# year-old Brie--safe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868 "2010-12-30T20:57:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/1 "2010-12-30T20:57:09Z")
I was digging through the back of the refrigerator’s deli drawer and found a chunk of plastic wrapped brie I bought for last year’s New Year party. Do you think it’s edible this year? How would I know? I mean, it’s already moldy… ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/2 "2010-12-30T21:19:08Z")
I’ve forgotten brie in the back of the drawer before 🙂 and it’s always gone blue/green fuzzy on me. How in blazes did your cheese escape that fate for so long? By “plastic-wrapped” do you mean “still in its original unopened package?” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/3 "2010-12-30T21:29:40Z")
Slice off the mold. If the rest of it is still creamy, then it’s fine. If it’s gone stiff, then it isn’t. Basically, if it tastes okay, you can eat it. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/4 "2010-12-30T23:34:45Z")
Let it go. Really, it’s gone. The thought of throwing away brie makes me sad but sometimes, it just aint worth it. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/5 "2010-12-30T23:46:27Z")
I assume your Brie was made from pasturized milk. In that case, where do you think it would pick up something actually harmful? Mix the mold in and call it aged. 😉 I wouldn’t serve it to guests if it had mold on it, but for my own consumption I wouldn’t worry. It’s very unlikely to have picked up something harmful. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/6 "2010-12-31T00:07:13Z")
Mental note: Politely decline to eat Quercus Alba’s appetizer at the next DopeFest. ---
**Author:** ![Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zany_Zeolite_Zipper)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/7 "2010-12-31T00:15:21Z")
I wonder what cheeses are safe to eat after they have gone moldy. Cheddar gets absolutely disgusting when it is mouldy, but Jarlsberg and soft, mild Swiss cheeses get better. I’m not talking about cheese that is bought blue; I can’t be the only person who thinks that some cheese gets better after it has spoilt. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/8 "2010-12-31T00:33:46Z")
I’d be really surprised if it was edible after that long. Soft cheeses like that are naturally quite short-lived. If it was a block of cheddar, it would probably be OK as long as there’s something left after cutting off the surface mould, but I can’t even imagine what Brie would be like at that vintage. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/9 "2010-12-31T01:11:18Z")
Drunks will eat anything. Any puking can be blamed on their over drinking New Years Eve. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/10 "2010-12-31T02:04:43Z")
In general, slicing off the mold is fine for hard cheeses, but not for soft. Mayo clinic has [a pretty long list](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN01024). Brie is in the ‘discard’ pile. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-old-brie-safe/565868/11 "2010-12-31T04:50:03Z")
> [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](#): > > I wonder what cheeses are safe to eat after they have gone moldy. Cheddar gets absolutely disgusting when it is mouldy, but Jarlsberg and soft, mild Swiss cheeses get better. I’m not talking about cheese that is bought blue; I can’t be the only person who thinks that some cheese gets better after it has spoilt. _Good_ cheddar is better with mold, and plenty of people think so. “Soft, mild Swiss cheeses”? Do you mean American-made “Swiss cheese” or real ementaller and gruyere? The former, no, the latter, yes. Basically, if I could buy it with mold from a decent cheese shop then the mold is fine. If I couldn’t buy it at all in a decent cheese shop, then I avoid the mold. I’d avoid the cheese too, but I have a budget, so I take what I can get.