How long is unpasteurized cheese from France good for?
I brought some back from France from a reputable fromagerie. I'm totally unfamiliar with the unpasteurized kind. After about 12 hours in my hotel room, I returned and noticed the incredibly strong smell. It still stinks to high hell 36 hours later. I put it outside on my windowsill of the hotel room for about 12 hours in 50 F degree temp and later put it in my suitcase for the ride home. Brie, Roquefort and Emmental. Can someone tell me if it's good to eat? It's been 36 hours in cool temps but I'm not used to the smell. Additionally, I should mention all the cheeses were vacuumed packed even the brie, which I know is not advised. Any help is much appreciated.
-
PhilD
May 11, 2012 08:00 AM
Depends. Good cheese shops will sell for the meal. My local would sell me different cheese for lunch, dinner, or one or two day away. They never went for much more. The art of a good cheese shop is to sell a product that I perfect to eat - soon after you buy it. Unless you ask for, and they supply, cheese to last longer than a day or two, it won't be great after a few days. Some shops may sell immature cheese but it compromises their reputation if not aged properly so few of the good ones do.
›4 Replies-
-
-
re: hkgjohn
PhilD
May 11, 2012 05:06 PM
There is no easy answer to that question. It depends on the cheese - however even if it is safe to eat it may not be pleasant to eat. My tip (for next time) is to buy the cheese just before you leave, if you need to do this the days before ask the hotel to store it in their fridge (most oblige).
-
re: PhilD
mangeur
May 11, 2012 06:29 PM
Precisely. We shop on the day before we fly, request the greenest piece available, bring it immediately back to the hotel fridge and take it out as we check out.
Then...we sometimes keep unpasturized cheese in our cheese compartment at home for..er...months. Epoisses has shown extraordinary keeping quality. And of course, uber- aged comte and gruyere are almost everlasting if well tended.
-
-
-
