A cheese question

I know, at least I have always heard, that you can't freeze cheese. Why? What would happen if you did? Just curious. I hope some of you cheese experts can clear this up for me.

Depends on the kind, some you can, some not.

 Freezing some cheeses will separate the milk fat from the water. The water molecules expand in the cheese as it freezes. I know from experience that Cheddar does not freeze well. I haven't tried to freeze any cheese since then.

David O.

boyardee65
 

 I know from experience that Cheddar does not freeze well. I haven't tried to freeze any cheese since then.

David O.

Actually, I've found that cheddar freezes quite well after being vacuum sealed with my FoodSaver.

After 37 years as a grocery dairy manager, I can tell you boyardee65 is correct in his physical description of what happens when cheese freezes.  To put it very simply, if there is a fairly high percentage of moisture (water) in the cheese, when you freeze it, you will get the best crumbled/shredded cheese you could hope for after thawing.  If you are planning to use it in cooking, the cheese will be perfect and you will have no problems, but just don't try to slice or cube it!

Thanks for the information. The explanation (high water content) makes sense. I'm glad to know it can be frozen and then cooked.

Can't feeze cream cheese.  A friend asked me to make a dessert for her using her frozen cream cheese.  It was gritty and terrible for the very reason given above. 

I do freeze shredded cheese on occasion and can still use it as long as it is heated and cooked before eating. 

We do separate the large bags of shredded cheese from Costco into gallon-sized freezer bags and freeze them.

Have never frozen the blocks or slices - they store well in the fridge for years if necessary...

I have trouble w/ my blocks molding. Unless they are vac sealed. Any tips?
Joe

I store my 2# blocks of sharp cheddar in a zip lock freezer bag that has had as much of the air sucked out prior to sealing as I can pull. Then I store that in the dairy compartment. My fridge is kept at just above freezing. A block lasts me two months and I get no mold.

One thing that is absolutely vital to keeping the mold away is a dry environment inside the bag.

PapaJoe,  other than vaccuum sealed, I have had good luck with wrapping cheese tightly in aluminum foil.

PapaJoe8


I have trouble w/ my blocks molding. Unless they are vac sealed. Any tips?
Joe

One thing that should help prevent mold during long-term refrigeration is to "paint" on a  very thin coating of oil (cottonseed or canola, but not "flavored" oils like olive or peanut....or BP) on all sides (and edges) of the cheese with a pastry brush before putting it in a zip-log bag with the air squeezed out as much as possible.  It used to be that the trick was to rub butter over all the surfaces before storage, but, any more, spreads and even some butters are so high in water that many of them do little good in keeping air from the cheese over the long term.  I would think that clarified butter (as long as you didn't dip your brush into any water layer at the bottom), would also work very well "painted on".  Upon taking the cheese out for use, just gently wipe the oil from the surface.
 
You do realize, of course, that even if the cheese does get some mold on the surface, that it can be timmed off and the rest of the cheese is perfectly good to eat.