If You Eat Expired Cottage Cheese, This Is What Occurs

It is simple to lose monitor of what is in your fridge, particularly if it is filled with restaurant leftovers and samples out of your cheese-of-the-month membership. Generally a late-night snack is so as, so that you search at the back of your fridge to search out that cottage cheese to procure some time in the past. It isn’t till you have eaten a number of spoonfuls that you just understand the cottage cheese is previous its expiration date.

Do not panic, except the cottage cheese regarded and tasted extra like a science experiment. Though consuming some mould will be protected, the Mayo Clinic says that cottage cheese with mould on it may have pathogens resembling listeria or E. coli that would offer you diarrhea, fever, or muscle aches. In case your expired cottage cheese smells and tastes okay, it is in all probability fit for human consumption.

Moreover, your cottage cheese in all probability would not have an expiration date however moderately a “finest by” date. In line with the Meals and Drug Administration, these are dates that meals producers placed on their meals so you understand when the product is of its very best quality (BTW, here is the distinction between the use-by, sell-by, and best-by dates). Usually, it is fit for human consumption these unopened meals after their “finest by” dates. This is how one can inform whether or not or to not toss that cottage cheese.

Cottage cheese may need a little bit of water floating on the prime because the cheese begins to age. That is merely the whey separating from the curds. You possibly can stir this water again into the cottage cheese curds and function common. If it is too watery or slimy, then it is in all probability gone unhealthy. Beware if the cottage cheese has some grey spots in it. That may very well be an indication of mould. Verify the lid of the container for any grey or inexperienced spots.

General, your cottage cheese ought to have a easy, creamy texture with its small curds. It should not be grainy if it has been sitting in your fridge. Nevertheless, in case you’ve frozen your cottage cheese, it is going to look like a bit grainy. Though the U.S. Division of Agriculture says cottage cheese would not freeze nicely, you possibly can nonetheless use it for casseroles resembling lasagna.

Contemporary cottage cheese is sweet for you and usually has a tangy scent. Cottage cheese is previous its prime if it smells like yeast or if the scent is off-putting. Cottage cheese should not style bitter, so if tasting it makes you wince, toss it. Above all, do not use cottage cheese that is been sitting out at room temperature for 2 hours. The USDA says micro organism thrive in temperatures above 40 levels Fahrenheit and beneath 140 levels Fahrenheit.

The “finest by” date on cottage cheese assumes you have not opened the container. Daisy Model says you possibly can nonetheless eat its cottage cheese after its “finest by” date on the bundle so long as it hasn’t been opened. Even when the “finest by” date is not for an additional month, the USDA says an opened container of cottage cheese will nonetheless retain its high quality for every week within the fridge.

You possibly can maximize the lifetime of your cottage cheese in case you retailer it at the back of your fridge so it would not encounter fluctuations in temperature from opening and shutting your fridge door. As soon as you have eliminated the foil seal in your container of cottage cheese, you possibly can hold it hermetic by sealing off the container with cling wrap earlier than changing the lid.

(Learn in regards to the meals storage errors which can be twice as harmful in the summertime.)

If you happen to select to freeze it, you’ll want to place the container in a freezer-safe bag so it is not uncovered to air. It is also a good suggestion to jot down the present date someplace on the container. Nevertheless, Daisy Model says the cottage cheese won’t have the identical taste if it has been frozen.