Can You Freeze The Cheese?

[Deleted member 478]

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Can you freeze the cheese John Clease?
So long as you thaw it out for longer that it takes to pour a Guinness Stout.

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[BrendanS]

I regularly freeze hard cheeses such as Cheddar. Not sure about soft cheeses, as never tried it.

 

[Deleted member 478]

Thanks Brendan. How long will it last in a freezer?

Have you tried the semi-hards eg brie, Camembert (sp), mozzarella (sp)?

 

[Sixpence]

Had to check with Louise to confirm my thoughts and according to her, any cheese other than cottage cheese will freeze and remain perfectly alright in the freezer for months.
She also asked me to pass on her best wishes and ask how things are going these days ?

 

[BrendanS]

I've just looked at the guide on my freezer, and it says 4-8 months (assuming you keep the freezer at stable temperature the whole time), but I usually use within 3 months. Never tried semi-hards, tho I imagine that Mozzarella would be fine. Cheese tends to become a bit crumbly after freezing, but taste fine, and perfectly good for cooking and in sandwiches etc. I'd freeze in relatively small blocks, rather than big ones.

 

[Deleted member 478]

Thank you. That's probably as much info as I need to know (and can digest).

So that's tomorrow's task; buying several kilo's of cheese from the local supermarket, repack it into small portions, drop it off at the local butcher who has a super cold freezer and a thirst for a free beer in exchange for a small favour.

He's also busy with small portions of vacuum packed chicken breasts, rumps steaks, sausages... bla bla bla.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Why do you want to freeze cheese?

Cheeses are kept in rooms that have a constant low temperature while they are maturing. As far as I know, cheese producers do not freeze them.

Hard cheeses like Parmiggiano, Pecorino Romano and similar do not go bad if kept at not too high a temperature.

Soft(ish) cheese like Brie and Camembaert age quite rapidly as does the crust, which grows thicker.

As for Mozzarella, I don't really know what you have in mind; real Mozzarella is made in the Salernitana Region on the Western side of Italy. It is made from buffalo milk (latte di bufala) and is best consumed within 3-4 days of manufacture, otherwise it turns very rubbery. You can tell by cutting it in half and pressing it lightly with a fork - a drop of white liquid should ooze out, like a teardrop.

With cheese it is best to buy not too large a quantity, and to replenish as necessary. IMO.

 

[PeteCooper]

Mozarella must be fine to freeze as it is on the top of lots of frozen pizzas.

 

[BrendanS]

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Why do you want to freeze cheese?.... With cheese it is best to buy not too large a quantity, and to replenish as necessary. IMO.

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Becase, when long distance cruising, there aren't many shops around, so if you don't stock up and store in a way the food won't go off, you tend to run out of food?

 

[l'escargot]

Cheeses for deep frying in breadcrumbs such as Brie, Mozarella and Camembert are also (sold) frozen.

 

[peterb]

You can certainly freeze Stilton. We used to be given a whole Stilton each Christmas. We cut it up into suitably sized pieces, wrapped them separately and froze them. We were still eating them in June.

 

[Heckler]

hee hee!!

 

[Skents]

Not relevant really if you have a freezer but a couple of handy hints for those with limited power.....

Cheese - we found that cheddar or similar will last for ages (we've managed 3 months) if you immerse it in olive oil. The flavour gets stronger and the oil is great for salad dressing.

Bread - this sounds weird but, trust me, it does work.....when you get a loaf paint the outside with vinegar and wrap loaf tightly in cling film. It lasts for up to a month. If it does start to go a bit green then cut the outside off and do it again.

Bay leaves as weevil preventative - in our experience this is b*ll*cks. Had flour liberally strewn with bay leaves and still ended up with flour that moved. Nice.....but we used it anyway and no one died...extra protein!

 

[Malcb]

I think it's only full fat cheeses that you can freeze, the same with cream.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I don't think that we are talking about the same thing!

You will <u>not</u> find Real mozzarella on a frozen pizza! Real, genuine, mozzarella sells at €11-12 per kilo when bought in bulk and carries a label showing its protected status, something like this:

As for 'keeping' it, since it is a fresh food it needs to be consumed within a few days. It is best preserved in its own liquid, in a cool place; in summer it may be kept in a refrigerator but never at a temperature that is lower than 12 degrees Celsius.

This page explains it all; unfortunately for some of you it is in Italian. However, the numbers for the temperature do not need translating. (see item 2 on that page).

Unfortunately, what is generically referred to as Mozzarella, quite often has no resemblance to the real thing. Anyone who has savoured genuine Mozzarella di bufala will know the difference!

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

[ QUOTE ]

Cheese - we found that cheddar or similar will last for ages (we've managed 3 months) if you immerse it in olive oil. The flavour gets stronger and the oil is great for salad dressing.


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I can confirm that because I do it with cheeselets (local speciality). You can also 'pickle' them in strong brine made with sea salt, if you can take salt.

 

[Deleted member 478]

Thanks all, this has been a very informative thread.

 

[ccscott49]

When you get the chesse frozen by your butcher, get him to vacumn pack it at the same time, helps prevent the crumbling, due to freezing. In my experience most cheeses freeze well, I have frozen, cheddar, lancashire, stilton, parmigana (sp?) brie, camenbert, roqueforte, dolce latte and red leicster. All of those for over three months and still good.

 

[nelly1]

All the hard cheeses freeze well but tend to crumble as already mentioned - fine for cooking. Worth freezing some grated too. Mozzarella works for me, generally the better the original the better it will taste afterwards, definitely fine for cooking. Stilton already discussed, but also keeps for ages anyway as long as not allowed to get sweaty.

Soft cheeses freeze well in general but bear in mind that they will no longer ripen - freeze once 'as you like 'em'!!

 

[rogerdog]

Have done it many times - works very well- but make sure it's in small pieces as frozen its very difficult to cut !

Incidentally can be grated and used direct from frozen works well for cheddars etc.


Is it a s good as non -frozen bought fresh - of course not but used in cooking or if you have no other cheese -its very acceptable.

PS supermarket "mozzarella" freezes fine - I take mine out of the liquid - slice, and bundle small 'stacks' in cling film so one pack will do one meal -saves space and time onboard.