doesn't cheese go bad?
 

I read a lot about people bringing home parm cheese from italy...

Please excuse my ignorance, but doesn't it go bad without refrigeration? I know you can only bring specific types of cheese, but how does it survive purchasing the day before flight and the 10 hrs home?

Parmesan, pecorino, and some other hard cheeses should be ok...wouldn't try bringing home mozzarella! :)

There's so much salt in Parmesan it probably won't go off this century.

All it ever seems to do is dry out a bit. Which just concentrates the flavour still more.

Also parmesan cheese is usually vacuum packed which helps to stop deterioration

You do refridgerate parm once it's been cut off the wheel. We went to Parma a few weeks ago and bought some parmigiano. He vacuum-sealed it but told us the best way to store it is to wrap it in butcher paper and put it in the fridge. We've been munching on it since Jan 20. Eventually Parm gets dried out. Son't throw it away however, especially the rinds. Put the left over rinds in a baggie in the freezer and next time you make soups or sauce, slip in a piece of the rind to help flavor it. works great.

Demmler you will be fine with bringing home any kind of cheese with the exception of, as noted above, a fresh cheese such as mozzarella or fresh ricotta which would not hold well for so many hours. No problem at all.

Great! i love parm. I'm buying a wheel!

Hi D,

> i love parm. I'm buying a wheel!<

I think a wheel weighs about 40 kg.

((I))

Cheese is already "bad"- it's bad milk. Parmesan should be fine for a few days.

Americans tend to be paranoid about cheese going off. A hard cheese like parmiggiano will be FINE, it really doesn't need refrigeration.

Actually, most if not all cheeses taste better at room temperature. You can appreciate the flavor more. Though I wouldn't leave mozzarella out for a long time.

Cheese doesn't go bad, but some people do!

BC

okay...i'll make my husband carry it? checkin? just joking. perhaps a small piece then.

Parmasan cheese was always a staple for us in our backpacking days (American backpacking, in the woods, camping out). As long as you wrap it up well - air is the enemy of most foods - it will last a lond time.

When I buy cheese the cheese man will ask me when I am planning to eat it. If I am planning to devour on the following day he will often advise me not to refrigerate overnight.

Mozzarella really should be eaten on the day it was made..the texture and flavor are altered consderably by refrigeration. If I buy it in the morning I leave it on the counter for a few hours until dinner, for example, but I agree that longer than that would not be a good idea..

Parm stays good for more than a few days. The gentleman in Parma indicated that it should be refridgerated. By the way, I asked the gentleman how much a wheel of Parm costs and of course it depends on the type of parm and its age but will be at least 800 euro.