First rule of cheese storage: Do not directly wrap it in plastic! If the cheese comes in plastic wrap, remove it immediately.
Cheese storage is one of those confounding subjects. If you buy a really nice cheese, you don't want to ruin it with a lack of parenting skills, right? Perhaps you know how you shouldn't store cheese. But do you know how you should? Proper preservation of cheese is easier than you think.
The first thing to know: DO NOT store your cheese in plastic wrap! Wrapping cheese directly in plastic is the equivalent of flavor suffocation. Cheese is a living, breathing thing, and closing it off to air is just about the worst thing you can do to it. Plus, plastic wrap has a taste, and it takes just a day for that flavor to start making its way into the face of the cheese.
The best way to store your cheese is in cheese paper. The next best thing (and probably the easier way) is to wrap your cheese first in parchment or waxed paper, and then loosely in plastic wrap or a plastic baggie. This method provides a bit of breathability for the cheese without it drying out.
• Place the parchment or waxed paper flat on your counter with the wedge on top, and then bring the edges of the paper up and around the cheese, creasing as you go to make neat, clean folds. You can use tape to secure if you'd like.
• Label the paper with the cheese variety and date.
• A loose plastic wrap or a plastic bag over the paper generally keeps things tight (and keeps out fridge odors).
• Keep your cheese in the warmest part of the refrigerator, like in your cheese or vegetable drawer. An even better method is to designate a large tupperware container as your cheese home, where all of your cheese pieces can live.
• But don't forget about your cheese once it's in your fridge! Ideally, you should buy as much cheese as you think you'll consume in one to two sittings. Try bringing home small quantities more often so that so that you don't have to store it, since home refrigeration preys on those uneaten, forgotten wedges.
Note: Just in case someone is curious, the cheese shown above is a very delicious aged Gouda from Old Amsterdam. So good.
Nora Singley is an avid lover of cheese, and for some time she was a Cheesemonger and the Director of the Cheese Course at Murray's Cheese Shop in New York City. She is currently an assistant chef on The Martha Stewart Show.
Related: The Cheesemonger's Top Ten Rules for Ultimate Cheese Sanity
(Images: Faith Durand)
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Ahhh...cheese. Unfortunately, any cheese that makes it into our apartment is gone in approximately 1 hour. My husband is like one big mouse.
view bitdot's profile
as a cheesemonger, i just want to say yes! yes! i feel so sad selling someone a piece of cheese that is still fresh and delicious without also giving them all the info they need to keep it that way for a while.
also, i don't know if this is the right place for it, but how about a post on putting cheese in the freezer? i know it is terrible for most cheeses, but have no idea why. and i've also heard (from customers) that they have done it with no problems. i can't imagine cheese being happy that cold, though, and i don't overbuy so i never feel like testing it.
thanks! as a cheese dork i always
view glittercore's profile
Two questions for the cheesemonger!
1. I read somewhere that a cheese dome was the preferred way to store cheese in the fridge, even over the cheese papers. Any truth to that?
2. If I keep blue cheese anywhere near other cheeses, they all go moldy. Is it okay to keep blue cheese airtight?
Thanks!
view tasterspoon's profile
I'm confused...people actually STORE cheese? Mine gets sacrificed eaten too quickly. (Shame on me!)
view culinaryclueless's profile
This, like those gadgets to keep half-drunk bottles of wine from going bad, is not an issue in my house.
view Onepot's profile
Mmmm... Old Amsterdam Gouda. Mmmmm... It's usually gone before it has half a chance of going bad. :^)
view kibitzknitz's profile
Although I live in France with our hundreds of great cheeses I still prefer cheddar for cheese and tomato sandwiches or macaroni cheese. Whenever I find a good source I stock up and freeze some for sauces. It seems to work fine.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
I am ALL for the cheese tupperware. Not only does it keep the fridge smelling fresh, but it sort of edits the amount of cheese I let myself buy, since there's only so much space. Plus it keeps me from misplacing my delicious goodies behind other items.
view sarahbelle's profile
Does this mean I should unwrap each slice of my Kraft Singles?
view Yashvan_Chacham's profile
There is another tricky issue with soft cheeses like Camembert. They taste best at room temperature, but once they are warmed up and gone soft, they don't taste as good if you refrigerate and store them a second time. I try to estimate how much I am going to eat, cut that off and let it warm up, while keeping the rest in the fridge.
And, it pays to buy cheese from a proper cheese shop, because there are some cheeses that you just can't bring to the proper point of maturity at home or in the supermarket.
view mcgreg's profile
Any thoughts on long term storage? Or which cheeses keep the best? I live an hour and half away from good cheese [and forget a proper cheese shop!] and have the opportunity to stock up only once a month or so.
view erika in iowa's profile
@ Yashvan_Chacham- Lol.
view bkk's profile
I'm so bad about using cheese before it goes bad. I always forget it's in there. No, I'm not sure how.
ABreadADay.com
view eprewitt's profile
Erika, some of the harder cheeses will happily last for MONTHS. (or years, really) Which seems crazy at first, but then makes sense when you realize that one of the reasons cheese was invented and enthusiastically embraced by our ancestors was because it was a great way to store nutritious milk for long term.
Consider this the next time you buy a really good, expensive aged cheddar - it could be years old!
The best hard cheeses for long term lasting that I know off the top of my head are cheddar, aged swiss (not baby), parmesan, that sort of thing.
I recieved a huge block of a cheese called "Serena" as a gift. Not exactly the kind of cheese I snack on, but fabulous for cooking with, so I've been slowly whittling it down instead of snarfing it.
I've had the block for A YEAR. It's much smaller than it was originally, but nary a speck of mold on it. At this point I'm going to have to name the thing and keep it as a refrigerator pet.
view Kaete's profile