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Robin Garr

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Let's hear your tips for storing cheese

by Robin Garr » Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:26 pm

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? :lol:

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?
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Lois Mauk

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Re: Let's hear your tips for storing cheese

by Lois Mauk » Sun Aug 28, 2011 5:30 pm

Looks like I've been doing it wrong for years! With harder cheese (parm, etc.), I've used a vacuum sealer. For softer cheeses, the evil saran wrap or Press N Seal wrap. Never occurred to me to use wax paper.
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Linda B

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Re: Let's hear your tips for storing cheese

by Linda B » Sun Aug 28, 2011 6:14 pm

When Will Eaves from Losta Pasta taught a cheese class for us he said that cheese is a living, breathing being. We have packages of "cheese paper" at the store used to wrap cheese with but still allowing it to breathe. People seem to like it. Also, over the years I have been told not to touch cheese with your bare hands; that is how mold begins to form. Following that advice, it has worked for me. Just some ideas.
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Deb Hall

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Re: Let's hear your tips for storing cheese

by Deb Hall » Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:27 pm

At the store we always wrapped in waxed paper; at home I'm usuallty too lazy- mostly our cheese gets stored in ziplocks or it's original wrapping. ( But we tend to eat cheese quickly).

On our recent trip to San Fran, we brought back a number of lovely cheeses. I had purchased some of "Debbie Meyers" cheese bags - the green produce ones are fabulous and I use them constantly to extend the life of my fruits and veggies. Hadn't used the cheese ones ( blue bags) yet, so I tried them with the San Francisco cheeses. I put several cheeses together in one bag to great success-my cheeses have definitely lasted longer - it's been 6 weeks and they are still perfect.

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Robin Garr

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Re: Let's hear your tips for storing cheese

by Robin Garr » Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:46 pm

Lois Mauk wrote:Looks like I've been doing it wrong for years! With harder cheese (parm, etc.), I've used a vacuum sealer. For softer cheeses, the evil saran wrap or Press N Seal wrap. Never occurred to me to use wax paper.

Lois, if your system has been working for you, I wouldn't worry for a minute! I've heard any number of people sing the praise of the vacuum sealer for this and many other things, by the way. I'd like to get one, but we're trying to cut down on kitchen toys, so a decision to get a new one has to be a family consensus. ;)
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Suzi Bernert

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Re: Let's hear your tips for storing cheese

by Suzi Bernert » Sun Aug 28, 2011 10:09 pm

I think the bags for the vacuum sealers do not leave a "plastic taste" like saran and the like.
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Mark Head

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Re: Let's hear your tips for storing cheese

by Mark Head » Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:23 pm

Been a wax paper guy for quite a while. Works well and usually keeps about a week.
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John Hagan

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Re: Let's hear your tips for storing cheese

by John Hagan » Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:18 am

We have been using butcher/freezer paper for years with pretty good results. We do prefer to buy the smaller chunks at lotsapasta and use them up fairly quickly.
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