Parmesan, you mouldy menace – you’ve ruined my pasta!
26.8.2026
Translation: Katherine Martin
Sometimes, blindly grabbing something out of the fridge is enough to ruin both your dinner and your mood. But there’s a handy lesson to be learned from my Parmesan-inspired «fromagedy».
On the face of it, a bag of grated Parmesan is a convenient thing. There’s no pre-dinner faffing around with a cheese grater. You simply pour the pre-grated stuff over your pasta, and you’re ready to rock. Unbeknownst to me, however, a mould colony had formed at the very bottom of my bag of Parmesan, festering away under the pristine, untouched shavings of cheese at the top.
What can I say? I ended up with green crumbs decorating my bolognese like snow on a Christmas tree. To add insult to injury, I’d given that same bolognese three blissful hours to simmer the day before.
Bin: open. Food: in. Anika: hangry. Not good.
But this cheese-inspired tragedy could’ve been avoided. Parmesan isn’t a delicate beast by any means. It’s a hard cheese, aged for two years or longer, and could, in theory, last almost forever. The problem isn’t the lactic acid bacteria in the cheese factories of Parma. The problem is me.
I’m too lazy to grate cheese, so I refuse to buy it in block form – although a block would last longer. Plus, if a block did start to go mouldy, you could maybe just slice off the bad chunk. Nope, I buy pre-grated Parmesan, clip the bag shut with a clothes peg, then toss it carelessly into the farthest corner of the fridge.
Yeah, yeah. I know. I only have myself to blame. In any case, here are four tips that’ll help you, at least, do things better.
Reseal the bag properly after opening it
To keep air and moisture out of opened bags of cheese, roll up the bag tightly and seal it airtight with a food-storage clip. An even better way to do it is to immediately transfer the grated cheese to a small screw-top jar or an airtight container.
Check the bag regularly
Every now and then, open the bag, take a quick sniff and give the grated cheese a shake – especially if the bag has been open for a few days. It’ll take you less than 20 seconds and might just rescue your next batch of bolognese from ruin.
Source: Anika Schulz
Freeze your cheese if you’ve got too much
Grated Parmesan freezes really well in a proper container. It doesn’t go rancid, it barely loses any flavour and it can be sprinkled onto hot pasta straight from frozen. Simply scrape the cheese out with a clean fork, then stick the container straight back in the freezer. Don’t defrost it!
Real Parmesan and a decent grater
My colleague Simon, our resident food and kitchen appliance expert, gave me the following advice: «Anika, just get yourself one of these and buy a block of cheese. It’s just as quick, and tastes much better.» I’ll consider it.
Want to know how my evening turned out after the cheese drama? Well, I ordered a pizza. At least when you do that, you know exactly what’s on it.
Header image: Pixabay/Ritae
Anika Schulz
Teamleader Editorial
Anika.Schulz@galaxus.deAs a child, I was socialised with Mario Kart on SNES before ending up in journalism after graduating from high school. As a team leader at Galaxus, I'm responsible for news. I'm also a trekkie and an engineer.
Opinion
This is a subjective opinion of the editorial team. It doesn't necessarily reflect the position of the company.
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