The normandy camembert I bought in London, states eat within 3 days of cutting, however, I thought the older?

Question

and smellier, good cheese got, the better; is that so?

Answer 1

Once you slice into it the clock starts ticking. I believe that the aged aspect of it is temperature controlled. Maybe you could go over it by a little, but after a case of food poisoning, I don't mess around anymore.

Pour a nice wine and enjoy!

Answer 2

Both Fromafar and you are right.

After cutting it, after 3 days, the producer doesn't warrant its cheese anymore (think that it may dry if you let it in the open)

But, maybe you can read on the paper around the cheese that, to have a smellier, harder cheese, you may wait for a few weeks, uncut, and stored in a fresh (not cold) place. The counter is the date of making, in that case.

By the way, in case mold forms on a cheese left in the open, think it may be normal cheese mold (same taste as the cheese).  It is just reforming its crust. How do you think cheese are made ?

It is only with sterilized food that you have to watch for molds and bacterias, because on a virgin ground, pathogenes are free to grow.

Answer 3

Camembert, being a soft cheese, has a shorter shelf life than hard cheeses like pecorino, romano, parmesan.

Once cut, the cheese surface is exposed to harmful bacteria and therefore could spoil very fast.

Answer 4

I disagree with Linda but your idea is not correct either.

- Cheese is a traditional technology to preserve milk, but Camembert is a specific type with specific characteristics. Not "anything goes" and it will still be Camembert.

- Ripe-hard cheese can be left at room temperature for a longer time span than soft-fresh cheese. No problem with that.

- Camembert and other ripe-soft cheese will have a long shelf life but will be transformed with time. Under controlled conditions then you know what will happen, but otherwise well...

So if you have produced a cheese with certain standards of consistency and flavor, you do not want your customer to taste something that is no way near that.

The 3 days span means after that time the producer does not guarantee what it will taste like. But it will take a lot more than that to actually rot.