Freezing Cheese

[oregongirlie]

We go through a lot of cheese. I'm wondering if we can freeze it?

We use Mozzarella and a little Cheddar shredded for pizza, casseroles, nachos, etc.

DH & I love Sharp or Medium cheddar on sandwiches or cheese & crackers.

DH says we can freeze it shredded, no problem, and we have a FoodSaver. However he says if we freeze slices or a brick that it'll be crumbly and have a different texture after it's thawed.

Anyone have any experience with this?

[puakinikini]

Yes, I freeze shredded cheese all the time - at one time I had 50 bags! Thank you Kroger mega sale. I recommend it. I have never froozen blocks, but have frozen slices and they have been fine.

[gettinrevvin2007]

I agree. We freeze shredded cheese all the time.

[pedspeech]

The blocks do tend to be crumbly, but that doesn't stop me from using it. I go ahead and buy it if it is a great deal and just know that going in. The kids don't mind eating it crumbly and I am usually going to shred it or melt it anyway so it doesn't matter.

[Ajack]

We go through a lot of cheese. I'm wondering if we can freeze it?

We use Mozzarella and a little Cheddar shredded for pizza, casseroles, nachos, etc.

DH & I love Sharp or Medium cheddar on sandwiches or cheese & crackers.

DH says we can freeze it shredded, no problem, and we have a FoodSaver. However he says if we freeze slices or a brick that it'll be crumbly and have a different texture after it's thawed.

Anyone have any experience with this?

He is right. The block will not freeze well. Sliced and shredded come out fine though.

[kval07]

Oh I am so happy to read this. DF swore up and down you couldn't freeze it and I have shredded cheese taking up a whole drawer in my fridge!

[anbfraz]

I freeze blocks of cheese all the time. Whenever we go home we bring back lots & lots of cheese from our favorite family run dairy in Wisconsin (our home town) to use until our next trip. I have about 10 pounds of Cheddar & 5 pounds of Mozzarella in my freezer right now!

The blocks can get crumbly if they stay in the freezer too long, but if you're using it within 3-6 months they should be ok. Make sure the cheese is well protected (the cheese we get is wrapped in plastic, dipped in wax and wrapped again, then we put it in double freezer bags) and when you remove it from the freezer allow it to thaw completely in the fridge.

We don't have any problems with the texture of the cheese after freezing, but if you're concerned maybe you could freeze one block and see what you think.

[ocean_brez]

I freeze shredded, sliced and block cheese. Haven't had a problem with any of them. I guess it depends on the type of cheese? :shrug7:

[mama22qts]

cream cheese is a no-no freezing, unless the grainy texture doesn't bother you. I've made cheesecakes with a frozen/not frozen combo and it was ok, but all frozen didn't turn out well.

I have noticed that the kraft slices get a little grainy after being frozen for LONGER than 6 months, but if you're going to eat it within that time frame you should be fine.

Blocks of cheese don't work well for me, but then the only thing we really use the block for is to slice and eat on the spot. The graininess there really bothers me.

Shreds, as previously stated, freeze wonderfully.

I don't know this for a fact, but I would think that the softer the cheese, the more likely it is to be grainy when frozen. Just my 2c...

[AmyKay9377]

I don't normally freeze blocks of cheese because (usually) the shredded is the same cost as the block and I'm lazy.

However, if you buy in bulk, or get a great deal on blocks, what you could do is shred the cheese, toss in a bit (like 1/4ts for 1 block or so) of cornstarch and then freeze - the CS will keep the cheese from sticking together in the fridge, and then you can just grab what you need from the freezer, just like store-bought cheese. I used to do this all the time with cheese I got from Sam's, but now that I coupon much better, those cost more.