"Vilco" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>
>> It kills me to toss out food - I had to chuck a good hunk of Swiss
>> cheese today had allowed to get buried in the fridge and forgot
>> about. Nice green coat, it wore.
>
> Didn't you try to clean the cheese by cutting away a 1/4" layer? It
> actually
> works with many cheeses, and if the mold is only external you can just
> remove a very thin layer, even 1 millimeter. Just make sure there's no
> more
> green on the newly uncovered surface.
>
>
The mold you see is only the fruiting bodies (reproductive organs), which is
less than 1%, the mycilium extends throughout the entire cheese. By the
time you see evidence of mold on food it is well established and should be
thrown out... cutting away the fruiting bodies is like not seeing an
offending image by closing your eyes, it's still there. The mycilium of
mold/fungi are the largest living organisms on the planet, some extend over
many square miles and are estimated to weigh many tons.