Can You Freeze Cheese?
In this article we will discuss about the freezing of cheese. Some people are interested in freezing their favorite cheeses, while others just want to have some ready to eat when they need it. If you’re one of those people then you’ve come to the right place! We’ll give you all the information that you need so that you can make your own decision on whether or not it’s worth your time and money to freeze your favorite cheeses.
How Long Can You Freeze Cheese?
You may think that you can only freeze cheese for a few days, but if you keep reading about how long can you freeze cheese, you’ll learn that there are many different ways to do it. For example, if you’re trying to decide between freezing hard cheese like cheddar and soft cheeses such as mozzarella, then the answer is going to depend on what kind of food processor you have. A food processor with a blade attachment is going to work best because it allows you to slice the cheese into smaller pieces. However, if you don’t have a food processor, then slicing the cheese won’t do any good since each piece of cheese will still melt in your mouth when it melts.
If you’re worried about melting your cheese, then you might want to consider freezing it in its original form instead of cutting up the chunks. For example, you could grate a whole block of cheddar cheese to put in macaroni and cheese. The only issue with this is that you’ll need to add more volume for the liquid when you thaw it out. This works best with harder cheeses such as cheddar or Swiss.
Another option that you have is to grate the entire cheese. Most people usually do this with softer cheeses such as mozzarella or Colby because it’s quick and easy. The advantage to doing this is that it takes a lot less time for the cheese to thaw. It’s quick and easy, but it also uses more volume when you add the liquid so you might need to add milk or cream when you thaw the cheese. This is especially true if you try to thaw a block of cheese instead of pre-sliced packages.
Finally, you could also shred the cheese instead of grating it. This won’t give you the same consistency that you would get from a food processor, but it could work if you don’t have one or are having problems with it. Shredded cheese takes even less time to thaw than shredded cheese because the surface area is bigger. Mozzarella or Monterey jack work best when shredded because they’re already soft.
The next important thing to keep in mind is that you should not freeze natural or real cheese, only processed cheese. Natural cheese has not been altered in any way and contains a lot of water within the fat. On the other hand, process cheese has had the moisture removed and can even contain things like wood pulp or cellulose. This is done so that it can last longer. If you try to freeze natural cheese, then it will turn into a semi-solid block when you thaw it out because the moisture within the fat comes back.
It can be used for cooking, but it won’t be the same as regular cheese.
How To Thaw Your Cheese
You are going to have many options when it comes time to thaw your cheese. First, you can do it overnight in the refrigerator. If you did not shred the cheese, then it should come out nice and easy. You can also microwave it if you want to get a head start on the process. Finally, you can do it the old-fashioned way and leave it out on the counter for a few hours.
No matter which way you choose, you’re going to need to pay close attention to ensure that you don’t cook the cheese when you heat it up!
You don’t want to over-soften the cheese, so you should plan on heating it for no more than 30 seconds at a time. If you’re only doing a small amount (less than a cup), then heat it for 10 second intervals because the microwave heats from the inside and out. You might even want to pull it out and stir it every now and then because the outer layers are going to heat up before the inner ones do.
If you’re planning on shredded cheese for a recipe, then you only need to thaw it enough so you can get it out of the bag. The rest of the process can be done with your fingers!
Conclusion
There are many different types of cheeses out there and most of them can be frozen with good results. The amount of time that you need to allow will depend upon how much you have, what type and how you plan on using it. Experiment a little bit and keep these tips in mind and you should be fine. If not, then you always have the reliable resources listed here to help you out.
Sources & references used in this article:
Structure and rheology of string cheese by S Taneya, T Izutsu, T Kimura, T Shioya – Food Structure, 1992 – digitalcommons.usu.edu
Using and storing cheddar cheese (1993) by K Hughes, B Willenberg – 1993 – mospace.umsystem.edu
Using and storing process cheese by BJ Willenberg, K Hughes – 1979 – mospace.umsystem.edu
Effects of freezing on composition and fatty acid profiles of sheep milk and cheese by RH Zhang, AF Mustafa, KF Ng-Kwai-Hang… – Small Ruminant …, 2006 – Elsevier
A coupled photogrammetric-finite element method approach to model irregular shape product freezing: Mozzarella cheese case by M Alinovi, G Mucchetti – Food and Bioproducts Processing, 2020 – Elsevier
Freezing Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs and Dairy Products by S Mills-Gray – extension2.missouri.edu
Employment of L. paracasei K5 as a novel potentially probiotic freeze-dried starter for feta-type cheese production by A Terpou, I Mantzourani, A Galanis, M Kanellaki… – Microorganisms, 2019 – mdpi.com
