Buying Cheese Online: How to Order It Safely

Those are the rules food-safety agencies give for any perishable food sent by mail, and cheese follows them.

Two things decide whether an order goes well: what you order and when it is shipped. Hard cheeses forgive a late truck. Soft, fresh and ripening cheeses do not, so the plan below starts with choosing cheese that can take the trip.

Buying cheese online: which cheeses travel well

The cheeses that travel best when buying cheese online are the hard, long-aged ones. Clemson's extension service names "hard cheese" among the foods that ship well, next to hard salami and country ham. The reason is water: a dry, aged wedge has little free moisture for bacteria and mold to use, and the same extension service says hard cheese generally stays safe for several months when stored properly, while soft cheeses such as Brie, feta and ricotta keep one to three weeks once opened.

In practice, that means Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged Gouda, Comté and Manchego are low-risk purchases. A ripe, runny soft cheese is the risky one. You are paying for a cheese at its peak, and a warm truck can push it past that peak. If you want a soft cheese by mail, order it for the coolest weeks and a short route.

Shipping season and the best day to order

The shipping season for cheese is the cool part of the year, and the best day to order is early in the week. Clemson advises against shipping perishables at the end of the week, so they do not wait at postal facilities over the weekend. A good shop will often hold your order until Monday or Tuesday for exactly that reason.

Summer is the harder season, since the outside of the package is the part you cannot control. A porch in July can undo a good cold pack. For a summer order, pick a hard cheese, ask for the fastest service and choose a day when someone is home. The seasonal buying guide covers what is at its best in each season.

Cold packs and transit time: what to look for

Cold packs and transit time are the two things to check before you pay, because they decide the temperature the cheese reaches at your door. The USDA's food safety service says perishable food should be sent with a cold source, delivered as quickly as possible, ideally overnight, and that the package should be labeled "Keep Refrigerated" (see its mail order food safety page). Clemson lists the same points: frozen gel packs, a sturdy box, empty space filled so contents do not shift.

Before ordering, look on the seller's page for these answers:

• What cold source goes in the box, and what box it is (insulated or plain cardboard).
• Which carrier and service level it ships with, and the usual days in transit to you.
• Which days it ships, and whether it pauses orders in hot weather.
• What the seller does if the box is late or arrives warm.

If a shop's page answers none of these, that tells you something. A seller who ships cheese regularly has a standard answer. If the answer is "ground shipping, five days" for a soft cheese in August, pick another cheese or another seller.

What to do when your cheese arrives

When your cheese arrives, open the box the same day and check the temperature before you do anything else. The food should arrive refrigerator cold, below 40°F by a food thermometer, according to the USDA's food safety service. Stick the thermometer against the cheese, not the air in the box.

Then work through this order:

1. Take the cheese out of the box and check it with a thermometer. Cool and below 40°F means it is fine.
2. Move it to the refrigerator. Clemson says to keep cheese between 35 and 40°F in its original wrapping until use.
3. Inspect the wrapping and the cheese. Leaking brine, a bulging pouch or a sour smell are reasons to contact the seller.
4. Photograph the box, the label and the cheese if anything looks wrong, and keep the packaging.

Some smell is normal. Vacuum-packed cheese often smells stronger or a little sulfurous when you open it, and it usually fades after the cheese breathes for a few minutes. The cheese quality guide helps tell that from real spoilage. For longer-term wrapping once it is open, see how to store cheese properly.

What most online cheese advice gets wrong

Most online cheese advice stops at "pick a reputable shop," and it skips the part you control: timing and temperature. A reputable shop cannot hold a package that sits on your porch for six hours.

Warm is not the same as spoiled for every cheese, but the guidance is strict for a reason. The USDA's food safety service says perishable food above 40°F on arrival means contacting the company, and not eating it or even tasting it, because bacteria can grow without changing taste, smell or look. Clemson's cheese guidance adds a time limit: soft cheeses that have been at room temperature for more than four hours should be thrown out. Hard cheese is more forgiving, but a wedge that arrived warm is a reason to ask the seller to make it right, not to decide for yourself.

The second mistake is not being home. A box left outside is the single point where a good seller loses control. Choose a delivery day you can be there, or ship to an address with someone home.

Questions about buying cheese online

These are the questions about buying cheese online that readers ask most often.

Is buying cheese online safe?

Buying cheese online is safe when the seller ships it cold and fast and you refrigerate it on arrival. The key checks are a cold source in the box, short transit time and a temperature below 40°F when it arrives.

How long can cheese sit in a shipping box?

Cheese in a shipping box should reach you ideally overnight, and perishable food should not sit between 40 and 140°F for more than two hours, according to the USDA's food safety service. Hard cheese tolerates more than soft cheese.

What cheeses ship best?

The cheeses that ship best are hard, aged ones such as Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged Gouda and Comté, since Clemson names hard cheese among the foods that travel well. Soft, ripe cheeses need cold packs and a short route.

What should you do if cheese arrives warm?

If your cheese arrives warm, contact the seller, photograph the package and do not eat it. The USDA's food safety service says food above 40°F on arrival should not be consumed or even tasted.

Is raw-milk cheese sold online?

Raw-milk cheese sold online is the same legal product as in a shop, and the rules on aging and on who should avoid it do not change. See pasteurized vs. raw-milk cheese if you are buying for someone who is pregnant or has a weakened immune system.

Your next online cheese order

Your next online cheese order should be a hard cheese, shipped early in the week by the fastest service, to a day when you are home with a thermometer and an empty refrigerator shelf. If it goes well, add a softer cheese in cool weather. For gifts, see cheeses for gifting; for ordering on a repeat schedule, see the subscription box guide.