain bacteria, viruses or toxins that may make you sick.
It is healthier to throw out moldy foods rather than risk eating them.
Can You Eat Moldy Shredded Cheese?
If you have moldy shredded cheese, it may be difficult to know if the mold is contained to the surface or if the entire block of cheese is rotten. The particular type of shredded cheese will help you determine whether or not eating it is safe.
Asiago, parmesan and romano are all hard types of cheese that contain a very small amount of moisture. They will usually dry out before mold has a chance to spread throughout the entire piece. If you have shredded parmesan or romano that has gone bad, you can usually cut away the moldy area and eat the rest of the cheese without worry.
Mozzarella is a type of soft cheese made using milk. Moisture in the cheese prevents mold from growing on the entire piece of cheese. You should only cut away the moldy part and discard the remaining part.
Brie, blue cheese, camembert and ricotta are soft types of cheese that contains lots of moisture and little protein. Mold can spread throughout the entire piece of cheese making it unsafe to eat. You should always discard any moldy or spoiled soft cheeses.
IMPORTANT! If you want to learn more about mold and how to identify it, you may want to purchase a paperback book at your local bookstore or Amazon about common household mold.
Can You Eat Moldy Hard Cheese?
If you have a piece of hard cheese such as parmesan, romano or asiago that has developed mold on the rind or surface, it may be safe to eat if you cut away the moldy section. To be extra safe, you should always discard hard type cheeses with large areas of mold.
Hard cheeses are more difficult for mold to infest because they contain very little moisture. The mold growing on the rind or surface of hard cheeses are not part of the cheese itself, it has simply grown on the outside.
The safest way to tell if hard cheese is moldy is to smell it. If it smells bad throw it out. You can also break off a small piece of hard cheese and taste it. If the piece tastes strange (or rotten) then do not eat any more of it.
If you are not sure if hard cheese is moldy or not, you can do a simple test to see if it is safe to eat. Get a glass of water and a disposable plastic fork. Stick the fork into the hard cheese and leave it in the refrigerator for 8 hours. If the fork is still hard after 8 hours then the cheese is fine to eat.
Should You Eat Moldy Soft Cheese?
When a package of soft cheese such as brie, camembert or blue mold develops a fuzzy white or blue coating on the outside, you should not eat it. If you cut into the soft cheese and find that it is also covered with mold, you should not eat it. Mold infests soft cheeses very quickly and it is not safe to eat.
If you have opened the package of soft cheese and find a spot of mold on the outside of the rind, you can cut away the moldy section and eat the rest of the soft cheese if it is not also moldy inside.
The safest way to tell if the inside of the soft cheese is moldy or not is to cut off a very small piece and taste it. If the taste is spoiled or sour, do not eat any more of it.
Soft cheeses with mold on the outside, inside or on slices of it should always be discarded in the trash and not the sink where it can easily grow and spread to other things in the garbage.
Remember! Never eat any type of cheese if the package has been open for more than two weeks. After two weeks, all soft and semi-soft cheeses develop bacteria that are not safe to eat. If the package is open, look at the cheese on a daily basis and if it looks like it has mold on it or it smells bad, do not eat it!
By knowing how to identify dangerous types of mold on cheese you can save yourself from getting sick. If moldy hard cheese is cut away from the moldy section it is perfectly safe to eat. If mold is only on the rind, then it is safe to eat as long as you cut away the moldy part.
Soft and semi-soft cheeses that have mold on the outside, inside or on slices of the cheese must be discarded in the trash and not down the sink where it can easily spread to other things in the garbage and make you sick.
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Can You Freeze Cheese?
Q.
Can you freeze cheese?
A. Yes, many types of cheese can be frozen. Most of the time freezing cheese is not ideal but it can be done if necessary.
If you want to freeze cheese follow these guidelines:
Mild and Medium Cheese – Freeze whole for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator before use and use within two to three days.
Hard Cheese – Shred or break into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks before freezing. Freezing whole cheese may increase the time needed for thawing and affect its texture and flavor. Hard cheeses such as cheddar, parmesan and Swiss freeze well because they are dry and have a low moisture content.
