Is it possible to freeze different types of cheese in the freezer?

Which varieties can be frozen?

There are more than two thousand varieties of cheese in the world. It is classified according to several criteria:

1. Hardness. The product can be so hard that it breaks - it cannot be cut. Semi-hard, soft and fused are also found.
2. Technology. Depending on the type and country of the manufacturer, the main enzyme in the recipe changes. It ferments the product, allows it to harden and gives it a special taste.
3. Excerpt. There is quick cheese, which immediately after preparation goes to the consumer. They also prepare a mature delicacy, which first lies in a special room at a special temperature and humidity and only then becomes a treat for your table.

Hard and semi-hard varieties tolerate cold well without losing their taste. If you freeze cheese and then defrost it, you can eat it, but it will become crumbly and it will be difficult to cut it even with a slicer.

The following types of cheese can be frozen:

• Parmesan;
• Russian;
• Edam;
• Colby;
• Cheddar;
• Gouda;
• Mozzarella;
• Provolone;
• Monterey Jack.

Which varieties should not be frozen?

It is convenient to store cheese in the freezer so that it does not spoil, but there are varieties that are best not frozen.

Homemade - prepared without high temperatures, fermentation and industrial equipment. They are eaten only fresh. If you put such a product in the freezer, then after defrosting you will get regular cottage cheese. Soft and pasty varieties of Ricotta, Brie, Camembert also become grainy and crumbly after freezing.

to freeze cheese with noble mold , since it dies at sub-zero temperatures. A stale product (sticky, sour, moldy, dried) cannot be stored at all.

Interesting. Cheese production on an industrial scale began in Holland in the 14th century. Today, the largest producer of this product is the United States of America. The Greeks consume the most cheese. They add it to a traditional salad, fry it, boil it, bake it with seafood and meat.

How does freezing and thawing affect cheese?

Cheeses that contain a large amount of moisture are frozen at higher temperatures than those that contain less water. For example, cottage cheese will freeze at -1.2 °C, and cheddar - at -12.9 °C. Cold temperatures do not destroy the nutrients in cheese, but they can affect its taste and texture.

When frozen, small ice crystals form inside this product, which disrupt the structure. When thawing, moisture is released and the cheese dries out, becoming crumbly and with a mealy texture. Frozen cheeses become less meltable when they are stored for a long time. For example, mozzarella that has been frozen for four weeks melts significantly less well than the same cheese that has been frozen for a week.

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In addition, freezing inactivates bacteria, yeast and mold. This extends the shelf life of the product. It should be understood that low temperatures do not kill these microorganisms, but only damage them. In other words, after the product thaws, they can become active again.

When it comes to mature cheeses, such as Camembert or blue cheese, live populations of beneficial bacteria and molds are deliberately added to give them their characteristic aroma and texture. Since these microbes are damaged by freezing, this storage method can stop the necessary ripening of these cheeses when thawed, which will certainly affect their quality.

Freezing grated and sliced ​​cheese

A product that has already been grated or cut can and should be stored in the freezer: having preparations for holiday dishes is very convenient and practical. At temperatures below 0°C, grated cheese is stored in packaging. Parchment paper, special freezer bags or grocery plastic boxes are suitable for this.

Advice. Defrost the delicacy in stages. First, transfer it to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, after a while it will smoothly thaw and be ready to eat. A sudden temperature change, when a product goes from -10°C to +25°C, will spoil its taste and consistency.

Product preparation

It is very important to properly prepare cheese for freezing. Divide it into portions suitable for single use. For large block cheeses such as cheddar, the serving should be no more than 500 grams. You can grate it or cut it into thin slices before freezing.

The cheese can be stored in its store-bought packaging or wrapped in cheese paper or foil. It is advisable to place the slices of the chopped product with parchment. Place the prepared cheese in an airtight ziplock bag or plastic container. This will prevent dry air from entering it.

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Freezing hard and semi-hard cheeses

Hard and semi-hard cheeses are most often made from cow's milk. They contain a small amount of moisture - less than 40%. In production they are pressed and kept for a long time to ripen.

These varieties are ideal for freezing and have a long shelf life, which makes them different from soft cheeses. But it is recommended to store them in vacuum packaging, then the product will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.

Interesting. Clawson Stilton Gold cheese is made with the addition of gold. A 100-gram portion of the delicacy costs 1 thousand US dollars. 1 kg of Serbian Pule made from donkey milk will cost 3.5 thousand dollars. For 1 kg of delicacy it takes about 25 liters of raw milk.

Do not freeze too large portions: divide the product into small pieces of 250-500 g. If you have a large family, we recommend freezing portions that will be eaten within a week. This way the product will not have time to spoil on the refrigerator shelf.

Algorithm for freezing hard and semi-hard varieties:

1. Divide the cheese into portions.
2. We put each one in a package: container, bag or paper.
3. If the delicacy is sealed in a factory sealed container, do not open it, but immediately put it in the freezer.

