# How long can american sliced cheese be left at room temperature **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458 "2015-03-31T22:17:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/41 "2019-09-30T05:21:07Z")
Yeah, but is cheese that’s been left out for four years still safe to eat? How about a finely-aged zombie? ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/42 "2019-09-30T05:44:21Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Just so everyone knows: Nacho cheese Doritos are not actually made with cheese. :dubious: [**DORITOS® Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips**](https://www.doritos.com/products/doritos-nacho-cheese-flavored-tortilla-chips) > [@](#): > > INGREDIENTS: Corn, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, And/or Sunflower Oil), Maltodextrin (Made From Corn), Salt, **Cheddar Cheese** (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey, Monosodium Glutamate, Buttermilk, **Romano Cheese** (Part-skim Cow’s Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey Protein Concentrate, Onion Powder, Corn Flour, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Dextrose, Tomato Powder, Lactose, Spices, Artificial Color (Yellow 6, Yellow 5, And Red 40), Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Skim Milk, Red And Green Bell Pepper Powder, Disodium Inosinate, And Disodium Guanylate. > > CONTAINS MILK INGREDIENTS. (emphases mine) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/43 "2019-09-30T09:57:05Z")
I take American cheese out of the fridge several hours before a barbecue. Room temp cheese melts faster on burgers. I have accidentally left cheese on the counter overnight. I put it in the fridge the next morning and it’s fine. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/44 "2019-09-30T16:25:14Z")
People like “cheese product” because of its ability to easily melt. It’s made with real cheese, which is why they can call it “cheese product” instead of “cheez product”. I like Velveeta for some recipes, but I admit I rarely buy it – it’s not particularly inexpensive, and it tends to get moldy before I can use it up. So next time I want some, I’m going to make it myself. The copycat recipes online call for grated cheddar cheese, water, powdered milk and gelatin. I’m pretty sure it’s the gelatin that makes it melt so readily. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/45 "2019-09-30T16:44:00Z")
Mmm, 64 slices of American cheeeese… 64… 63… … ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/46 "2019-09-30T16:44:25Z")
Sometimes it’s hard to find the actual American cheese in the supermarket because of the seemingly dozens of packaging options of “cheese food”. I personally prefer American cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches - Kraft Deli Deluxe. To find it I scan the shelf tags in the American cheese section of the dairy case looking for the highest price - that will be the real stuff. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/47 "2019-09-30T17:17:26Z")
My family refers to dairy-free cheese substitutes as “chiz.” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/48 "2019-09-30T17:22:09Z")
We call it ‘slap cheez’, You know, slap it on your bread. (It’s funny to me, anyway) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/49 "2019-09-30T19:30:35Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > moldy cheese is spoiled, no matter what fanciful name you give it 😉 the smell should be the first hint of that. Oh, I guess I will have to discard that Roquefort. You do have to distinguish cheese from cheese food. When I was growing up, the so-called American cheese was really a fine very mild cheddar with a wonderful taste. I can the same taste here in Montreal, but they call it mild yellow cheddar. I think it could be left out for days, even weeks, before it starts getting moldy. Even then I would just cut away the moldy parts and eat the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/50 "2019-09-30T19:45:05Z")
Cheese in a block can be left out longer than slices - mold starts forming on the surface of a cheese like cheddar or American. Slices have more surface area than a block. Back in the 1980’s, during a couple years of poverty, I ate a lot of “government cheese” (blocks of American). I would just cut away any mold that appeared after a couple weeks and keep on eating. Generally did take weeks of careless handling for mold to appear, most of the time it was gone before that happened. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458/51 "2019-09-30T19:54:30Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Sometimes it’s hard to find the actual American cheese in the supermarket because of the seemingly dozens of packaging options of “cheese food”. I personally prefer American cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches - Kraft Deli Deluxe. To find it I scan the shelf tags in the American cheese section of the dairy case looking for the highest price - that will be the real stuff. My grocery stores have blocks of American cheese at the deli counter and they will slice it to order. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-american-sliced-cheese-be-left-at-room-temperature/716458.md?page=2)