Storing cheese: how to keep your cheese tasty for longer
A beautiful piece of cheese deserves to stay delicious until the last slice. But how do you best store cheese? In the refrigerator or not, in paper or in plastic wrap, and how long does cheese last? With the right storage tips, you can prevent your cheese from drying out, sweating, or molding. In this blog, you'll learn how to store cheese, how to handle each type of cheese, and whether you can freeze cheese.
Where is the best place to store cheese?
Cheese is best stored cool, in the dark, and away from dry conditions. The ideal temperature is between 4 and 12 °C. In most homes, the refrigerator is therefore the best place.
- Choose the vegetable drawer or the bottom shelf. It is slightly less cold and a bit more humid there than at the top, which cheese prefers.
- Keep cheese away from strongly scented products, such as fish or onions. Cheese easily absorbs odors.
- Do you have a cool cellar or utility room? Hard and aged cheese can be stored there as long as it does not get warmer than around 12 °C.
Do not store cheese on the counter or in the sun. At room temperature, cheese will sweat: the fat comes to the surface, and the cheese becomes greasy and tough.
How should you wrap cheese?
Cheese is a living product: it needs to breathe a little, but must not dry out. This is the best way to wrap cheese:
- Cheese paper or greaseproof paper. This is the best choice. The paper allows the cheese to breathe while retaining moisture. Wrap it tightly around the cheese.
- A cheese box or airtight container. Handy if you have wrapped your cheese in paper: the box retains moisture even better and prevents odors from spreading.
- Plastic wrap. Can be used for a short time, but cheese will sweat in it more quickly and may take on a plastic taste. Therefore, replace the wrap after each use.
When storing a piece of a large cheese, make sure to cover the cut surface well. This is where the cheese dries out most quickly.
Storing cheese by type
Hard and semi-hard cheese
Gouda cheese, such as Weydeland 48+ Belegen or Weydeland 48+ Oud Overjarig, is the easiest to store. Wrap the piece in cheese paper and place it in the refrigerator. Aged and extra-aged cheese is already somewhat drier and therefore stays fresh for longer. Hard Italian cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano 30 months and Pecorino Romano should also be stored in paper in the refrigerator.
Soft cheese and white-mold cheese
Soft cheeses such as Roombrie and Brie Bieslook should be stored in their original packaging or in cheese paper, separately from other cheeses. White-mold cheese continues to ripen and becomes increasingly soft and stronger in flavor. Therefore, eat soft cheese within a few days of cutting it.
Blue cheese
Blue cheeses such as Villa Blue, Chevretta Blue and Saint Agur should be wrapped separately and sealed tightly, for example in aluminum foil or its own container. This prevents the blue mold and strong odor from transferring to other cheeses.
Cream cheese and spreadable cheese
Cream cheese and spreadable cheese, such as Machelle cream cheese and Chevre Doux geitensmeerkaas, should always be stored in the refrigerator in their sealed container. Follow the expiration date on the packaging and eat an opened container within a few days.
How long can you store cheese in the refrigerator?
How long your cheese stays fresh depends mainly on how hard it is. The drier the cheese, the longer it lasts. When properly wrapped in the refrigerator, you can follow these guidelines:
| Type of cheese | Shelf life after cutting |
|---|---|
| Young and young aged cheese | approx. 2 to 3 weeks |
| Aged and extra-aged cheese | approx. 3 to 4 weeks |
| Aged and extra-aged cheese | approx. 4 to 6 weeks |
| Soft cheese and white-mold cheese | approx. 3 to 5 days |
| Cream cheese and spreadable cheese | a few days after opening |
| Pre-packaged slices | approx. 2 to 3 days after opening |
These are guidelines. Also trust your eyes, nose, and taste: if cheese smells or tastes strange, do not eat it anymore.
Can you freeze cheese?
Yes, you can freeze cheese, but it is not a good idea for every cheese. Freezing changes the texture: the cheese becomes more crumbly and less supple. The flavor remains largely intact.
