A woman has sparked a debate online after she posted a video of herself cutting mold off a block of cheddar cheese and then using the cheese to make herself a sandwich.
The controversial video was posted by TikTok user @cheeses3xdeath. By Tuesday, it had been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
@cheeses3xdeath Moldy cheese happens to the best of us, but there is hope! 💅 by @jenileaisme 🧀 #cheddar #cheesetok #moldycheese #cheesechurch #cheddarcheese #tunamelt ♬ Make It Better (Instrumental) – Anderson .Paak
The user began by explaining that they bought a block of cheddar cheese and forgot about it. This provided the perfect breeding ground for the growth of molds such as E. coli, listeria, salmonella, or brucella.
But instead of throwing out the cheese as most people would, the user decided to simply cut the mold off.
“Moldy cheese happens to the best of us, but there is hope!” the caption read. This is some truth to this, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Author Katherine Zeratsky writes that moldy cheese should only be discarded if the cheese is soft (cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, etc.). The same goes for cheese that’s crumbled, sliced, or shredded.
Hard and semisoft cheese (colby, Parmesan, Swiss, and cheddar) are the exception to this rule since it’s difficult for mold to penetrate deep inside firm cheese. This means that the cheese is still edible as long as you remove the mold.
“Cut off at least 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) around and below the moldy spot,” Zeratsky writes. “Be sure to keep the knife out of the mold, so it doesn’t contaminate other parts of the cheese.”
The viral clip showed the woman doing exactly that with a knife.
“We’re going to use a sharp chef’s knife to remove the mold. Depending on the severity, you can slice it off or just lightly scrape it off,” the voiceover explained.
After tossing the moldy parts, she shredded the rest of the cheese and shared what she planned to make with it. Since it wasn’t suitable to be served at room temperature on a cheese plate, the next best option was to melt it (along with some dill havarti) on a tuna melt.
According to the woman, the sandwich turned out great. “It was delicious as fuck,” she said. “Which goes to show why you should never throw away your moldy cheese.”
A debate quickly started in the comments.
“Y’all please just throw moldy food away,” one user commented. “Hot mayo tuna and moldy cheese girrlll,” another added with an exasperated emoji.
“Yes we all made the same face watching this,” a third commented.
Knowing that some people choose to eat food this way spurred trust issues in some viewers. “This why I won’t eat cheese at someone else’s house,” this user wrote. Another agreed: “Why I don’t eat at other peoples houses.”
Even though it looked like she had scraped all the mold clean, some argued the cheese still wasn’t safe to eat. “Mold grows beyond the surface, I don’t like throwing things but I would’ve tossed that,” one user commented.
“Mold has spores that you can’t see…” added another.
“I know way too much about microbiology to do that..,” a third commented with skull emoji.
People were adamant about putting their health first rather than saving a few bucks. “Would rather purchase another block of cheese than pay for a hospital visit,’ this user wrote.
One person even predicted the user’s next video. “Next video: how to tell if your cheese gave you food poisoning.”
Since the TikTok user hasn’t posted in a few days, this is become a real concern for some. “It’s been a week idk if she’s is ok,” this user cautioned.
“Hasn’t posted since, y’all think she dead?” added another.
On the other side of the debate, some people thanked the user for the advice and expressed that they’re down to try the hack.
“I love learning about cheese through your videos,” this user wrote. Another shared that they have been cutting mold off cheese all their life.
“Is it ok to do this with all cheeses? Or just some? I’ve been doing this my whole life,” they wrote.
The TikTok user response was aligned with the Mayo Clinic’s advice: “You have to throw away moldy fresh cheese. Soft ripened ones, check for ammonia and cut the mold off,” they wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to @cheeses3xdeath via TikTok comment.