It is recommended to label the packaging indicating the date the product was frozen. This way you will protect yourself and your loved ones from poisoning.

How to store hard cheeses

Hard cheeses are simple and easy to store. You just need to cut them into pieces weighing from 250 to 500 g, wrap them in foil, parchment or other sealed paper. Next, the briquettes are placed in cellophane bags.

These steps can be eliminated if the cheese is purchased in an airtight package and it is not damaged. In any case, you need to write the freezing date on a small piece of paper and put it in the briquette.

You also need to know how to defrost cheese correctly. This should be done slowly, avoiding sudden temperature changes. After freezing, the product should be placed in the refrigerator, preferably on the lowest shelf.

When softened, you can remove it from the refrigerator and continue defrosting at room temperature.

Under no circumstances should you use a microwave to thaw the product faster: the cheese will melt and all its beneficial properties will be lost. This product is not suitable for consumption.

It must be remembered: slow thawing allows you to maintain the original condition of the product.

Freezing spreadable cheeses

Paste and curd cheeses Philadelphia, Ricotta, Mascarpone and Mozzarella are soft in structure. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. The product will withstand freezing especially well if you leave it in its original packaging.

Interesting. All spreadable cheeses are usually spicy due to the type of raw materials used for melting, as well as flavoring additives. Such products contain up to 60% fat.

Cheese is such a valuable product that it allows you to completely cover your daily requirement for fats, proteins, and minerals. Enough 200 g of delicacy or 2 processed cheese, 2 servings of cheese soup or ½ serving of cheesecake.

What happens if you freeze and then defrost cheese?

You can freeze cheese, but fermented milk products, unlike most other products, require compliance with a number of rules in this matter. It is important to know not only how to store them in the freezer, but also to defrost them correctly.

Unfortunately, not all types of this product can retain their properties during prolonged exposure to cold. Professional chefs do not recommend freezing soft varieties such as feta and ricotta.

Homemade cheeses should not be placed in the freezer. They should be stored in the refrigerator in airtight containers. Read more about storing different cheeses in our article.

Hard varieties lend themselves best to freezing, although serving them as slices will not work, since the structure will change slightly, which will ultimately result in a loss of presentable appearance.

Freezing processed cheese

Processed cheese is almost never frozen: it is inexpensive, not very popular, it is not bought in kilograms, so it rarely disappears in the refrigerator.

As a rule, it comes in a foil wrapper - there is no need to pack it additionally for freezing. But be prepared for the fact that the defrosted delicacy will turn into a paste that you will have to spread on bread or add, for example, to meat in French.

Interesting. Every cheese that was produced in the USSR had black or blue plastic numbers fused into it. They indicated the production date of the cheese wheel and carried other information about the product. Now this data is printed on the packaging. In the USSR, processed cheese was especially revered. In Moscow there is even a monument depicting a fox and a crow holding processed Druzhba cheese.

What varieties are stored in the refrigerator?

Russian is a semi-solid product that is prepared from pasteurized cow's milk with milk-clotting rennet enzyme, as well as a starter of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria. Like all semi-hard cheeses, it is perfect for freezing.

Brie is a soft cow's milk cheese named after a French province. It is located in the Ile-de-France region near Paris, where it was first made. Spreadable cheeses store well in the freezer. If the delicacy lasts in the refrigerator for 8 days, then at sub-zero temperatures it can last up to several months.

Suluguni is a pickled Georgian cheese that came from the Samegrelo region. Suluguni is frozen, but before the procedure it must be soaked in 18% brine. When the product has drained, pack it and send it to the chamber.

Philadelphia is a soft, creamy cheese made from milk and cream. The flavor bouquet contains sweetish notes. Does not require ripening, it can be frozen. However, after defrosting, grains may appear in it.

Dutch is a hard cheese that is most often prepared in round, flattened heads. In cross-section, the delicacy is covered with small eyes, but can also have a smooth surface. This spicy and slightly salty product is frozen by cutting it into cubes and sprinkling them with starch. This way the pieces won't stick together.

Parmesan is a long-ripening Italian hard cheese. It is brittle, crumbles when cut and has an uneven cut. It tolerates temperatures down to –20°C well and, when frozen, will wait for its gastronomic hour for a couple of months.

Interesting. Parmesan is so loved and valued in Italy that in the 50s of the twentieth century, banks issued loans to cheesemakers using this variety as collateral. In Italian banks of those years there were special storage facilities where the borrower's delicacy was kept and matured as collateral. Didn't repay the debt? The bank sold your goods.

Homemade - delicate milk cheese, which is prepared at home using primitive technologies, cannot be stored. This product is consumed only fresh. Frost will turn it into ordinary cottage cheese, and if stored in the refrigerator for a long time, it will spoil.

