can I freeze cheese? archived
well i freeze shredded cheese to no ill effects. I buy the big package of shredded mexican cheese from costco, split it into smaller plastic bags and freeze away. i think since it's a somewhat hard cheese it will survive. i would freeze it in 1-2 serving size packets.
Can't help with your question but why is everything at Costco so tempting? I got to be careful because I get some very wierd rationale when trying to talk myself into purchases. I have had a 24 pack of the Fuze drinks in my basement for about 10 months! And who knows how we are going to eat all of the strawberries, but it was such a deal!
georgie, you can freeze those strawberries!
i'll have to remember that about the shredded cheese. my kids love that mexican blend and I used to buy it from Trader Joes, and mix it with their soy mexican blend. But hey, I'm cheap, so we go through that costco bag now. It's great for tacos, fahitas, quesiadillas, omelets (suate some chopped onion and tomatoes, put in omelet with that cheese.)
i'll have to remember that about the shredded cheese. my kids love that mexican blend and I used to buy it from Trader Joes, and mix it with their soy mexican blend. But hey, I'm cheap, so we go through that costco bag now. It's great for tacos, fahitas, quesiadillas, omelets (suate some chopped onion and tomatoes, put in omelet with that cheese.)
i bought the big packs of provolone and prosciutto last time i was at costco and made smaller packs of each in vacuum seal bags. they froze and subsequently thawed beautifully. and it is so handy to have small packages of both so easily on hand.
The only downside to freezing this kind of cheese is that it may not end up melting as well as it would prior.
My sister freezes the shredded cheese whenever it is on sale and it comes out well.
Most cheese freezes well. I always stock up on paneer on my infrequent trips to the Indian grocery. It's fine. When I've stocked up on Costco's grated Parmesan, I've had to freeze most of it, because when it decides to turn blue in the fridge, it turns. Quickly. I just take out a bit at a time from the freezer. Problem solved.
meta, that's the one cheese that turns on me too - probably because we don't use it that often and don't buy other cheeses in large quantities. Question for you about freezing the grated Parmesan: Do you freeze it in small batches or do you just spoon out what you need from the freezer?
The last time I bought it at Costco, it was in twin bags. I left one sealed, and put it in a freezer bag. The other one, I opened and took out a few ounces, put it in a plastic container in the fridge, and put the bag in the freezer in a freezer bag. I usually refill the fridge container a few ounces at a time. The cheese defrosts in minutes at room temp.
The only issues I've had with freezing cheese have been textural, not taste. As in, the cheddar cheese is no longer sliceable. It just crumbles in biggish chunks. So it's a little harder to work with (esp for those of us who like grilled cheese or who like to put sliced cheese on toasted olive bread, or any other hearty bread, and toast it some more.) But taste-wise it's just fine!
This made me think of Fox in Socks. I'm just so literary like that. Through these three cheese trees, three free fleas flew.
Funny you should bring that up. Melech Ric and I were just discussing the nature of head cheese last night. I have NO idea what brought up such a disgusting topic, but &mdash there you have it. Great minds, and all that.
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amie