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It is something most of us prefer not to see when we open our fridge.

But photographer Nick Lariontsev has captured mould in a way that may make you look at that out-of-date bread and cheese in a different way.

Using macroscopic photography techniques, he has created a strangely beautiful timelapse video that shows mould fungi as it grows and spread.

Using macroscopic photography, Russian photographer Nick Lariontsev has created a captivating yet stomach-churning timelapse video that shows mould fungi as it grows and spread (grab shown)

The multicellular filaments slowly spread across the Petri dish before forming mounds and ridges that look more like the alien landscape of another planet.

He has also managed to capture the tiny spores on the end of stalks that give many moulds their dusty appearance.

Mr Lariontsev, a photographer based in Russia who posted the video on YouTube, said it took him between two and eight days to capture each of the individual sequences in the film.

Among the moulds he filmed using a specially designed set-up was part of the Aspergillus genus, which commonly forms on starchy foods and are also used to help produce sake from rice.

Mesmerising timelapse shows skin-crawling mould growing

Among the moulds in the film are the Aspergillus genus, which commonly forms on starchy foods and are also used to help produce sake from rice. The fungi Cladosporium, which usually grows on dead plant material, are also shown growing their brown and black branches, and the soil-based fungi Trichoderma

The fungi Cladosporium, which usually grows on dead plant material, are also shown growing their brown and black branches, along with the soil-based fungi Trichoderma.

The fungi Botrytis, which often infects on soft fruit like strawberries and grapes, and the fungi Mucor, which grows on rotting vegetation, were also captured.

Mr Lariontsev set up the Petri dish where he grew his mould so that it would slowly rotate - making one turn every seven days.

The result is a rather stomach-churning but strangely captivating four-minute long video showing the fungi as few people will have seen it before. 

The fungi Botrytis, which often infects on soft fruit like strawberries and grapes, and the fungi Mucor, which grows on rotting vegetation, were also captured. Mr Lariontsev set up the Petri dish where he grew his mould so that it would slowly rotate - making one turn every seven days 

THE RECIPE THAT CAN STOP CHEESE FROM GOING MOULDY

It sounds more like the recipe for a good pasta sauce, but scientists have created a new edible coating that extends the shelf-life of cheese from seafood, rosemary and oregano.

The transparent film uses extracts from the shells of crustaceans with oregano and rosemary oils to keep cheese from drying out and help prevent the growth of fungus and bacteria.

Tests have shown that the coating is as effective as anti-fungal chemicals and plastic coatings that are currently used to protect some cheeses by the dairy industry.

The researchers claim that the new coating will be particularly useful for soft cheeses like ricotta but could also help prevent mature cheeses like brie and blue cheeses from spoiling.

While helping to prevent the cheese from going off, it is also completely edible and so will not need to be removed like some artificial rinds that are used.

Professor Chelo González, a researcher at the Institute of Food Engineering for Development of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, said: 'The most common causes of deterioration are excessive surface dehydration and the growth of micro-organisms such as fungus or yeasts.

'These produce a strange flavour or odour, a slimy texture and a significant visual alteration.

'Using a natural and edible product reduces the fungal problems and controls the weight loss during the maturing.'

The researchers coated Tronchon cheese (labelled queso Tronchon recubierto) with a combination of chitosan, which is extracted from crustacean shells, and essential oils from rosemary and oregano