Cheese

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

WarEagle72

Assistant Cook
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
3
Location
Birmingham, AL
Is it really only good for 5 days? Every package I see has 'use within 5 days of opening'. Is there any way to make it last longer? To be honest I never noticed that warning until lately and I know we used to keep blocks of cheese in the fridge for awhile.
 
If it was only good for five days... we'd sure waste a lot of cheese around here.
I open mine and then wrap it in plastic wrap and then stick it into a baggie. Seems to last a very long time. If it does get a spot of mold I just cut it off and eat the rest.
 
It all depends on the type of cheese. Generally, the harder the cheese, the longer it will last. Hard cheeses like Parmesan Regiano or Pecorino Romano can last many weeks or even months. Soft cheeses will spoil much faster, some could go bad after a week or so.
 
No problem at all. Check back in an hour or two. I'm sure that there'll be lots more people with different opinions.

Welcome to the group!
 
Yes, if it is a soft or fresh creamy type cheese (mozzarella, robiola, stracchino, ricotta etc), I would use them within something like 5 days, but for a harder dryer cheese, you wouldn't have to worry about it too much... if you spot some green stuff you can cut off that part clean and they are still perfectly safe to use. Or if you are in doubt you can freeze most of the cheeses (except for... of course, the fresh soft ones...) you can cut them in small portions and defrost as you go.
 
Yeppers to what everyone said. But I will also add (because pds is right we all jump in) that it's not always wise to buy large blocks of cheese. It will eventually degrade in the fridge -- dry up or mold. Cheese needs to breath, so wrapping it in wax paper or parchment, then into a ziplock is often the best way to keep.

You can freeze hard cheeses but the texture and (IMO) the taste suffers. They get mealy. Good for cooking, though.

I don't have one, but people have said that vacuum-style food savers work really well for cheese.
 
jennyema said:
You can freeze hard cheeses but the texture and (IMO) the taste suffers. They get mealy. Good for cooking, though.

I don't have one, but people have said that vacuum-style food savers work really well for cheese.

Jenny is right... I had "for cooking" in mind when I mentioned freezing... also parmigiano and seasoned pecorino can be grated and used for pasta etc. after being defrosted no problem...

YES, the vacuum sealer!! We bought some pecorino cheese while we were holidaying in Sardinia (local specialty!). We had it vacuum packed and they were still in perfect shape almost after 2 months!! It is our next kitchen gadget to buy for sure!!
 
Here is another vote for vacuum sealers. That is the main reason I bought mine and we have not had a piece of cheese go bad since we started using it.
 
I find that that different cheeses get spoilt differently. Gruyere for example which is a good cheese that cooks well takes longer than emmental which doesn't cook well(cannot stand heat for too long) Also if you buy Parmagrino that is not grated and you grate it yourself each time you need it, it lasts longer than the grated ones.
 
Back
Top Bottom