I bought a Le Rustique camembert last weekend and when we opened it mid-week it was horribly overripe. I should have checked the best-by date at the supermarket but didn't. Turns out it was the day on which I bought it. Can anybody think of a way to use it, or will I have to consign $20 to the compost bin?

wasala - 2019-11-24 10:45:00

Has it gone ammoniacal and stinky? I think you'll have to throw it away. It may not have been stored correctly at the supermarket as usually there s a fair bit of leeway around the best-by dates on cheeses.

davidt4 - 2019-11-24 11:03:00

How do you mean horribly overripe? I deliberately buy short dated soft cheese that is gooey and runny because it tastes better and that’s how it’s supposed to be but if the crust is slimy and going orange then it’s only fit for the bin unfortunately.

sarahb5 - 2019-11-24 11:56:00

davidt4 wrote:

Has it gone ammoniacal and stinky? I think you'll have to throw it away. It may not have been stored correctly at the supermarket as usually there s a fair bit of leeway around the best-by dates on cheeses.

Yes, it has. It's dry on the outside, solid rather than runny, and has a bitter aftertaste. It wasn't my usual supermarket or I'd have taken it back. I can't quite remember how it was stored there, but it must have been in a refrigerated cabinet.

I've binned it now and will always check best-by dates in future!

Edited by wasala at 3:21 pm, Sun 24 Nov

wasala - 2019-11-24 15:20:00

There is no such thing like over ripe .
Its at its best just before the maggots get in, my grandmother taught me

lilyfield - 2019-11-24 15:25:00

lilyfield wrote:

There is no such thing like over ripe .
Its at its best just before the maggots get in, my grandmother taught me

My feelings too - I find the Camembert and Brie here completely tasteless as they are usually stored in the fridge until they’re served and mostly unripened. Although if badly stored things can go wrong.

sarahb5 - 2019-11-24 16:47:00

lilyfield wrote:

There is no such thing like over ripe .
Its at its best just before the maggots get in, my grandmother taught me

I've bought Camembert here - and in Europe, many, many times and usually the softer and gooier the better. I can assure you that you wouldn't have liked this one. Perhaps overripe is a bad description, but I can't think of any other way to put it. The skin was dry and bitter and the inside was solid and pungent.

wasala - 2019-11-24 20:36:00