Cheese storage

Underdog

I hope this doesn't fall to the wayside but I have recently switched from using the pre-packaged cheese slices to rectangular blocks of cheese. Like the ones shown here http://www.blackdiamond.ca/products/natural.htm

I'm having trouble storing them once I open them though. Right now I just wrap them in cling wrap and throw them in the fridge but I've noticed they start growing mold pretty quickly. Is there a better way of storing them that'll keep the mold away longer? And I assume that everytime I handle the cheese that my hands should be as clean as possible right?

fforde

Get rid of the original packaging and just throw the block in a zip lock bag. Squeeze all the air out too. You wont see any more mold.

For what it's worth if you do have moldy cheese you can just cut the moldy part off and eat the rest. While I wouldn't recommend it, most molds that will grow on cheese is not gonna hurt you if you accidentally eat some of it.

sark

http://www.food-management.com/article/11540

That might help.

If mold grows on the outside, you can just cut that bit off and throw it away.

Ruckus

Store in Ziploc, squeeze extra air out.

Also clean out your fridge with solution of Vinegar and water (one cup white vinegar in 2 gallons of water). Make sure you clean the edges and seals as well. Mold only forms from mold spores already around, the vinegar/water solution will destroy any mold in there and make it less habitable for future spores.

Oh and it won't smell like vinegar when you're done.

Raggaholic

Put it in a tupperware container with two sugar cubes. Make sure there is a good amount of space between the cubes and the cheese. The mold spore will attract to the sugar rather than the cheese.

NOTE: I have never tried this, but I saw it on an infomercial for a "home whatever" book.

Underdog

lol I don't have sugar cubes. I went to the food management site sark gave and went with the wax paper + plastic wrap. I have a feeling though that I'm going to get lazy and I think I'll revert to ziploc bags eventually. Anyway, thanks for the help.

JWFokker

Ziploc bags are a much better method than wax paper and/or plastic wrap as neither provides a good seal. And what type of cheese are we talking about anyway? Aged cheeses shouldn't get moldy quickly at all.

Thanatos

As long as you're not talking, like, Velveeta, it should store fine in a ziploc with all the air pushed out.

Blake T

It sounds to me that one of either two things are happening:

Option 1: there is a large amount of gunk in your fridge as someone previously mentioned, clean out your fridge.

Option 2: you could be eat cheese less than once a year, eat it before the cheese has a chance to grow mold.

It's most likely option 1, I just wrap cheese in a bit of plastic and never had any problem, in fact by the end of the block it's still the same piece of plastic and has gone or crappy and doesn't cling properly and it still doesn't get mold. Clean out your fridge, the large amount of effort exhausted in one day will cancel out the fact that the rest of your food will keep longer also.

Szechuanosaurus

Yeah, I agree with Blaket re: clean your fridge. Your typical block of cheddar shouldn't go mouldy for at least a couple of weeks unless it is sitting next to something else carrying mould (such as a nice mouldy bit of Roquefort). However, the ziplock bag thing still sounds like a good idea if only because I find hard cheeses like chedder, edam and glouchester tend to dry out quite quickly.

MichaelLC

Yeah, go with the Ziploc(r) brand resealable bag.

Works for lettuce and bread too, as the packages they come in are designed to make the food spoil/dry out as quickly as possible.

On another cheese note, Microplanes are awesome for grating.

EggyToast

yeah, depends on your approach to cheese. I heard a very good description of the differences between how Europeans view cheese, and how americans do. Europeans view cheese as "alive," and will just put it in the fridge, maybe with some cheese cloth around it. If it gets mold, they just cut it off. Some even eat the mold if it's just a little bit.

Americans view cheese as dead, and put it in a body bag (ziploc) to make sure it stays dead.

That's not to say that I, as a cheese loving american, don't do the same thing. However, it also sounds like you should buy a smaller portion of cheese if you're not going through it quickly enough.

JWFokker

I have to agree with EggyToast, the ziploc is the worst method of storing cheese in terms of flavor, but it does the best job of preserving it. The president of Cabot Creamery says cheese cloth is ideal and I agree, but it doesn't keep nearly as long as in a ziploc.

EggyToast

Yeah, let me revise that. Buy cheese based on how much you plan to consume. If you must store it, gauge when you're going to eat it. Tomorrow? Cheese cloth. Next week? Mmm, possibly wax paper/saran wrap. don't know? Ziploc.

Ranger Rick

I use a vacuum pump that sucks the air out of and seals specially made bags. It gets used for cheese more than anything else and it seems to retain the freshness and taste better than anything else I've tried.