Can We Keep Cheese At Room Temperature

The cheesemaker told us authentic gouda should not be refrigerated.

Can we keep cheese at room temperature.

If it s too cold it mutes the flavor and if it s too warm you compromise the texture of a lot of cheeses says werlin. On a layover in amsterdam a few years ago i toured a gouda cheese factory. Leaving cheese out overnight may impact the quality of the product but would not in most cases result in a food safety issue explains adam brock director of technical services at wisconsin milk marketing board if anything there s a good chance you re over refrigerating your cheese all cheeses besides fresh cheese should be served at room temperature for optimum flavor says brock. Repeatedly bringing a wedge of cheese up to room temperature and then putting it back in the fridge can make the cheese spoil faster.

I bought some to take home with me and never refrigerated it and it was great. Soft cheeses such as cream cheese cottage cheese shredded cheeses and goat cheese must be refrigerated for safety. As a rule of thumb soft cheeses including cottage cheese should not be kept out of a refrigerator for longer than a couple of hours. If you have leftover cheese at room temperature it s generally fine to leave it at room temperature for a day or so while you eat it.

Room temperature between 67 and 70 degrees is ideal. Some hard cheeses can be left out of the refrigerator nearly indefinitely provided the room in which it is stored is maintained in a temperature range that does not exceed approximately 80 degrees fahrenheit and the cheese is stored appropriately. Cheese does not like multiple changes in temperature. According to sarah hill manager of cheese education and training for the wisconsin milk marketing board cheese can be left at room temperature for up to two hours as can all perishable foods.

Bringing cheese to room temperature is essential to help the fat loosen up which gives the cheese a better texture and flavor. However there is a ticking clock on how long it should stay out. However leftover unrefrigerated cheese should be handled differently depending on the type. Ideally your refrigerator temperature should be set between 35 and 45 f 2 and 7 c for cheese keeping.

But benjamin chapman food safety specialist at north carolina state university says that people don t end up getting sick from. As a general rule hard cheeses such as cheddar processed cheeses american and both block and grated parmesan do not require refrigeration for safety but they will last longer if kept refrigerated.