The best way to store cheese
From Emmental to Roquefort, what is the best way to store cheese in your refrigerator? In the vegetable drawer or a little higher up? And how should the cheese be wrapped? Tim de Koning from Kaashuis Tromp in Amsterdam offers advice.
The best way to store your cheese is in greaseproof paper, like the paper provided by the cheesemonger; in this paper, your cheese can still breathe a little in the refrigerator. Don’t just put the cheese anywhere in your refrigerator, but always store it right at the top or bottom of the fridge. Never put the cheese in the middle, as this is the coldest part and the cheese will dry out fastest there. Also, don’t use a cheese container, as this cuts the cheese off from oxygen, causing it to dry out more quickly. The longer you store the cheese in the refrigerator, the less flavor it will have.
Hard and semi-hard cheese
“Cheeses such as Emmental can handle a little more because of their age; you can store these cheeses in the refrigerator for two to three weeks. An aged cheese can certainly be kept for longer than two to three weeks.”
Soft cheese
“A soft cheese such as Camembert or Brie can be stored for one to one and a half weeks. It is best to eat the cheese within seven days. If the soft cheese is made from buffalo milk, it is more delicate and you can store it for a maximum of seven days. This also applies to French blue cheeses such as Roquefort.”
How to taste the cheese at its best
“To taste the cheese’s flavor at its best, it is important to take the cheese out of the refrigerator and let it rest for about two hours. The refrigerator’s cold really means you miss out on some of the cheese’s flavor. Take soft cheeses out of the paper after removing them from the refrigerator. If you let these cheeses rest until they have reached room temperature with the paper still around them, the entire cheese will stick to the paper, which is a shame.”
“The best thing is to buy a fresh piece of cheese every week. You really shouldn’t keep a piece of cheese in the refrigerator for longer than three weeks; it loses flavor and dries out.” Prefer to freeze it? Here you can read how long you can store cheese in the freezer.
