This 35p Ingredient Will Keep Cheese Mould-Free For Weeks

Is there anything more cruel, more soul-sapping, than coming home to what you think is a deliciously fresh block of cheese only to realise that it’s moulded over? We’re good people! We deserve non-deadly toasties! 

We’ve written before about whether or not you can eat mouldy cheese ― harder options, like Pamersan, can be salvaged by cutting the mould out (with a 2-inch leeway). 

But for softer cheese, mould is a no-go. So I was happy to learn that white vinegar can help to keep my beloved Edam safe from the Green Disc of Doom ― especially considering a bottle goes for under 40p at Tesco.

Vinegar? How? 

The TikTok account of food experts imperfectfoods shared the hack, saying the “best way to keep cheese from going bad is to use vinegar.” 

“No, you will not taste it, and it will help prevent your cheese from moulding,” they add. 

Simply wrap your cheese in a clean cloth or sheet of strong kitchen paper that’s slightly damp with vinegar before placing it in an airtight container. 

“It should keep without moulding for weeks,” the TikTokker says. 

This is in line with advice from other pros. For instance, Patricia Michelson, owner of La Fromagerie in London, shared with The Guardian that you  should “always double-wrap your cheese – in waxed paper or baking parchment, ideally – and put it in a plastic container lined with dampened kitchen towel or J-cloth.” 

And Venae Watts, fifth-generation owner of Minerva Dairy, told Martha Stewart’s site that “Putting a small amount of vinegar onto cheesecloth or a paper towel before storing your cheese will help save it from mould.” 

“The vinegar acts as a kind of barrier and kills mould,” she adds. “You may be thinking your cheese will taste like vinegar when you go to eat it, but it won’t.“

I’m taking notes...