the cheese that refused to die (MySpace 2/18/2008)

Subject	the cheese that refused to die
DateCreated	2/18/2008 11:49:00 PM
PostedDate	2/18/2008 11:20:00 PM
Body	this blog entry is dedicated to anyone who has ever had cheese go moldy in the refrigerator The original point of cheese - the reason why people made it - was to preserve the food value of milk. But in the modern age, the common wisdom is to put cheese in the refrigerator. To keep it from spoiling. Go figure. "That's a lot of cheese!," grinned the guy behind me in the checkout line at the Grocery Outlet.  I smiled, but didn't let on that I was going to use the five pound rubber mozzarella as a kitchen ornament. For the last ten months, hanging next to the range hood and the kitchen towels has been an oblong block of cheese, wrapped in ... cheesecloth. I finally took it down this afternoon, and carved off a slice. Not bad. Look, I'll be the first to admit that I have no real expertise with aging cheese. I don't know about proper temperature or humidity. Or wax coating. Or cheese moths. Maybe I've been lucky. But what I DO know, is that cheap, natural cheese (not "pasteurized process") will improve in texture and flavor, if taken out of its store wrapper, kept cool, but not refrigerated, and with air allowed to circulate on all sides.  Even five days makes a noticible difference. Furthermore, it shouldn't go moldy - at least not where I live in coastal northwest California. I accidentally discovered the "durability" of natural cheese soon after I arrived in Humboldt County. I was a grad student, and to save money, I moved into a beat-up trailer in Fieldbrook. For some reason I was using an ice chest instead of a proper refrigerator. Short-sighted me, I didn't figure that my little block of Monterey Jack would slide off into the not-so-clean ice water and become a shapeless, goopy mass. Having just spent $3, I couldn't bring myself to simply chuck it, so I wrapped it in a paper towel, poked and prodded it back into shape, and left it on the counter to dry.  I was not optimistic. But after a few days, it turned back into something that looked, smelled, and (do i dare?) tasted like the original. No sign of the dreaded cheese mold. I was impressed. If cheese could survive such abuse - maybe it really doesn't need refrigeration. So I started leaving my cheese out, on a rack. That was about 16 years ago. Since then, I've continued to leave cheese out. Mold has been rare, except after accidents, like dropping it on the floor. But it's been an easy fix - wipe off the mold, apply a thin film of vegetable oil, and it doesn't return. So what's with these refrigerators? Why are they so deadly on cheese? I think it's because most people wrap their cheese in plastic - which causes moisture to condense. Water films are a lovely environment for mold. We use these bags, wrappers, and containers to keep food from drying out - but ironically, often end up creating a "mold-incubator". Bread and vegetables are similarly affected. UPDATE 2/21 - "All I am saying - is give cheese a chance."