It is from a food commercial job. I have been avoiding buying and eating cow cheese, but free is free. I don't want it to go to waste. We have blocks of Mozzarella (20 lbs), another 20 lb of Colby and about 45 lbs of Swiss. We will give some away too of course.
Has anyone frozen cheese? does it do OK? I was thinking vacuum packing and freezing some of it.
I know, there is pizza, lasagne, quesadillas, these are easy. The cheese is decent (Kraft), fair quality, but not gourmet. It would be OK to add to a dish but not so good with bread and wine by itself if you know what I mean (I reserve Humbolt fog, stilton, etc for that...)
Any ideas for good recipes that use lots of cheese?
Has anyone frozen cheese? does it do OK? I was thinking vacuum packing and freezing some of it.
I know, there is pizza, lasagne, quesadillas, these are easy. The cheese is decent (Kraft), fair quality, but not gourmet. It would be OK to add to a dish but not so good with bread and wine by itself if you know what I mean (I reserve Humbolt fog, stilton, etc for that...)
Any ideas for good recipes that use lots of cheese?
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Los Angeles
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 9:39 AMYou can grate the cheese first and vacuum pack it. Fondue is a good use for cheese w the swiss. Have fun. -
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 9:47 AMHmm, I never had good luck with grated cheese and freezing before. But, I don't have a vacuum sealer, so maybe that's the problem.
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 9:41 AMI freeze my cheese all the time!
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 9:45 AMCheese like that can be frozen easily. Make sure it's wrapped well or vacuum packed and it will be fine. My mom did it with american sliced cheese all our lives (the deli kind, not the even more fake individually wrapped kind). Blocked or sliced works best, shredded doesn't work so well. If you are going to want it shredded, wait until it's completely thawed to do so. I hope this helps.
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Wed, May 7, 2008 - 6:12 PMFrom what I've read here and elsewhere cheese that's been frozen is best used in cooking. If you feel especially industrious some frozen meals may be the answer.
The U of Nebraska says:
Hard or semi-hard cheese can be frozen if cut in one half to one pound blocks. Wrap in plastic wrap and then put in freezer bags. After freezing, cheese may become crumbly and mealy, but, it will retain its flavor. It works best for cooking.
lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqcc.htm
Thriftyfun.com has a much more detailed website on the subject and includes directions.
www.thriftyfun.com/tf21851078.tip.html
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 9:21 PMYes, my experience was that after it was frozen the cheese was crumbly, but otherwise fine. Just don't set your heart on slices.
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Thu, May 8, 2008 - 8:53 AMI agree with using a vacuum sealer.... I've frozen tons of cheeses and have never been dissatified. When I have cheese "straight up"... vs. in a cooked dish, I try to make sure the cheese comes to room temperature which seems to improve the texture and flavors.
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 6:25 AMI always freeze scraps from slicing cheeses ,then when we have enough built up make beer cheese soup. -
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 4:09 PMWelsh rarebit? aka Cheese-and-toast. -
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Sun, May 11, 2008 - 12:42 PMPlease share the recipe for beer cheese soup. That sounds amazing. Perhaps with some old crusty bread in it like onion soup?
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 4:08 PMi1 was at the county fair a few years back and a regional cheese company [new york state: macadam cheese: ymmy]. held a demonstration. i asked them about freeing cheeze and they said 'sure' so i've tried it [mostly cheddars] and it does work fine, tho comes out drier, and a tad crumbly, and i actually prefer it that way !! seems to eliminate just a touch of extranious moisture.
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Re: Cheese, lots of cheese....
Mon, May 12, 2008 - 1:30 PMYah freeze it, it thaws out just fine for any cooking application.
If you don't freeze it, it'll mold.
The colder the freezer, the better.