Freezing cheese may affect the texture or change the taste slightly but it is still safe to eat when thawed.
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Frozen Cheese Substitutes?
Q.
Is there anything I can substitute for cheese when I don’t have any?
A. Yes, you can substitute a close relative of cheese to get your cheesy taste and texture. They may not be exactly the same as cheese in taste or texture but they will give you a similar taste.
We have listed some things below that can be used as cheese substitutes in a recipe.
1. Cottage Cheese – This is the most common substitution for cheese out there.
It may not taste exactly the same but it will give you a creamy texture. You can even use the low-fat version to cut down on calories and fat.
2. Ricotta Cheese – This cheese is very creamy and can be used in place of cream cheese or cream in recipes.
3. Mozzarella – This is a great substitute for pizza and lasagna.
Purchase the low-fat version to cut down on fat and calories.
4. Edam – This Dutch cheese can be used in many recipes and is best served at room temperature.
5. Feta – You can crumble and sprinkle feta on top of salads, use it as a dip, or add it to sandwiches for a bit of spice.
6. Goat Cheese – This popular cheese is delicious and creamy.
Spread some goat cheese on a bagel for a great breakfast or snack.
7. Pepper Jack – This spicy cheese can be crumbled and eaten in place of any other hard types of cheese such as cheddar, colby, Monteray, or Swiss.
8. Mozzarella – You can shred this type of cheese and use it in virtually any recipe that calls for mozzarella.
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Grating Cheese?
Q.
How can I grate cheese fine enough to use in a recipe?
A. When you need to grate the cheese very fine for recipes such as sauces, fondues, and some casseroles, it can be frustrating when you try to do it by hand. It usually takes a long time and your hand starts to hurt after awhile.
There are two ways you can choose from to solve your problem. One way is to use a food processor and pulse the pieces of cheese until they are as fine as you need them. The other way is to use a hand operated grater with small holes. This works especially good for hard cheeses such as Parmesan.
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How To Get Rid Of Fishy Smell
Q.
How do you get rid of the fishy smell in fish?
A. To get rid of the smell of fish when cooking it there are a couple of things you can do before and after cooking.
Before cooking the fish, make sure it has been stored properly and if not, buy some fresh fish. If the smell is still there after it is cooked then there are two more things to try.
The first thing you can do is place a thin layer of salt on the fish. Leave it on for about ten minutes and then wash off with cold water. If the smell is still there, place a thin layer of vinegar on the fish and let it sit for five minutes then rinse off with cold water.
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Is It Safe To Eat Fish?
Q.
Is it safe to eat fish from lakes and streams around the campground area?
A. No, you should not eat fish from lakes, rivers, streams, or any other body of water unless you know for sure that it is safe to do so.
You can get sick from eating fish from the water if you don’t follow safe precautions. Here are a few tips on how to catch and prepare fish safely.
First of all, never eat fish that looks rotten or has a funny color to it.
If the water you fish in has not had any reports of pollution, it should be safe to eat the fish.
If you are not sure about the current condition of the water, there are a few fish you can catch and eat that do not need to live in clean water to survive such as catfish, bullheads, and largemouth bass. You can even eat the smaller fish they eat if it comes down to it.
Never eat fish that have foam or bubbles coming from their mouth, or looks like it is bleeding from its eyes.
To prepare the fish you caught, wash it with clean water and a little vinegar. Then cook the fish right away after catching it. Don’t keep it waiting around for too long before cooking it.
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Cleaning Fish
Q.
How can I clean a fish?
A. Depending on the type of fish you catch, there are several ways to clean them.
The first step is to remove the entrails from the fish. To do this the gills need to be removed first. The easiest way to do this is to turn the fish on its side and make a cut on each side of the gills, then just pull them out.
If you want to keep the fish’s head, then cut the top of its skull off by slicing from the front of the mouth to the back. Then remove the eyes, nose, and jaws.
