Freezing Parmesan

WillyNelson

WillyNelson

WillyNelson

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Just bought a 150g block of Parmesan but I'm the only one in the house who eats it. It doesn't get used very quickly and inevitably it goes a bit fuzzy if it's been in the fridge a few months.

Can I freeze half of it for later use, will it affect its (fridge) shelf life when I come to use it?

Thanks
 
Hi,

We buy parmesan in 1kg blocks and freeze them as we get through so much. The trick is when you take it out the freezer let it defrost at room temperature to stop it from going crumbly and retain its original texture. We've been doing this for about 3 years now

B
 
pitchfork said:
Why freeze it? I don't even refrigerate it just keep it in the cool larder and it lasts for months and months.
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Depends on the environment. In my kitchen it goes off after a couple of weeks, same in my fridge. If you grate and then freeze it then it lasts months.
 
How does it go off? It has a high salt and fat content, pretty much impossible to spoil unless you store it in a humidifier.

More to the point even if you do get mould cheese isn't porous - you can simply cut the mould off.
 
Dead serious, it's almost impossible for a proper Parmesan cheese to go off.

It's like saying a cured meat will go off - it doesn't. It gets better with age if you store it in a cool, dry place.
 
Bought a whole Parmesan back from Italy and divided up between the family .....the chunk I had was kept in the fridge and lasted more than a year and it didn't spoil
 
pitchfork said:
It's almost impossible for a proper Parmesan cheese to go off.
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I bought it from Sainsbury's. You join the dots.

In the fridge, wrapped, it usually starts to go a bit green round the edges after a few months. I do cut these bits off but was looking for an alternative to wasting bits of it.
 
A fridge will dry it too far after a while. Try something between what you do now and what pitchfork has suggested - wrap it in cheese cloth.

Alternatively you could try portioning it and then vacuum sealing and freezing the bits you aren't going to use for the next month. Probably more hassle than it is worth though.
 
pitchfork said:
Don't wrap it, it needs to breathe or it will go mouldy.
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I never knew that! Bit stupid for the advice on the packet to be to wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate.

I'll look into proper cheese storage.

My main issue here is that my wife doesn't like cheese (I know, poor choice), so there's usually nothing more than medium cheddar and a bit of Parmesan in the fridge.

Might get one of these www.lakeland.co.uk/9185/Small-Tefal-Cheese-Preserver
 
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I bought half a round back from a business trip about 8 years ago and its still going
strong, well not much left, just wrapped it in some cloth and popped it in the cuboard.

Oh and the rind is fantastic in risotto :)
 
I tend to cut a block up into smaller blocks (really clean hands, obviously) and wrap them tightly in clingfilm and leave in the fridge. Only use one at a time. the others last ages
 
I've also found Parmesan tends to go off after a while in the fridge.

I 'grate' mine in a blender and then freeze in tubs.

Does the job and defrosts very quickly at room temp.
 
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