# Spoiled blue cheese **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874 "2010-03-09T17:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seavamp\_wildblue.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@seavamp\_wildblue.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seavamp_wildblue.net)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/1 "2010-03-09T17:07:53Z")
Knowing that blue cheese has a lot of mold in and on it, can anyone tell me if blue cheese will spoil. If so, what are the signs of spoiled cheese? I’ve asked just about every cheese maker that is on line and many news pappers and still can not get an answer. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/2 "2010-03-09T17:21:54Z")
Sure it can spoil. The mold in blue cheese is different than the type of mold that comes along later. If you see the surface of the cheese coated with mold, rather than just the blue veins, that’s the mold you don’t want. But you can just cut it off if it’s not too far gone. If the cheese is truly spoiled, like bacterial spoilage from being unrefrigerated, you would note a definite change in color, odor, and taste. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/3 "2010-03-09T20:27:55Z")
I love blue cheese (Maytag Blue is a particular favorite) and IME it gets very dry and/or has a different smell - a bad smell - when it goes bad. ---
**Author:** ![Apex\_Rogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Apex\_Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apex_Rogers)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/4 "2010-03-09T21:17:27Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I love blue cheese (Maytag Blue is a particular favorite) and IME it gets very dry and/or has a different smell - a bad smell - when it goes bad. But it already smells and tastes like old sweaty socks.. according to your rule I would throw it all out! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/5 "2010-03-09T21:38:32Z")
Seriously, you will be able to tell by the smell. It’s really bad. I love Costco, but sometimes I can’t get through their products before they go bad. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/6 "2010-03-09T22:55:45Z")
Depending on the cheese, it may also change colour (from a very pale cream/white to a yellow or beige) and/or become slimy to the touch. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/7 "2010-03-10T01:04:55Z")
I had some recently, and left it in the refrigerator longer than I should have. It smelled and tasted somewhat like Limburger (the only cheese I don’t like). ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/8 "2010-03-10T01:17:06Z")
> [@Apex\_Rogers](#): > > But it already smells and tastes like old sweaty socks.. according to your rule I would throw it all out! 😛 We’re talking the difference between healthy sweat and bloated, maggot-covered, decomposing roadkill. You can tell. I suppose, if it was only a little bad, that you might not be sure whether it was bad or not. If so, it might still be good enough to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/9 "2010-03-10T04:15:04Z")
I was wondering this myself a few weeks ago, and decided just to eat the old blue cheese I had. It wasn’t slimy, but it sure was more blue than the day I bought it. It tasted fine, and I felt no ill effects, but I did notice a texture difference - the mold was actually noticeably chewy. I guess there was just that much more mold that it made up more of the bulk. Now, fast forward a few weeks, and (runs to refrigerator to check) it’s still there. I just tasted a small piece and it still tastes fine. If I post to this thread tomorrow, we’ll know if it is still safe to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/10 "2010-03-10T05:40:45Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > …the mold was actually noticeably chewy… That’s what I meant about the dryness. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/11 "2010-03-10T06:22:37Z")
The mold in blue cheese is _penicillin roqueforti_ and is closely related to the bacteria used for penicillin the antibiotic. However, those allergic to the antibiotic may not be allergic to the cheese because it is a much lower dosage. Or so I am told by my doctor about why I break out in hives when I use the antibiotic, but not when I eat the cheese. Limburger is the only cheese I hate. ---
**Author:** ![SecTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SecTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecTech)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/12 "2010-03-10T08:53:12Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > Depending on the cheese, it may also change colour (from a very pale cream/white to a yellow or beige) and/or become slimy to the touch. Except for the “slimy”, that sounds like Shropshire Blue. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/13 "2010-03-10T13:51:41Z")
It can also get fuzz on it. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/14 "2010-03-11T03:34:52Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Sure it can spoil. The mold in blue cheese is different than the type of mold that comes along later. If you see the surface of the cheese coated with mold, rather than just the blue veins, that’s the mold you don’t want. But you can just cut it off if it’s not too far gone. If the cheese is truly spoiled, like bacterial spoilage from being unrefrigerated, you would note a definite change in color, odor, and taste. Just send whatever you have to Qadgop the Mercotan. He’ll love it. ::d&r:: ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/15 "2010-03-11T03:52:26Z")
I just had some Maytag Blue tonight which had a “bad” area that I cut off. It was black and somewhat soft. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/16 "2010-03-11T05:37:52Z")
I’m still kicking around. I’ll try some more in a week or two. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoiled-blue-cheese/531874/17 "2010-03-11T09:44:47Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > If the cheese is truly spoiled, like bacterial spoilage from being unrefrigerated, you would note a definite change in color, odor, and taste. This isn’t necessarily true for other foods - there is only a loose and somewhat coincidental correlation between pathogenic spoilage and perceptible changes - I don’t see why it would necessarily be true for cheese. I would expect cheese to be a fairly inhospitable environment for food poisoning pathogens (apart from cross-contamination), as it’s already quite busy with competing benign flora.