If you want to keep the tail part of the fish, then you will need to make a cut down the middle of the belly and then just pull out all of the entrails. After separating off the entrails, just wash off the fish and cook it.
If you want to eat the fish’s eggs, then you will need to make a cut on each side of the belly similar to the one you made to remove the gills. Then just pull out the eggs.
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Personal Hygiene
Q.
What is personal hygiene?
A. When you take care of your body on a regular basis, this is called personal hygiene.
Maintaining a proper level of hygiene can help prevent infections and disease. Any cuts, scrapes, or open wounds that come in contact with dirty or contaminated water, soil, or any other foreign material can become a breeding ground for bacteria.
Keeping clean is also important as it helps prevent infections and reduces skin irritations. Here are some tips on how to maintain proper personal hygiene while in a survival situation.
Bathing – If there is a risk of danger, do not bathe since this can be very risky if there are hostile people or animals around. If you know it is safe, then by all means take a bath.
Wash yourself and your clothes as best as you can. Use biodegradable soap and water whenever possible. Keep in mind that you may not have access to soap or water at all times, so try to keep yourself as clean as you can.
If possible, use fresh water to clean yourself and the dirty water can be used to wash clothes or to flush waste material down the hole. Always try to re-use water whenever you can.
Teeth – If you don’t have access to toothpaste or mouthwash, then you can polish your teeth using a bar of soap, but this is not ideal.
You can also brush your teeth with green wood sorrel, alfalfa, or plantain. Chew on a sprig of this plant until your mouth waters. Then using a finger, scrape off the top layer of mucus from the chewed plant and use it as toothpaste. If you don’t have any greens to chew on, then you can also just chew some grass and spit it out.
Razor – A straight razor can be used several times before it needs to be sharpened or reheated for resharpening. To do this you will need to either build a fire or use a battery or generator.
If you have one of those mini-brick style portable generators, you can plug it in and set it on a pan of water. The bottom of the razor needs to be placed in the pan of hot water in order to heat it up.
Leaving the razor in the water for too long can result in it becoming warped or damaged, so check on it every few minutes. Once the metal becomes malleable, you can reshape it.
You would not want to do this process in the wild unless you had no other choice. Even if you are in a safe location, there is always something that can go wrong with the razor and it might end up giving you cuts instead of a closer shave.
If you have a fire, then first you will need to make an improvised forge to heat it up. A forge can be simple or complex. In a later section I will discuss how to make different types of forges.
Once the metal is hot enough, you need to quench it in water before shaping it with your hands. The key to reshaping it is to slowly bend and manipulate while still hot. If it cools down too much, it will become very brittle and crack.
Remember the blade needs to be straight so that it can be used in a razor. If you have a broken off piece of the blade, you can try to re-heat and re-melt the broken end to connect it with the straight portion.
Once done, let it cool and harden. If you used a battery or generator, then dispose of it by throwing it in a river or lake.
Chapter 5: Making Fire
Making fire in the wild is a crucial skill that many people overlook or don’t give enough credit. It is both important and useful in many different situations.
It can keep you warm on a cold night, it can be used to cook food or purify water, it can be used to signal for help, and it can be used to make dangerous situations safer.
For example, when you are trying to escape a forest fire, having a lighter and matches with you can save your life. It can also give you a sense of comfort and safety by providing light and heat.
Sources & references used in this article:
Bacteriophage biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes on soft ripened white mold and red-smear cheeses by S Guenther, MJ Loessner – Bacteriophage, 2011 – Taylor & Francis
Cheese and microbes by CW Donnelly – 2014 – books.google.com
Modeling the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in mold-ripened cheeses by A Lobacz, J Kowalik, A Tarczynska – Journal of Dairy Science, 2013 – Elsevier
Mold for pressing airtight wrapped cheese by CM Gere – US Patent 1,992,821, 1935 – Google Patents
Post‐pasteurian cultures: The microbiopolitics of raw‐milk cheese in the United States by H Paxson – Cultural anthropology, 2008 – Wiley Online Library
