Keeping Cheese Fresh: Storage Essentials
To keep cheese active and avoid spoilage, you must balance moisture and air. Wrap pieces in porous parchment or wax paper to allow the cheese to breathe, then place it inside a loosely sealed plastic container or bag to prevent it from drying out. Store it in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator, where the temperature remains stable and the environment is slightly humid.
Stop suffocating your cheese in tight plastic wrap.
Plastic wrap traps moisture against the surface, leading to sliminess and off-flavors. Once you break the seal of a new block, discard the store packaging and give it a fresh wrap.
- Parchment paper or cheese paper
- Plastic container with a loose-fitting lid
- Masking tape and a marker
The Parchment-Plus Method
Use parchment paper for the primary wrap; it prevents the rind from sweating while protecting the paste from ambient odors. If the cheese feels particularly dry, add a damp cloth to the outer container but ensure it never touches the cheese directly.
The method.
Unwrap and inspect
Remove the factory plastic immediately. If you see a small patch of surface mold on a firm cheese, trim it off with a clean knife. Soft, fresh cheeses with mold should be discarded.
Wrap firmly
Cut a sheet of parchment paper large enough to fold over the cheese multiple times. Wrap it snugly like a gift, ensuring no cheese is exposed to the air.
Buffer the environment
Place the wrapped cheese into a plastic container. Leave the lid slightly cracked or pierce the plastic bag with a few pinholes to allow minimal airflow.
Location matters
Keep the container in the crisper drawer. This is the coldest part of the fridge and has the most stable temperature, away from the drying effect of the refrigerator fan.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Date your packages. Cheese keeps for weeks, but it is easy to lose track of when it was opened.
Never store different types of cheese in the exact same wrap. Strong, pungent rinds will quickly flavor milder, creamy cheeses stored next to them.
If you only have plastic wrap, use it only for the very exterior of the parchment layer to keep the parchment in place, but never let the plastic touch the cut face of the cheese.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I freeze my cheese?
Only if you intend to melt it later. Freezing destroys the texture of aged cheeses, making them crumbly and chalky. It works for firm blocks intended for gratins or pizzas.
What if my cheese develops a white powdery coat?
On firm cheeses, this is often just natural bloom or crystallization. Smell it; if it smells like damp earth, it is fine. If it smells sour or sharp like ammonia, the cheese has turned.
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