This is how long you can store cheese for

Most of us will bin cheese as soon as we spot one teeny tiny sign of mould.

But apparently, you don’t have to waste any of the precious stuff as easily as you thought.

According to food site Tasting Table, cheese has a much longer shelf life than previously thought.

The key to avoiding gone-off cheese is to store it properly in the first place.

Unopened hard cheese – which includes cheddar and parmesan – can actually be kept in the fridge for any time between two and four months. If kept in the freezer, it can last up to eight months.

Once hard cheeses have been opened, they are generally good to go for around six weeks; plenty of time for some serious munching.

Soft cheeses contain a lot more moisture so last for a lot less. The likes of brie, feta and camembert must be eaten within a fortnight of being opened.

For cheeses that don’t fall into the hard or soft category (gruyere and gouda are two examples), storing in a fridge for two to three weeks after they have been opened is the limit. To keep them for longer, store them unopened in a freezer for no more than two months.

If you notice a bit of mould on your beloved cheese, you can generally cut it off. Hard cheeses are the safest when it comes to mould as the green stuff is harder to identify and spreads more easily in soft cheese.

To be really safe, experts advise cutting a few centimetres away from the mould.

But if in doubt, your safest bet is to bin the cheese.

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