Can I Keep Cheese At Room Temperature

Staying fresh unrefrigerated only works for particular types of cheese.

Can i keep cheese at room temperature. Soft cheeses like brie and camembert can sit out at room temperature for up to 4 hours according to the food safety specialists at clemson university s cooperative extension. Bringing cheese to room temperature is essential to help the fat loosen up which gives the cheese a better texture and flavor. 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. Cheese does not like multiple changes in temperature.

Foodsafety gov recommends to discard cream cheese after two hours of being at temperatures above 40 f. 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. Specialty cheese that are soft in texture cream cheeses in particular are required to be consumed fresh and can only be stored under refrigeration. Cheese stays fresh unrefrigerated inside a cool pantry or a storage room for months at a stretch.

However leftover unrefrigerated cheese should be handled differently depending on the type. 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. Cheese can typically sit out at room temperature anywhere from 4 to 8 hours depending on the type and remain safe to eat. At temperatures above 90 f the recommendation is to discard the product after one hour.

Repeatedly bringing a wedge of cheese up to room temperature and then putting it back in the fridge can make the cheese spoil faster. Obviously baking temperatures are okay. I bought some to take home with me and never refrigerated it and it was great. The amount of time cream cheese can sit at room temperature depends on the room temperature.

Soft cheeses such as cream cheese cottage cheese shredded cheeses and goat cheese must be refrigerated for safety. Room temperature between 67 and 70 degrees is ideal. 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. The cheesemaker told us authentic gouda should not be refrigerated.

On a layover in amsterdam a few years ago i toured a gouda cheese factory.