Abe > wrote in news:4ec58297i4l9vqnotk7tklocfupc0j2vub@
4ax.com:

>>once you have broken the seal on a packet of cheese, it generally goes
>>off in a few weeks, whereas butter will last months (maybe a year) in
>>the fridge before it's inedible. but they're both made of basically the
>>same thing. how does this work?
> It has to do with milk solids, which go bad quickly.
> Butter has very few milk solids, it's almost pure fat, while cheese is
> mostly milk solids. Hence cheese goes bad much faster.
> Milk goes bad even faster than cheese because it's not as dense as
> cheese, and bacteria can infiltrate much more easily.


I have a hunk of parmesan reggiano in the frige I've been using for about
6 months. No mold. Also have a new since purchased (after almost a year)
peccorino romano block of cheese that hasn't molded. I've also had kraft
sharp cheddar mold after two weeks. Don't know if it's the enzymes or
lack of them that keeps cheese healthy.

Andy