Sorry to ask a food question here but no other place. MC is back up but I can't find my password.
How long can grated cheese be left out of the fridge before going bad? Is 4 1/2 hours too long? I bought some tonight for a cooking thing I'm doing w/a patient at work tomorrow. (we will make english muffin pizzas) However, when I got home tonight I forgot to put the cheese in the fridge, and I just realized my error.
OI'm going to get new cheese for the work cooking, to ensure the patient's health and the others who may eat the item, but just wondering if you think this is unsafe for me? The indoor temp here is presently 73 degrees
I would venture to say it would be OK. Depending on the type of cheese you can leave it out for a while. Many cheeses are actually made at temperatures that are warmer than the typical refrigerator. Cheese was historically a way to keep a dairy product when you didn't have a way to keep it cool. Soldiers of the 18th and 19th century might have it in their haversack for days. Typically, the harder cheeses require less refrigeration. Typically, cheese left out may start to melt depending on the fat or it may dry out. Mold is generally a problem but if it is on a block of cheese you can always cut it off and the rest of the block should be fine. I don't think you will get sick if you eat it after 4.5 hours. Otherwise those MacDonalds Hamburgers I ate after they spent an hour under the heat lamp and a couple hours in my backpack would have done me in.
Growing up my parents would just cut off the outter edges and we'd eat it, even if it was thickly encrusted in mold... Just cut off the mold, the inner part was fine.
--Ray
-- Edited by rayb at 00:30, 2007-04-28
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
Coco- MC is Mormonchic www.mormonchic.com They finally got back up a couple days ago but I lost my password and haven't yet been able to log in. It is basiclly for women.
I like to read there and participate a little, the sisters are wonderful. But honesty, I get frustrated w/a lot of the posters there. My participation is thus occasional.
