What does bad Brie smell/taste like?

I've been buying the same kind of Brie every week for the past six months, but this time was different. I got it from a grocery store I've never been to before, and I live in Kenya, where it's common for power outages to knock out refrigeration for from time to time.

The cheese hasn't hit its expiration date yet, but it's more gooey than every, with stained packaging from leaks, brown spots areas, and the smell of peanut butter. Usually, it's pretty tame and cream-colored. It's funkiness is more like bleu cheese than nuts.

I've read that Brie is rather robust when it comes to resisting harmful bacteria, and, of course, cheese is supposed to be funky! But contamination can happen. What methods can I use or sure signs can I observe to figure out whether this Brie has gone bad?

food-safety brie

Best Answer

Use your nose. Bad cheese will smell of ammonia.

Use your finger: Brie should be firm to the touch; if it is too soft, it is too mature and will spoil soon.

If the cheese was improperly stored, then it will age and mature sooner; bad bacteria will start to grow on the cheese.

Throw it away.

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What does spoiled Brie smell like?

Ammonia Smell. A by product of all bloomy rind cheeses is "ammonia" smell. This some-what offensive aroma results when the cultures used to make the cheese consume and convert the proteins in the curd into ammonia. Refrigeration traps this aroma in the cheese not allowing it to evaporate away.

Can you eat Brie if it smells?

This is actually a natural byproduct of the cheese aging process. You should allow the cheese to air out for a minute and smell it again. If the smell is really strong afterwards, you should not eat it. However, if the rind smells slightly, but the inside of the cheese does not, then it is fine to eat.

Cheese 101: All About Brie

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