Keeping / Storing Cheese...

[karadekoolaid]

... we bought a buffalo mozzerella from a slow food specialist yesterday and he begged us NOT to refrigerate it, but to leave it out and then eat it very fresh. We ate it last night and it certainly was delcious, although it was 39 degrees here yesterday and I was very worried that we were risking our health. We are still here this morning though

I'd put the buffalo mozzarella in the fridge, regardless of what your specialist says. We're in a tropical climate here; I buy buffalo mozzarella frequently (like two or three times a week!) and I'd recommend fridging it! I wouldn't expect the cheese to last for more than 4-5 days, though...

 

[Dove]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Refrigerator
Here are some tips for storing cheese in the refrigerator:

• To keep cheese from drying out, wrap all cheeses tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil before storing.
• Aged cheese will continue to age during storage.
• Hard cheeses will keep for 3 to 4 weeks.
• Softer cheeses will keep from 1 to 2 weeks.
• Large pieces of cheese tend to keep longer than smaller ones.
• Fresh cheeses, such as cottage cheese and cream cheese, have a higher water content and are more perishable than hard cheeses. They don't improve with age and should be used by the use-by date on the package.
• To help prevent mold, change the wrapping each time you use cheese. Mold is fairly harmless. If present, simply trim away 1/2 inch of cheese on all sides of the mold area, then use the remaining cheese as quickly as possible.

Freezer
Most hard cheeses can be frozen, but their texture will change. Use thawed cheese for crumbling or shredding, using as a topping or for blending into uncooked dishes. Here are some tips for freezing hard cheeses:

• Freeze in pieces that are 1/2 pound or less.
• Use moistureproof and airtight wrapping.
• Freeze at 0ºF for no longer than 2 months.
• Thaw frozen cheese in the refrigerator.

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This is what Betty Crcker had to say.[/FONT]

 

[Dove]

This sounds better...

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/souptonuts/cheese_storage.html

 

[GB]

It would be an absolute waste for me to vacuum seal the cheeses I buy every week - we enjoy them on a daily basis. What a pain in the you-know-what that would be.

This is exactly why I use the canisters instead of the bags when I vacuum seal cheeses, but usually We eat the so quick that I just use plastic wrap.

 

[Gretchen]

Put it in a bag 3-5" larger than the hunk. Snip off when you want some. Seal it up. the package gets smaller IN the cheese drawer.

 

[TexanFrench]

With the "refrigerator miners" in my house, plastic wrap doesn't stay wrapped. I use ziplocked baggies for cheese. Take it out of the store wrapping as quickly as possible, because the baggies are easier to access.

 

[TexanFrench]

Obviously, cheese doesn't last long around here!