Can You Freeze Cheese?
There are a few caveats when it comes to stashing cheese in the freezer.
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Do you find yourself with an abundance of cheese? Don’t worry, you can freeze most cheeses for a month (at least) without significant damage to taste or texture. Thank cheeseness! Read on to learn our tips on the very best way to store cheese in the freezer, plus additional helpful tips about freezing different varieties.
How Does Freezing Affect Cheese?
Many soft cheeses don’t freeze well, and here’s why. Soft cheese contains a lot of moisture. When that moisture freezes, it expands and ruptures the cheese’s cell walls. When the cheese thaws, it has little structure left and weeps out the moisture, becoming crumbly or grainy in the process. Yuck.
Some cheeses with less moisture do freeze well. In the freezer, they can last for up to six months according to the USDA. Bear in mind that when they’re thawed, they might have slightly less flavor or thaw less well.
Note that freezing does not affect the nutrients in cheese.
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Cheeses that Freeze Well
In general, blocks of processed cheese like cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, etc. that have a smooth and uniform texture freeze quite well. Hard cheeses tend to freeze well because they contain very little moisture, meaning there’s not much in the cheese that will expand upon freezing and damage the cell walls. However, note that hard cheeses do last for a long time in the refrigerator: up to six months before opening and up to four weeks afterwards, so you might not need to freeze them at all.
- Processed block cheeses
- Cheddar (aged cheddar will become crumbly but won’t lose its taste)
- Swiss
- Parmesan
- Camembert
- Muenster
- Provolone
- Blue (will become crumbly but won’t lose its taste)
- Edam
- Romano
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Cheeses that Don’t Freeze Well
That expensive wheel local cheese? Yeah, it’s the opposite of a block of processed cheese, meaning it will not freeze well. Break out the crackers and finish it instead! Also, fresh cheeses that contain tons of water don’t freeze well because, as already mentioned above, that water expands during freeing and damages the texture and flavor of the cheese. Your best bet is eating fresh cheese soon after buying — it’ll last for a week in the refrigerator.
- Cottage cheese
- Ricotta
- Brie
- Cream cheese
- Mascarpone
- Processed cheese slices
How to Freeze Hard and Semi-Hard Cheeses
- Portion the cheese. Cut a block of cheese into chunks that are a few inches wide.
- Wrap in parchment paper and foil. Wrap each chunk tightly and fully with a layer of parchment paper and then a layer of tinfoil.
- Place in a resealable plastic bag. Transfer the wrapped pieces to a resealable plastic bag, suck out all of the air, seal the bag and label it with the contents and date.
- Store the cheese in the freezer for up to 6 months.
How to Freeze Soft Cheeses
- Grate the cheese. Grate cheeses like mozzarella or young cheddar.
- Place in a resealable plastic bag. Transfer the wrapped pieces to a resealable plastic bag, suck out all of the air, seal the bag and label it with the contents and date.
- Store the cheese in the freezer for up to 6 months.
How to Thaw Frozen Cheese
When you want to use the cheese, transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw and then use it up as quickly as possible. This might take up to a day, depending on the size of the cheese, but thawing it slowly is important because it allows the moisture to be reabsorbed into the cheese.
How to Cook with Frozen Cheese
Because freezing can compromise cheese’s texture, it’s best not to eat it raw. Instead, use it in dishes you’ll cook like soups, sauces or casseroles.
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