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Key takeaways
- Rewrap them in wax paper or parchment, in a loosely closed container, so they can breathe.
- Once cut, they keep roughly 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge.
- An ammonia smell is common and usually fades after 30 minutes at room temperature.
- The white mold is supposed to be there. Fuzzy green, black or pink mold on a soft cheese is not: throw it out.
Let it breathe
Brie and Camembert are still ripening after you buy them, and the mold on the rind gives off ammonia as it does. In a cheese shop's case the cheese can breathe, so you never notice. In tight plastic, or at very cold temperatures, the ammonia has nowhere to go and builds up. When you get a wheel home from the grocery store, take off the plastic and rewrap it in wax paper or parchment, and put that in a resealable bag or a container, leaving an opening so some air can get in.
Cheese storage paper
Cheese paper lets cheese breathe, so it keeps better than in plastic.
Check price on AmazonHow long they keep
Soft-ripened cheeses like Brie and Camembert keep roughly 1 to 2 weeks once cut. Treat that as a ballpark, not a promise: how it is wrapped and how cold your fridge runs both matter, and the date on the package is usually about quality, not safety. How long does cheese last? has the rest of the cheeses.
The ammonia smell
If you open it and get a cloud of ammonia, it doesn't always mean the cheese is bad. Unwrap it, rewrap it so it can breathe, and leave it out for at least 30 minutes before serving. The smell fades as the cheese comes up to room temperature. If there's no visible mold growth, it is probably fine to eat. If it still tastes too sharp for you, it's past its best: you can bake it, or let it go and get a fresh one.
When mold means throw it out
Brie and Camembert are made with mold on purpose, and the white rind is that mold, so it is supposed to be there. But if a different mold shows up, such as a fuzzy green, black or pink one, throw the cheese out. Soft cheeses can't be rescued by cutting the mold off, because moisture lets mold threads and bacteria spread well beyond what you can see. And if the cheese is slimy, or smells off in a way that has nothing to do with its normal funk, it isn't worth the stomachache. Can you cut the mold off cheese? explains which cheeses you can save.