How Long Can Cheese Be Left Out?

As with all perishable food, cheese should be stored in the fridge at a temperature below 4 degrees centigrade. The low temperature helps slow the ageing process, making the cheese last longer once opened. Unrefrigerated cheese can provide warm, moist conditions that encourage bacterial growth.

However, cheese lovers know that their favourite food is a complex product. Hard cheeses, soft cheeses, and fresh cheeses all have unique qualities and different textures. Their storage requirements vary depending on the moisture content of the cheese and its age.

Put simply, letting fresh cheese sit on your kitchen counter for a few hours presents a higher risk of creating a food safety issue than leaving out a mature cheddar.

So, how can we safely store cheese according to the characteristics of different types?

Cream cheese

Cream cheese is not a matured cheese and is meant to be eaten fresh rather than stored. It is highly perishable and will spoil quickly if left out of the fridge.

Mould grows quickly on cream cheese. Even worse, fresh cheese at room temperature for more than two hours is an ideal breeding ground for dangerous bacteria such as salmonella and listeria.

This rule still applies when you have used cream cheese to make cake frosting, and the cake should be kept in the fridge.

It is best to eat cheese like cream cheese as it is meant to be enjoyed - as fresh as possible.

Soft cheeses

Soft cheeses still have a high moisture content, which can encourage bacterial growth at room temperature.

However, ripened cheeses like Brie or Camembert are not in the same high-risk food safety category as cream cheese and can be left out of the fridge for about four hours.

Extra care should be taken to ensure that semi-soft cheese, like fresh mozzarella, is kept as cool as possible while unrefrigerated.

Hard cheeses

Less perishable cheeses like Parmesan, Cheddar and pasteurised processed cheeses can be safely left out of the fridge for up to eight hours. These hard-aged cheeses have a lower moisture content than soft cheeses and are less likely to harbour bacterial growth at room temperature.

Hard cheeses were being made, transported, and stored long before the invention of refrigeration. They were preserved in cool, dry conditions.

Nowadays, hard cheeses like our Special Aged Mature Cheddar can be kept in the fridge for months and even frozen without any ill effects.

Tips for keeping hard cheese in the fridge

The best way to keep hard cheese in the fridge is to wrap it in cheese paper or parchment and then put it in a resealable bag. This will keep the cheese dry and prevent other perishable food in your fridge from being tainted by the rich odour of your delicious cheese.

Leaving cheese in the vegetable drawer, the warmest part of the fridge will ensure that it doesn't freeze.

How long can cheese be stored in the fridge?

Unopened hard cheeses can last for a couple of months in the fridge. Once you have cut into the cheese, it will start to deteriorate, so watch out for dehydration and any signs of mould growth.

Soft cheeses can be kept in the fridge for up to a week.

When should I take my cheese out of the fridge?

Low temperatures do affect cheese's flavour and texture. To allow the taste and aroma to develop, it's best to remove hard cheeses from the fridge and let them sit for an hour and a half.

You can enjoy cheeses like ripe brie better if they are allowed to come to room temperature but don’t let cream cheese sit for longer than 30 minutes.

Cheese board

The various storage requirements of different types of cheese have consequences for your cheese board. Of course, your board or cheese tray may include soft, semi-hard and hard cheese.

If the cheese tray is left out for guests for several hours, food safety rules suggest that you may have to throw any leftover Camembert away by the end of the day.