What are the crunchy white crystals? Why is it so salty? Why does it cost that much? The questions that come up as you get to know cheese, answered — with links where a fuller article exists.
Can I eat the rind?
If the rind grew with the cheese, eat it; if it was put on the cheese — wax, cloth — peel it off. With bloomy-rind cheeses in particular, do eat it: the rind is what ripened the cheese, and removing it costs you half the aroma.
Rinds to eat, and rinds to leave:
There is mould on it
On a hard cheese, cut 2.5 centimetres (an inch) around and below the mould and eat the rest — that is the US Department of Agriculture's guidance, and it works because there is too little moisture for mould to travel far. High-moisture cheeses, soft cheeses and anything pre-grated or pre-sliced should be discarded whole, since the mould may already run through them invisibly.
Where cutting past works, and where it does not:
Cheese upsets my stomach
That is lactose. But most of it leaves with the whey during making and ageing removes most of the rest, so a long-aged hard cheese has effectively none left. The most remains in fresh cheeses and processed cheese.
Effectively lactose-free by now:
Why is it so salty?
Salt in cheese is not seasoning. It draws out water, holds off unwanted bacteria and regulates the pace of ripening — too little and the cheese ripens beyond control, too much and it stops entirely. Hence the rule that longer ageing means more salt. Rather than eating a salty cheese by itself, put honey, fruit or bread beside it. Or use it as your salt: add plenty of cheese to a pasta dish and leave the salt out, and the seasoning often lands exactly right.
The salty end of the shelf:
What are the crunchy white specks?
If something crunches in a long-aged cheese, it is not salt but tyrosine, an amino acid that has crystallised out — proof the cheese has had its time rather than a fault. The white streaks that smear across aged cheddar are calcium lactate, a different and softer crystal. Neither is a sign of spoilage, so eat them as they come.
Where you will find those crystals:
It smells terrible. Has it gone off?
Usually not. Washed-rind cheeses are meant to smell strong, and they taste far milder than they smell. Genuine spoilage has its own signals: a stinging ammonia smell, a sour spoiled note, a slimy surface, or mould in a colour the cheese never had.
Where smell and taste diverge most:
The date has passed. Is it still fine?
Printed dates assume an unopened pack; once cut, judge by condition rather than print. Hard cheeses usually survive well past their date — shave off any dried face and carry on. Fresh and soft cheeses are worth taking seriously.
Can I freeze it?
You can, but it will not return the same. Ice crystals cut through the structure, so it weeps and turns crumbly. Cheese destined for cooking can be grated or diced and frozen without much penalty.
Two that freeze very differently:
Is cheese fattening?
It is certainly energy-dense — ten litres of milk compressed into a kilogram. The protein and calcium are concentrated in the same proportion, and a small amount satisfies, so it is harder to overeat than you would think. What usually causes trouble is not the cheese but what it arrives on.
Is cheese really addictive?
The claim circulates widely and the evidence for it is thin. A 2015 American study asked which foods people find hardest to stop eating, pizza came first, and headlines about addictive cheese followed. But the study was about processed foods in general, cheese on its own sat well down the list, and the researchers themselves said they had never connected cheese with addiction. It is true that casomorphins form when milk protein breaks down — but there is no good evidence that they reach the human brain in amounts that do anything. Something being delicious and something being addictive are different claims.
Is cheese safe during pregnancy?
Health authorities advise avoiding soft mould-ripened cheeses and soft blue cheeses, or cooking them until steaming hot. Hard cheeses are considered fine whether or not the milk was pasteurised. Individual circumstances differ, so your own clinician is the authority worth asking.
Below are the ones guidance says to avoid, not ones to seek out:
Why is it so expensive?
A kilogram of cheese takes more than ten litres of milk, and then time is added. A parmigiano wheel weighs about 40 kilograms — near 90 lb — and cannot be sold before twelve months have passed, during which it occupies warehouse space and requires handling. It also loses weight as it ages, and some wheels fail inspection outright. For imported cheese add shipping, duty and refrigerated distribution. The price has reasons. To reduce it, buy large pieces at a warehouse store, and separate what you buy for eating from what you buy for cooking.
The cheese that explains its own price: