I just got home from the store and opened this expensive block of cheddar to make dinner. There is a small spot of green fuzz on the corner, but the rest of the block looks completely fine. Do I just

of microorganisms. Hard cheeses like cheddar are more resistant to mold penetration due to their dense texture. Mold typically grows on the surface and does not penetrate deeply into hard cheeses, making it generally safe to cut away the affected area, provided you remove a sufficient margin around the mold.

In contrast, soft cheeses have a higher moisture content, which allows mold to spread more easily throughout the cheese. In such cases, the entire block should be discarded, as cutting off the moldy part might not remove all contamination.