Left a block of medium cheddar out overnight... safe to consume?

[jeromedawg]

Hi all,

I went to bed last night forgetting I left an opened 2lb block of cheddar (medium) out last night.

Is it OK to consume at this point?

[Catbert]

Wouldn't bother me at all.  Warning:  lots of things don't bother me.

[JLee]

I would eat it.

I also eat cheese that's molded if I can cut the mold off. I'm not dead yet!

[APowers]

Imo, it's probably fine. If I was worried about it, maybe only use it where it will get cooked/melted all the way through.

Source: am a person who will eat food from the floor, ymmv.

[former player]

What do you think people did before fridges?  Almost the whole point of cheese is that it's a way of storing milk for longer than fresh milk stays fresh.

Now if it were a soft cheese that had been left out I would give it a sniff before consuming and I would probably think twice before feeding it to the very young or very old.  But a good hard cheddar cheese is highly unlikely to have become unsafe to eat by not being in a fridge for one night.

(With a good hard cheese such as cheddar the first sign of a problem will be a green mold growing on the outside.  In which case just cut the green bit off and carry on.  Oh, and try not to keep cheese in plastic wrap or tupperware.  Doesn't do it any good, paper or a wax cloth are better.)

[HPstache]

Wouldn't bother me at all.  Warning:  lots of things don't bother me.

Same

[nereo]

Cheddar Does not need to be refrigerated.  It’ll ‘weep’ if it gets a bit warm, but you can keep an open block of cheddar out for days, and an unopened block out for weeks with negligable spoilage.

Aged cheeses are popular backpacking food for this very reason.

[Blue Skies]

We've taken blocks of cheddar backpacking before, just make sure we finish it in the first two days. 
I have also been known to cut mold off a block of cheese that sat in the fridge too long and eat the rest.  No problems.

[FINate]

Cheese is essentially the controlled decomposition of dairy. The rate of decomposition is a function of temperature, moisture, and salt.

Over 2000 years ago Roman legions carted around wheels of Pecorino as rations for its high calorie density and long self life (years?).

As mentioned above, hard salty cheeses are great for backpacking. I've even taken semi hard cheeses like Emmental or Cheddar which is fine for several days, though I don't think I would go more than about 4 days with these unless the temps were relatively cool.

Like salted butter, it's probably fine to leave cheddar out at room temperature for a while. Let your eyes and your nose be your guide :)

[Kayad]

Op: I’m on tenterhooks here.  Did you eat the cheese or not?.

[jeromedawg]

Op: I’m on tenterhooks here.  Did you eat the cheese or not?.

Haha, yea - it turned out to be fine... I think ;)