It's likely that the white substance on the outside of your cheese is calcium lactate. Calcium lactate is common in aged cheese. It is basically a natural calcium buildup that occurs over time during the aging process, and it sometimes will become visible on the surface of the cheese.
If cheese has mold growing on it, should I throw it away? Answer From Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D. Soft cheeses, such as cottage cheese, cream cheese and ricotta, with mold should be discarded. The same goes for any kind of cheese that's shredded, crumbled or sliced.
Those white speckles that cheddar cheese can often bear surely look like mold growth, but thankfully they aren't. This snowy coat is actually known as calcium lactate, which is a natural byproduct of the cheesemaking process.
As cheese ages, some of the moisture moves to the surface, and the lactate moves with it. When that water ebbs, the lactate remains behind and can appear as powdery, crystal-like particles on the surface of the cheese. Calcium lactate is completely harmless.
Most likely, you'll be okay.” However, in certain cases, the mold found on spoiled food could be dangerous, so if you suddenly develop symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, an elevated temperature or diarrhea, you should immediately seek medical help.
If you notice mold on a block of hard or semisoft cheese, it is safe to cut it off, along with a one-inch radius around it. While rare, possible symptoms of eating mold may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath and allergic reactions.
Adding cheese to a bubbling mixture will cause the cheese to break down. The emulsifiers and coagulants break down when heated thus causing a gritty texture.
Pre-packaged shredded cheese is often dusted with all-natural, organic, gluten-free, plant-based cellulose to prevent caking. Cellulose can be taken from wood or other plant sources, and is the same cellulose as found in many of your vegetables like beans.
Pre-shredded cheese certainly is convenient, but it's not worth the final result. Pre-grated cheese contains preservatives like potato starch and natamycin, meant to keep the shreds from clumping together in the bag. That also means they don't melt together as well when cooking.
It's like cotton candy. If it's mold growth and you scrape it, it's going to kind of collapse on itself.” Calcium lactate might look like powdery smudges on the surface of the cheese.
The most famous mould, Penicillium can be blue (roqueforti), green (glaucum) and white (camemberti / candidum) and is widely used to produce blue cheeses and bloomy rinds (Brie/Camembert). Chrysosporium sulphureum (sometimes called Mimosa). Bright yellow spots.
One common cause is too much moisture when the cheese is being stored. The use of plastic wrapping or zip top bags can retain moisture levels past 55% humidity, which is the ideal level for mold to grow.
A pungent cheese will still taste pleasant to a connoisseur. When it has gone bad, it will taste overly bitter or sour, or have a musty quality to it, like drinking water from a moldy pipe. And if a mild cheese all of a sudden has some character to it, don't assume you just aged your own cheese. Just throw it away.
Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is refined wood pulp. It is a white, free-flowing powder. Chemically, it is an inert substance, is not degraded during digestion and has no appreciable absorption. In large quantities it provides dietary bulk and may lead to a laxative effect.
"Blocks of cheese are usually vacuum packaged by the manufacturer, and once unwrapped, have a shortened shelf life. Once the vacuum seal is broken and the cheese is exposed to air, there is an increased risk of mold growth and oxidation."
Desirable molds are often (but not always) white in color, maybe a little fluffy. However, once you see small specks of blue/grey/green on your otherwise white or yellow cheese, you know something is off. These are molds that you don't want on your cheese.
Exposure to air causes cheese to mold. If you see mold on your loaf of cheese, don't worry. Most molds are harmless - all you have to do is cut it off. Cut away at least a half inch of cheese on all sides of the visible mold.
That's mold! (Penicillium candidum to be more precise.) Old Europe Cheese wheels of Reny Picot Brie start off looking like a disc of fresh cheese and then a furry coat of white mold blooms as they age. The result is the savory, mushroomy outer layer that makes these live “bloomy rind” cheeses so delicious.
Discoloration: If the cheese has an unusual color, such as yellowish or greenish spots, it may be spoiled. Unpleasant smell: If the cheese smells sour or has a rancid odor, it's likely gone bad. Slimy or grainy texture: If the cheese feels slimy or grainy, it may have spoiled due to excess moisture or improper storage.
Semi-hard and hard cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere): Wrap in plastic wrap. Soft, semi-soft, and stinky cheeses (goat, Camembert, Brie, Limburger): Place in a resealable plastic container. Fresh cheeses in water (mozzarella or Feta): Leave the cheese in the original packaging, changing the water every couple of days.
For fresh cheeses like mozzarella or ricotta, mold is an unfortunate sign that it's time to part ways and discard your cheese. Because fresh cheeses are high in moisture, mold can spread quickly and make the cheese unsafe to eat.