Cheddar Cheese.

Now this was the cheesiest thread I have read on BPL in a long time. 100% snark free!

:-))

When I drive through Wisconsin I stop by a dairy and buy 5-10 year old cheddar. I don’t think 7 days is much risk. If it starts growing mold cut it off.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/is-moldy-cheese-okay

I’ve never had cheese last more than two days. But that was my appetite not the cheese spoiling.

i feel that

I really like the freeze dried cheese. It melts well and doesn’t taste too bad straight up, un-rehydrated. With fresh cheese I don’t mind cutting off a bit of mold, but I hate it when it gets that slimy oily goo on the outside, with any heat at all. Not unsafe, just unappetizing.

I hate it when it gets that slimy oily goo on the outside, with any heat at all. Not unsafe, just unappetizing.

Definitely.

I’ll be melting it over cooked dishes for some extra flavor/variety and calories so oiliness isn’t too much of an issue.  Not interested in eating oily chunks either.

Freeze dried looks good but I’m trying to keep my costs as low as possible.

I’ve found wrapping the cheese in cheese cloth then putting it in a ziplock helps handle the oiliness

In the Southern California desert a few weeks ago, I had a block of store-branded extra sharp cheddar last about a week. The last day I cut off a couple blue corners and noticed some white granules.  So I got a ramen bomb boiling (mashed potatoes and ramen) and threw in the remaining cheese slice.

I’m still around but admit eating that last day of cheese was a little like Vegas gambling..

If you wrapped the cheese in cheesecloth to absorb the oils, when you were done, you could throw the cheesecloth in the fire :)

I would always imagine a nice chunk of cheese that I got out of the fridge, and how good that would be on the trail. The reality was a salty, oily, warm blob of cheese that wasn’t all that appealing. Of course I ate it anyway.

I must be built different. Room temp, softened, oily cheese tastes better than right out of the fridge at home to me.

I just came back from hiking the High Sierra Trail plus 20 miles on the PCT to Cottonwood Pass.  I carried 3lbs of medium cheddar cheese from when I took it out of the Frig at work at 3pm last Friday to the following Friday (today) at 6pm and the last 0.25 lbs still taste fine though slightly deformed from the hot 60’s to low 70’s temperature (yes it hit 72F yesterday near Rock Creek south of Whitney).  My remaining italian salami is also still fine.

Don’t see what the issue is with a little oil on the cheese.  Tastes the same and the oil allows me to squeeze it easier back into it’s plastic wrapping (I only cut the top of the original package off so I can squeeze the block out to get what I want and then push it back down. This keeps the ziplock from getting slimy so I can reuse it on the next block of cheese)  Go on a couple months long hike (like the PCT or AT) where you are desperate for every calorie, you’ll loose those little minor hangups about food seeming to be gross. Trust me on this.

3 pounds of cheese?

60’s and low 70’s is fairly cool. Yeah, I don’t have any minor hang ups about what food to take on my trips. trust me on this. Neither do you, or any of us really, so it’s all good. Unless someone brings tuna fish mayo salad into the desert…

That’s what I was thinking, three pounds of cheese?

And you’re going to re-use the bag for another block of cheese???

Much respect for re-using the zip-lock, @Miner. ;-)

I found an individually wrapped piece of tillamook cheddar in a bear can from last July over the weekend. It was one of the little pre-packaged slices like I posted earlier in this thread. Zero mold 11 months later. Very soft looking. I was horrified and threw it away instantly. I just realized I should have photographed it for this thread.

Cabot sells 24-packs of “Seriously Sharp Cheddar,” which is pretty good, wrapped in 3/4-ounce packets. No fuss, not much mess, and keeps as well as processed string cheese. Dee-lish! https://www.cabotcheese.coop/product/seriously-sharp-cheddar-cheese/#snacking&seriously-sharp-cheddar-cheese-snacks-24-75-oz-snack-bars

If you are cooking with it try this.

https://www.thrivelife.com/all-products/dairy.html

A new contender emerges!

Mathew, your Tillamook just ripened into very expensive brie.

I’ve dehydrated a bunch of different cheeses. Blue cheese is my favorite, especially rehydrated/melted in some instant potatoes.

There’s still plenty of fat in the cheese, so I don’t think it’d be shelf stable long (or medium) term. But removing what water you can does seem to help it keep longer.

Texturally, every cheese has been different. Some of my friends like it; others a grossed out.

This Babybel brand cheese is individually wrapped in a wax coating (many different types) and could be an option.

https://www.cheese.com/babybel/

Sargento® Sharp Natural Cheddar Cheese Snack Sticks, 12-Count

https://www.sargento.com/our-cheese/snacks/sargento-sharp-natural-cheddar-cheese-snack-sticks/

Individually wrapped 21g/90cal/stick. Have used these in the summer months on trip of over 11 days without any issues.

While I’m not entirely sure it is cheese as we have been discussing, The Laughing Cow is another shelf stable “cheese” product.  Some people like it…it is soft and creamy and comes in many different flavors.

I just tried the Tillamook sharp cheddar individually wrapped and that worked pretty good

because of this thread

It was warm but not hot