Interesting. The Italians produce a very strange cheese, Casu Marzu. The delicacy is aged longer than usual, until it rots, when the larvae of cheese flies begin to multiply in it. They turn the product into a soft mass from which liquid oozes, or “cheese tears.” There are quite a lot of insects in the finished cheese, so Italians eat it with their eyes closed. It is impossible to remove the larvae from the head: under the influence of gastric juice they do not die, periodically causing nausea, vomiting and stomach pain in the gourmet. Dead cheese flies eaten by a Kasu Marzu lover even threaten to be poisoned with cadaveric poison.

Is it possible to freeze cream cheese?

Cream cheese can be prepared quite simply and it takes little time. Therefore, there is no need to resort to freezing cheese or ready-made cream. However, if you freeze cream, many changes occur in the freezer. One example would be changing the texture and consistency of cream cheese or prepared cream cheese.

Frozen cream cheese has a grainy and crumbly texture compared to unfrozen cream cheese, which is typically smoother and denser. The reason for the difference in texture is due to the water content of the cream cheese itself. Unlike other cheeses, cream cheese contains cream, hence the name "cream cheese". Adding cream makes the cheese softer and, some say, tastier than other cheeses.

After defrosting, cream cheese has a grainy and crumbly texture.

When you freeze cream cheese or ready-made cream cheese, the water contained in the cream turns into ice crystals. As a result, frozen custard becomes grainy, crumbly and moist, and may leak after being frozen. Once defrosted, the ice crystals contained in the cream dissolve back into the water, but cannot properly combine with the cheese as they did before freezing.

Butter-based cream cheese can withstand freezing more easily. And after defrosting the cream, the texture will remain the same. But such cream is more suitable for assembling a cake or other dessert; it is better not to use such cream for leveling the cake.

How long does frozen cheese last?

The shelf life of a product depends on its variety. Hard and semi-hard varieties, cut into large pieces, last the longest - up to six months. The soft ones will have to be removed from the freezer after a couple of months.

If you plan to store cheese in the freezer to prevent it from spoiling, wrap the product in foil or parchment paper and place it in a container. If storing in plastic bags, add some sugar cubes. This will prevent mold from forming.

Place each variety in a separate package, as some of them have their own original smell. Indicate the shelf life on it (start, end). To prolong it, change the packaging more often. If your cheese has lost its presentation after being frozen, dip it in milk. In 2-3 hours you will receive a delicacy that can be safely served.

Interesting. The largest number of cheese gourmets live in France. Here, a foul-smelling product is a sign of high quality. In Russia, cheese production began on an industrial scale in 1886, after N.V. Vereshchagin opened the first cheese factory in the Empire. In Switzerland, he learned the craft from European cheese makers, and at home he adjusted overseas recipes to the taste preferences of the Russian consumer.

How to freeze cheese in the freezer

Hard cheeses are easy to prepare for storage. For this:

1. Cut the products into small pieces up to 350 g.
2. Wrap the pieces in parchment or foil and place in a cellophane package. If the cheese was purchased in its original packaging and has not yet been opened, place the product in the freezer without opening it.
3. In order not to forget the end of storage time, the freezing date is written on a piece of paper and the piece of paper is placed in the container with the workpiece.

To prevent the product from losing its structure, you need to defrost the cheese gradually. Avoid sudden changes in temperature; to do this, first put it in the refrigerator - the bottom shelf is best. When it is sufficiently defrosted (this takes 5-6 hours), remove it and keep it a little longer at room temperature. The slower it thaws, the less it changes its appearance.

Important! It is not recommended to defrost the product in a microwave oven. The sharp difference in temperature affects the taste and appearance.

If you want to store the product in the freezer in grated form, then the technology for such freezing is extremely simple. To begin, grate the cheese or chop it using a food processor. Then put it in a plastic bag. Do not fill the container completely; leave a few centimeters of free space. Seal the bag tightly and place in the freezer. To prevent the cheese from sticking, during the first 1-3 hours of freezing it is periodically taken out and shaken.

How to properly store cheese

If you follow the advice shared by chefs, you can extend the shelf life and preserve taste and appearance:

1. The lost appearance of a cheese product can be restored if, after defrosting, you put it in milk for a couple of hours.
2. A whole piece can be stored longer than a sliced ​​or grated piece.
3. Storage containers must be tightly closed, maintaining tightness.
4. To prevent pieces of cheese from sticking together during storage, housewives sprinkle them with flour or starch.
5. Varieties that do not have holes store better in the freezer than in the refrigerator.
6. Do not put cheese in hot water to defrost - the quality will be lost, the taste and smell will deteriorate.
7. To avoid forgetting about cheese in the freezer, place it in front of other foods.

How long can cheese be stored in the freezer?

The duration of storage depends on the type of product and the degree of processing. The product, cut into pieces or slices, can be placed in the freezer without compromising the taste and structure for no more than 3 months. Grated cheese can be stored longer – up to 4-5 months. If you place a solid briquette of the product in the chamber, it will lie there for up to six months without changes. In the refrigerator, cheese can be stored from 3 days to a week.