freezing cheese?

[ShawnaRae]

Hello everyone. I have never frozen cheese before, but have heard a bit about it on this site. Does anyone have advice? If it is shredded and then frozen, should it be thawed before use? Is the texture altered? Are freezer bags sufficient? Anything else to think about? Cheese is one of my spendiest grocery items, I would hate to ruin it! Freezing would allow me to buy that enormous block of cheese from Costco!

Thanks!

[YankeeMom]

I freeze cheese all the time, in all shapes & forms...brick, shredded, slices.

For brick, just know that once it thaws it will be "crumbly". A bonus is if brick cheese is cheaper, you can freeze it then easily crumble it with your hands and it's just as good as those expensive pre-packaged cheese crumbles or even shredded. It may not slice easily after being frozen, but I haven't had much trouble even with that. It slices nicely. I freeze the bricks in their store packages. They're already airtight so why waste my bags?

For shredded, I also freeze them in the store bought packages. I never really thaw shredded cheese before using it. Especially if it's just going to be cooked/melted. Even for things like tacos or sprinkling on chili... I just take it out of the freezer at dinner time. By the time the table is set & dinner's on the table, it's thawed enough to use.

I don't normally buy a brick, shred it, then try to freeze those shreds. It always turns into a big hunk of mess.

Cheese slices are a little trickier. The american cheese slices w/ the individual wrap tend to fair the best, IMO. It does get more "fragile", meaning when you peel off it's individual wrapping, the corners are more apt to 'break'. Other than that, I notice no difference. It's the sliced cheese with nothing between the slices or just paper between the slices that don't do well. They get very "Fragile". It's next to impossible to get a whole slice separated from the rest. They always break. BUT, it still tastes like cheese. Just not as pretty lol.

Hope this helps.

[SAHM I Am]

I freeze cheese all the time, in all shapes & forms...brick, shredded, slices.

For brick, just know that once it thaws it will be "crumbly". A bonus is if brick cheese is cheaper, you can freeze it then easily crumble it with your hands and it's just as good as those expensive pre-packaged cheese crumbles or even shredded. It may not slice easily after being frozen, but I haven't had much trouble even with that. It slices nicely. I freeze the bricks in their store packages. They're already airtight so why waste my bags?

For shredded, I also freeze them in the store bought packages. I never really thaw shredded cheese before using it. Especially if it's just going to be cooked/melted. Even for things like tacos or sprinkling on chili... I just take it out of the freezer at dinner time. By the time the table is set & dinner's on the table, it's thawed enough to use.

I don't normally buy a brick, shred it, then try to freeze those shreds. It always turns into a big hunk of mess.

Cheese slices are a little trickier. The american cheese slices w/ the individual wrap tend to fair the best, IMO. It does get more "fragile", meaning when you peel off it's individual wrapping, the corners are more apt to 'break'. Other than that, I notice no difference. It's the sliced cheese with nothing between the slices or just paper between the slices that don't do well. They get very "Fragile". It's next to impossible to get a whole slice separated from the rest. They always break. BUT, it still tastes like cheese. Just not as pretty lol.

Hope this helps.

Yup, what she said!

I freeze cheese often. Never had a problem!

[zakity]

I usually shred it before I put it in the freezer. I only do that because it is already "prepped" for me.

I haven't had any luck in slicing cheese after I had already frozen it.

[IntlMom]

same here, I freeze all cheese, all the time!

[amykay9377]

For brick, just know that once it thaws it will be "crumbly". A bonus is if brick cheese is cheaper, you can freeze it then easily crumble it with your hands...

For shredded, I also freeze them in the store bought packages...

I don't normally buy a brick, shred it, then try to freeze those shreds. It always turns into a big hunk of mess.

Cheese slices are a little trickier. It's the sliced cheese with nothing between the slices or just paper between the slices that don't do well. They get very "Fragile". It's next to impossible to get a whole slice separated from the rest.

Crumbly cheese is great, but I prefer the shredded. I find that if I shred the Big Block, then put into a zip top bag with a tablespoon or so of cornstarch and then shake to coat, the cheese freezes beautifully (or at least as well as pre-shredded cheese). Some people think you need to flash freeze (single layer on a cookie sheet) first, but I don't.

Pre-sliced 100% real cheese (seen at Sam's or Costco in 120 or 160 slices) freeze just fine. The layers cheese are offset, meaning there is a slight overhang, for you to get. However, I do notice that if you FoodSaver teh cheese, it gets pressed down, but again, not that much, and I have no problems getting one slice of cheese.

But, really, no matter what--I love cheese!

[wannabedebtfree]

I agree to the cornstarch (or flour) helping to keep the shreaded cheese 'separateable'. Also, if you flatten out the baggie instead of it freezing in a big glump (is that even a word), it thaws faster and more evenly and you dont have the ball in the middle that takes forever to thaw (same thing with ground beef).

[ShawnaRae]

Wow! Thank you for the great ideas! Especially coating with cornstarch! I bought the big brick yesterday, for the first time! Thanks again!

[cissylu]

same here also.! I freeze cheese!

[Bethany]

I just bought 4 pounds of Land O Lake American cheese in four separate packages because it was half off. I froze 3 pounds (I go through a pound a week.) I just stuck in the freezer, hopefully I will do ok with it. Sounds like everyone else has done ok with it.