Eli5 your food has mold so you throw it out. Except for cheese, you just cut off that bit and keep going. Why is molded cheese still safe to eat, unlike bread or chicken?

Question

Eli5 your food has mold so you throw it out. Except for cheese, you just cut off that bit and keep going. Why is molded cheese still safe to eat, unlike bread or chicken?

In: 5187

Answer 1

One thing to keep in mind is that mold thrives in moisture. In foods that you can cut the mold off, there is less moisture in the interior of the food, such as the hard cheeses others have named, and carrots or other (mostly root) vegetables. Moisture affects whether a food feels hard or soft so it moisture and hardness are inseparable and not really worth distinguishing in the conversation but the outside of those hard foods get moldy because the environment they’re stored in has enough moisture.