How old is too old

[bohica]

Hello everybody, I'm smoking some cheese and I found a bunch of Jarlsburg and Sharp Cheddar that I hadn't got around to smoking. All of the cheese has been kept in the fridge and the packaging wasn't broken, but the best sold by date was from as far back as 2017, the Jarlsburg was best sold by July of 2018 and and some of the sharp cheddar ranged from February 2018 to September of 2018. There was one brick that was best sold by I think July of 2017. My question is how far out of date, if at all, is cheese still good to smoke? It all looks and tastes fine, the sharp cheddar is a little crumbly and doesn't slice all that well.

Thanks for any replies. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

 

[fivetricks]

Cheese, properly stored will age for years. Might he the best cheese you ever ate/smoked.

 

[bohica]

Thanks for the reply fivetricks, I went ahead and put it on with the rest of the batch. I figure I've got it and the Amaze-N-Smoker is lit, so I threw it on. I hope you're right! Have a Merry Christmas.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Cheese by definition is preserved milk. Kept cool <60°, cheese can be kept until it gets so hard and dry that it has the texture of coarse sand. Spoilage from bad tasting mold is more of an issue. If the cheese has a unpleasant aroma and taste, it is spoiled. Otherwise you can ignore dates and it is safe to eat...JJ

 

[fivetricks]

You Know jj i agree with that but I've known many Germans that kept cheddar wheels in their attic until they wept pools of liquid. It was the most horrifying thing to see. But they swore by them
.I was too intimidated to ever try them though

 

[chef jimmyj]

I held a cheese class, every semester, that featured 100 cheeses from around the world. On the Fresh end, the kids tried Buffalo Mozzarella from Italy. On the other end were 12 year old Irish nd English Cheddars and the oldest, most expensive artisan Parm Reggiano my distributor could find. In the middle were various, aged Washed Rind cheeses of cow, sheep and goat milk. The German varieties were the most interesting. I told the distributor to send the Stinkiest, Mold covered, Dripping cheeses he could find. The Funk and Ammonia coming off these cheeses, especially the Goat varieties, would knock passing Flies out of the air! Those were the BEST most flavorful cheeses I have ever eaten! It sounds crazy, but IF you could get these past your nose...The Flavors were nuanced and varied with an indescribable depth of flavor. The only cheese that I requested and could not get, was the Sardinian Maggot Cheese. The tiny maggots eat small amounts of the cheese and the enzymes in their excrement gives the remaining cheese it's unique flavor and creamy texture. Maybe someday...JJ

 

[dward51]

I thought we paid extra for longer aged cheese?

 

[bluewhisper]

I told the distributor to send the Stinkiest, Mold covered, Dripping cheeses he could find. The Funk and Ammonia coming off these cheeses, especially the Goat varieties, would knock passing Flies out of the air!

Thanks, I needed a laugh.

In our groceries there used to be a Liederkranz from Borden; it was a "natural" cheese meaning it was not pasteurized. It was still alive. The package showed the stages of ripeness. It would gradually dry and shrink and develop a hard brown rind.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Dad developed a taste for Liederkranz in his 20's, post WW2. Liederkranz and Raw Onion on toasted Pumpernickel. He liked it with a cold Molson Ale. He invited me to partake when I was Thirteen. Definitely an acquired taste. For those that are curious, Limburger is Mild and Sweet smelling, compared to Lliederkranz!...JJ

 

[bohica]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to try to upload a picture of what I ended up with.

 

[bbqbrett]

Dad developed a taste for Liederkranz in his 20's, post WW2. Liederkranz and Raw Onion on toasted Pumpernickel. He liked it with a cold Molson Ale. He invited me to partake when I was Thirteen. Definitely an acquired taste. For those that are curious, Limburger is Mild and Sweet smelling, compared to Lliederkranz!...JJ

When I was a teenager I tried Limburger once...just once. It smelled like sweaty socks left in a gym locker for a few weeks and assume the taste would be similar. Can't imagine what Liederkranz must be like.

 

[fivetricks]

In my younger years, I was well on the way to being a sharp, funky cheese novice.

Then a commingling of an excess of a fine blue cheese and an unknown oncoming, hard hitting flu bug hit withing the same 6 hours.

Needless to say, I have struggled with sophisticated cheeses ever since then. It saddens me, but every year I'm trying to get closer to where I was all of those years ago.