I was surfing last night and ran across
a geeky but interesting article in Serious Eats about storing cheese, and that led me to ruminate on how I do it and what obvious tricks and tips I might be missing. I'm afraid I have a bad habit of hitting Lotsa Pasta or Whole Foods or other decent cheese shops and buying more than I can eat before it gets hard or molds.
I notice that they give a bunch of reasons not to wrap it tightly in plastic, which conforms with my experience: When I bring home a shrink-wrapped chunk and take the saran-type wrap off, I find that the cheese often smells like plastic for a while before it gets over it. So, off it comes, and quickly it goes into an airtight container, either a plastic tub with a snap lid or a glass jar with a screw top, then into the fridge. (I do take it out long enough before dinner to let it come back up to room temp, though.
Serious Eats calls for wrapping it in wax paper, with an almost OCD set of instructions on how to do that. Seems a bit much for me. And they say it will keep for only "5 to 8 days" before hardening, which is troublesome. I want me cheese to last a lot longer than that!
There's also the issue of mold, which I try to combat by never handling the cheese without washing my hands very well first. But if it does get a moldy patch, I generally just cut off the blue corner and maybe a little "safety zone" around it and enjoy the rest. Some pople toss the whole chunk if a little mold spot appears, but that seems like overreaction to me. It's penicillin, right?
So, hit the link above if you like, or just launch right in: What, other than just eating it all up fast, are your best tips for keeping a plethora of cheese in prime condition?