Tracy Norris
The best-before date is a knock-out criterion for many consumers: mozzarella has expired, rancid butter – the products often end up directly in the garbage for fear of food poisoning. But does it have to be? When is mozzarella bad and can you eat rancid butter? All about the shelf life of dairy products.
Running out of mozzarella, rancid butter – how long do dairy products keep?
Supermarkets often offer foods made from milk at lower prices because their sell-by date (BBD) is approaching. Many customers ask themselves whether the purchase is still worthwhile. Because whether it’s expired mozzarella or rancid butter: the fear of food poisoning is great.
What is the shelf life of cheese and mozzarella?
The higher the water content, the faster the cheese becomes inedible. You should pay attention to this:
- Unopened hard cheese can still be eaten several months after the best-before date.
- Unopened, soft cheese can be kept for several days to weeks after the best-before date.
However, you should check the shelf life and best-before date of mozzarella in particular: According to Stiftung Warentest, Italian soft cheese is repeatedly contaminated with germs. Then it smells sour and becomes greasy – the mozzarella is bad. It is best to only buy packs that have a shelf life of about 14 days. Incidentally, this deadline also applies to packaged grated cheese.
Is rancid butter bad for me?
Expired butter can be stored in a cool place for around three weeks after the best-before date. But you have to be careful if you store the butter outside, regardless of whether it has already opened or not: the fat spread can quickly become rancid. Rancid butter often causes diarrhea in sensitive people.
If you don’t want to throw them away, you can make clarified butter out of them: heat the butter in a saucepan and skim off the foam, pour it into a glass, and store it in a cool place.
Milk or UHT milk has expired – what now?
Milk can be kept unopened for several days after the best-before date. The following applies:
- Fresh milk keeps for about two to three days.
- If the milk has spoiled, it becomes thick and smells or tastes sour.
It’s different with UHT milk: You can store the homogenized milk for up to eight weeks after the best-before date. But as soon as you open UHT milk, it becomes just as sensitive as fresh milk. Therefore, UHT milk should be consumed within three days. Unlike fresh milk, it doesn’t smell sour, but it still becomes inedible.
How long are quarks and yogurt still edible after they have expired?
Unopened, yogurt, quark, and other acidified milk products such as sour cream or sour cream can still taste good for ten to 14 days beyond the best-before date. If the yogurt lid is curved, you should not eat it. The same applies when sour cream has expired.
Attention: Only with kefir is the curved lid a sign of quality. The taste test helps with quark: if it is bitter, it is better not to eat it. In general, mold growth is always a warning sign here. Open products should be consumed within three to four days.
