Freezing cheese

[i_am2bz]

After reading some posts about freezing butter for long-term storage (which until then never entered my mind), I got to wondering about freezing cheese. Obviously shredded cheese gets frozen all the time on pizzas & other "TV dinners" (as we used to call them)...but what about blocks of cheese, the kind shrink-wrapped in plastic from the store? 8 oz blocks of Cabot are on sale at WW this week, & it got me thinking. Cheese would be one of the things I would miss the most if TSHTF...

 

[miss_thenorth]

Whenever bricks of cheese are on sale I buy lots and freeze them. Once defrosted, they will not slice, but it will crumble. I usually the consistency is a little off, but tastes fine, imo.

 

[VickiLynn]

It works better if you slice the blocks of cheese first, then freeze them.

 

[i_am2bz]

Yeah, I was wondering about the texture once it's thawed; didn't know how the moisure content would react to being frozen. Good idea about slicing the block first, then freezing.

Thanks, ya'll! I knew someone here would have the answer!

 

[patandchickens]

It's different after its been frozen, but better than NO chees I suppose

Remember though that properly-made hard cheese (with a moisture content below, um, I forget exactly what , but grating cheeses like parmesan/romano fall *easily* into this category, also most cheddars and other fairly hard/dry cheeses like that, you can research it more if you want) really do not need anything more than a cool reasonably-humid place. Many peoples' basements fit the bill. Buy the cheese in whole waxed wheels, or (I'm told) re-wax large chunks you've bought, or make it yourself, and it can keep pretty well for at least 6 months, potentially years, depending on the particular cheese and your personal tastebuds. So that can be another alternative to the freezer.

(Although I am having trouble envisioning what kind of "SHTF" scenario would warrant that name and yet still make it relevant whether or not you had a freezer with cheese in it... )

Pat

 

[TanksHill]

"re-waxing" now that's an interesting storage method. I am going to have to do some reading on that.

g

 

[freemotion]

I have to preface this with the fact that I've only READ about this and haven't done it.......but.....when making cheese to wax and age for months or years, the wheel of cheese needs to be a certain size or quality/keeping ability is lost. I think.....think, not know.....the minimum is something like four pounds. In one chunk.

To me, the best scenario is to have lactating animals and know how to make it! Not possible for everyone, I know, so get to know someone who does and develop a relationship so you can do some trading!

 

[~gd]

It works better if you slice the blocks of cheese first, then freeze them.

Back in the day while the Feds were supporting Dairy prices You always got a fair sized block of cheese if you were on welfare (We weren't) but the county would give the Boy Scouts as much cheese as they wanted for their camps etc. Grilled cheese sandwiches every noon and Mac n Cheese every night. Our local Cold Storage plant (freezer storage) was filled to the top with frozen Butter and Cheese. The only thing was it wasn't real cheese but "process cheese"(like Velveeta, a prepared cheese product) the sandard loaf was three pounds I think. It froze really well and when thawed it still had that plastic texture and that same phoney cheese taste.
I realize this isn't much help when you are talking about Cabot but I thought I would throw it out, maybe it will help someone.

 

[patandchickens]

I don't think that's entirely correct, free -- I've been making 1- and 2-lb wheels and they have been fine for up to 6 months so far, just waxed and livin' in the basement. (I've no idea what the upper limit is going to be. In large part it depends on what kind of cheese you are making and how 'sharp and mature' you will still want to eat it)

So, while yeah, you would not want to wax leetle bits o' cheese, but I do not think it has to be enormous hunks either.

I am pretty sure that the website that someone (I think it was you, Free?) dug up for me on the subject of waxing hard cheeses -- do a search for 'waxing' for a thread I started, it will have the link to the article in there somewhere -- explicitly discusses re-waxing chunks of cheese for home storage. Worth checking out anyhow (tho I do not have as many brain cells as I did before I had kids LOL)

Pat

 

[big brown horse]

I believe Dace shreds big blocks of cheese to freeze in "enough for pizza sized" baggies for her homemade pizzas.

Perhaps some cheese will be fine frozen shredded and rethawed for pizzas and such.


I know "fried cheese" is frozen first. Lordy I ate enough of that when I worked at the bowling alley while I was attending college...to say "itz gud!"