What happens to cheese below 0°C and above +8°C?
What happens to cheese if I transport it in cold temperature (below 0°C, up to -20°C) for 5-7 hours?
What if it's at +10°C for 5-7 hours?
Can it go bad? If it does, do cool bags solve the issue of cheese going bad?
Best Answer
Though my answer won't go into the "technical" side of things as Lorel C.'s answer, I can answer from experience.
I regularly travel to The Netherlands and when coming back I'll always bring cheese back with me on the flight. (Flight duration ~4,5-5 hours) I've brought back all kinds of cheeses, last time I brought a block of yellow Gouda cheese, block of Danablu cheese and 2 kinds of parmesan cheeses. I've never noticed any tangible difference in quality of the cheeses after travelling and they stay good for at least the stated shelf life of the cheese.
What I tend to do is:
- Make sure the cheeses are vacuum packed.
- Helps store the cheese and ensure if any fats dissolve from the cheese they don't ruin anything in my suitcase.
- Wrap them in bubble wrap.
- I find this to be more flexible a packaging compared to a coolbag and as a bonus it doesn't add much extra weight.
- Keep the cheese for as long as possible in the fridge before the flight.
- I.e. put them in your suitcase just before you leave to the airport, but do make sure you left enough space for them :)
I personally haven't tried freezing the cheese as I'm worried that would ruin the cheese so I can't quote experience on that.
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What happens if cheese gets too cold?
Hard and semi-firm cheeses like cheddar and Swiss can be crumbly, bland and dry if they're too cold. Now, if you're grating cheese into a casserole or making a grilled cheese sandwich, cold cheese is fine.How does temperature affect the coagulation of cheese?
The fat content and fat in dry matter were higher in the cheese samples prepared using cheese-milk coagulated at lower temperatures (27 \xb0C and 30 \xb0C) compared to those prepared using cheese-milk coagulated at higher temperatures (33 \xb0C and 36 \xb0C).How did the temperature affect the cheese?
Colder temps prevent spoilage but slow the aging process dramatically\u2014which isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, some cheeses, such as blues and bloomy rinds, benefit from a slower, colder ripening period, which allows microbes to alter the cheese without growing too quickly.What temperature does cheese spoil?
There has been some extensive research done in Wisconsin that proves cheese can stay out for up to six hours at 70\xb0F or colder. Some cheeses tested for low levels of listeria, salmonella, Escherichia, and staphylococcus but nothing life-threatening.What Happens Below Zero Ergonomics?
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Answer 2
Assuming you are talking Celsius, your warmer temperature, +10 (I guess the +8 morphed into +10 between the title and the question), isn't really that warm. According to the website of the cheesemongers Paxton and Whitfield:
Some cheeses are best kept cool, others need a warmer environment; it depends on the type of cheese and its stage of maturity. Most hard cheeses that arrive with you will be fine at 8 degrees centigrade to 15 degrees centigrade, at warmer temperatures they will continue to mature; a cool, humid cellar would be perfect, or any unheated part of the house that has a constant temperature between 8 &15 degrees centigrade. Soft and blue cheeses need to be stored at low temperatures, preferably in a refrigerator between 5 & 8 degrees centigrade.
Even if others would disagree with them slightly, it doesn't seem like +10 is an outrageously warm temp. to transport for just 5-7 hours. I say don't worry about transportation at 10 degrees C.
Your other option, between freezing and -20, might not be as good. StillTasty recommends against freezing cheese. But as Catija suggests, it probably depends on the type of cheese.
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