Food storage hacks: How to stop cheese from going mouldy
Whether you’ve got loads left over from Christmas, or have a precious block you wish to enjoy over the next couple of months, you must know how to store it for it to last as long as possible. Here are several food storage hacks to consider to keep cheese mould-free.
Double-wrapped
Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie, London said you’ll have “problems if you don’t follow a few basics”.
She suggests double-wrapping cheese – in “waxed paper or baking parchment”, not cling film.
The wrapped cheese should then be kept in a “plastic container lined with a dampened kitchen towel or cloth”.
The container needs to be airtight and placed into the fridge as this is where the temperature is usually the most constant. The cheese will keep for as long as it takes to eat it.
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Location in fridge
If you have space, use the vegetable drawers to store cheese.
There is balanced humidity in the veg drawers and this area is more likely to keep at a constant temperature.
As well as this, the cheese will be kept away from the back of the fridge where it can potentially frost and cause the cheese to freeze.
Some fridges have a special cheese compartment, so utilise this.
Freeze
For anyone who can’t consume their cheese before the use-by date Sarah Taylor, food hygiene expert at High Speed Training previously told Express.co.uk to freeze cheese.
“This will extend the shelf life of it, but the process of freezing cheese will affect the texture, and the flavour of the product,” she explained. “Cheeses that have a high moisture content, for example soft cheeses like brie and camembert, risk forming ice crystals when frozen, and the low temperatures can also suck the moisture out of them, causing them to dry out.
“It is not recommended that you freeze any cheese you want to enjoy eating on a cheeseboard, however freezing a block of cheddar that you intend to grate and use…
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