Fizzy cheese?

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

My wife and I recently brought back some cheese from Turkey that was packed in olive oil. When she opened the jar, the little cheeses began emitting bubbles. I mean, like Champagne – lots of bubbles. Why would that be?

This is fairly sharp, young cheese (sheep, I think). This is a genuine farm product, purchased at a shop run by the brothers of a man we know. There are no labels on any of their jars or bottles (olive oils, jams, candied pumpkin).

What would make the bubbles? CO2 from some fermentation of the cheese? It smells fine, which is consistent with CO2.

2

Could be from Bacteria. I would not eat.

George

3

Well, I didn’t read your post until now and we did and 24 hours later I’m fine.

And from a little poking around on Google, it seems that cheese does produce CO2. Aged in open air, you wouldn’t notice this. But with a young cheese in a sealed jar of olive oil, I can see how the CO2 would build up and be released only when the jar was opened – just like opening a bottle of soda or beer.