- Suitable: grated cheese and hard or aged cheese that you want to use later for cooking, for example in a casserole, tosti, or sauce.
- Less suitable: cheese you want to serve on a snack platter or on bread, and soft cheese, cream cheese, and spreadable cheese. These become watery or grainy after thawing.
This is how you freeze cheese: divide the cheese into portions, wrap them airtight in a freezer bag, and freeze them for about three months. Allow the cheese to thaw slowly in the refrigerator and use it within a few days afterward.
Mold on cheese or dried-out cheese: what now?
Mold on hard cheese
Do you see a patch of mold on hard or aged cheese? Then you do not need to throw away the whole cheese. Cut away the mold generously, at least 1 centimeter around it, and simply eat the rest.
Mold on soft cheese, cream cheese, or grated cheese
With soft cheese, cream cheese, spreadable cheese, and grated cheese, mold can spread unseen throughout the entire product. If you see mold that does not belong there, throw away the product. Note: the white rind of brie and the blue veins in blue cheese are part of it.
Dried-out cheese
Is a piece of cheese slightly dried out or hard at the edges? Do not throw it away. Grate it and use it in a tosti, soup, sauce, or casserole. Aged and extra-aged cheese such as Weydeland Rijck crumbled cheese is especially delicious crumbled over a salad or pasta.
Tip: bring cheese to room temperature before serving
You store cheese cool, but it tastes best at room temperature. Cold cheese tastes flat because the aromas are only released when the cheese warms up a bit. Therefore, take cheese out of the refrigerator about half an hour to an hour before serving.
Are you making a snack platter? Cut the cheese only just before your guests arrive and cover the platter with a clean tea towel so that the cheese does not dry out. Serve your cheese on a beechwood snack platter or a snack tray with bowls for nuts and cheese dips. What is left over, wrap up immediately again in cheese paper and put back in the refrigerator.
Frequently asked questions about storing cheese
Does cheese need to be in the refrigerator?
In most cases, yes. Cheese is best stored between 4 and 12 °C. Only a cool cellar or utility room is a good alternative for hard and aged cheese.
Why does cheese sweat?
Cheese sweats when it gets too warm or is in plastic. The fat then comes to the surface. Therefore, store cheese cool and in cheese paper.
How do you prevent cheese from drying out?
Wrap cheese well, especially the cut surface. Cheese paper in combination with a cheese box retains moisture best.
Can you eat the rind of cheese?
The plastic rind (cheese coating) around Gouda cheese is not edible; always cut it off. You can eat the white rind of brie and the rind of red-mold cheeses such as Petit Tourtain just fine.
How long does a whole cheese last?
A whole, uncut cheese with a rind stays fresh for a long time when stored cool, because the rind protects the cheese. As soon as you cut it, the shelf lives from the table above apply.
Can you store cheese in baking paper?
Yes. If you do not have cheese paper, baking paper or greaseproof paper is a good alternative. It allows the cheese to breathe and prevents it from sweating. Place the wrapped piece in a cheese box or container, then it will dry out less quickly.
Can you store sealed cheese outside the refrigerator?
Always check the storage instructions on the packaging. If it says 'keep refrigerated', then the cheese belongs in the refrigerator, even if it is still sealed. Hard cheese in unopened vacuum packaging can stay outside the refrigerator for a while, for example on the way to a picnic. Then put it cool as quickly as possible.
How do you store Parmesan cheese?
Wrap Parmesan cheese in cheese paper or baking paper and store it in the refrigerator. Grate it only just before use. Read more in our blog about Parmigiano Reggiano.
Conclusion: cool, wrapped, and eat in time
Storing cheese is not difficult. Store cheese cool in the refrigerator, wrap it in cheese paper, and especially cover the cut surface well. Hard and aged cheese stays fresh for weeks, soft cheese and cream cheese you eat within a few days. And take your cheese out of the refrigerator in time before serving, then you will taste all the flavors at their best. Discover our assortment at Kaas & Borrelz, from the complete Weydeland range to creamy brie and spicy blue cheese.
