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Cheese You Can Freeze!

Updated: Jul 15, 2021


Photo by Elisa Michelet #ElishaMichelet


Last Sunday I was going through my fridge to empty out any expired food, nothing surprising when I opened one of the drawers in the fridge where we store most of our cheese. I saw mold on couple of cheese packets and I had to throw them out instantly. I hate throwing food as I strongly believe in lessening food wastage in our household and donating food in community. I was reading one of the articles on Internet from a food blogger regarding “can you freeze cheese?” surprisingly short answer to this is “YES!” in most cases!! #canyoufreezecheese


Photo by Wyron A #WyronA


So, my next question how and what type of cheese can be frozen and why we should do that?


Let’s answer last question first!!


Why? Once I visited Wyong cheese factory I was astounded to see how many types and varieties are there, and how much work put in to make one brick of cheese. On an average a good quality of cheese can take anywhere between 3 months to 12 months or more. I believe all those cheese makers out there would definitely be in shock to know, how much each year going in the bin. I personally respect their hard work and commitment. #lifeofacheese #foodwastecheese



Photo by Gary Chan #GaryChan


My mother was a big advocate of not wasting food, she would always find ways to use sour milk, instead throwing it away, may be that’s where my learning comes from, Home Sweet Home #homesweethome


So, answer to why is my learning, respect for food and respect for its creators


Now my next questions are what type of cheese I can freeze?


To answer this question first you need to know what types of cheese are there? Well, there are 1800 or more types of cheese, and I am not going to talk about them all! What we can do here let’s just talk about everyday cheese we use in cooking or eating as it is. So, I have found this very interesting article from Castello Cheese , it’s definitely worth checking out! This articles also explains what types of cheese are there and method to freeze them, which answers to how to freeze cheese


Freeze my cheese helps in reducing food wastage #reducefoodwaste , which is satisfying.....


Before you drift away hang on minute.. Now the question I haven’t asked above what types of cheese can we make out of sour milk at home?


Ricotta cheese and cottage cheese can be made from sour milk, if you are interested in making ricotta cheese please check following link, how to make ricotta cheese



Photo by Anita Peeples #AnitaPeeples


Ricotta cheese is versatile and can be a starring ingredient in both savoury or sweet recipes, of you are looking for more recipes to choose from I have found following links which shows you how to use Ricotta cheese in 52 different ways


How to make cottage cheese:


When you are on a mission to clean up your fridge and don’t know what to do with sour milk, why not try making cottage cheese!!


Photo by Lena Kudryavtseva #LenaKudryavtseva


Method:

Get a pan out, pour sour milk in the it, bring it to boil on a high heat and turn the stove off, add 1 tbsp. of lemon juice and stir it, you will notice milk has started to curdle.


Let it cool down and then using a cheese or muslin cloth pour milk to contain solid curd in the cheese cloth and rest of liquid is called “Whey”, which can be used in making soups, stock or add it to smoothies as it’s full of protein.


What you have in cheese cloth a solid lump of cottage cheese which you can add to salads or vegetable soups or try my recipe below


I have shared my mother’s recipe to make cottage cheese and some ideas how to use it in different recipes.


Cottage cheese is very easy to make, it’s also known as Paneer cheese. Best way to cook paneer is to make Palak Paneer (Spinach and cottage cheese) cooked in spices. #palakpanner #vegetarianrecipe #veganrecipe #winterfood #comfortfood

It’s a perfect winter comfort food and vegetarian recipe


How to make Palak Paneer:


Photo by Kanwardeep Kaur #KanwardeepKaur


Ingredients:


Paneer 100gm, cut in small cubes

English spinach 500gm chopped OR frozen spinach 250gm thawed

½ cup of water

4 tbsp. olive oil

1 large red Spanish onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. garlic paste

1 tbsp. ginger paste

1 small fresh tomato chopped

1 tsp. of cumin seeds

1 tbsp. of red chili powder, coriander and turmeric powder (each)

1 small green chili (optional)


How to cook:


Step-1

Fry paneer in 1 tbsp. oil in a pan separately and keep it aside. In a separate pan add rest of oil, once heated add cumin seeds, after seeds start to splutter, fry onion until golden brown, then add ginger and garlic paste along with spices, cook for 2 minutes then add tomatoes. Let it cook until tomatoes are cooked and softened.


Step-2

In a food processor add spinach and half cup of water and blend until smoothened. Add spinach puree to step-1, cover with lid & cook for another 15 minutes on low heat. Add paneer & serve with rice or warm roti (flat bread) #roti #flatbread



Photo by Usman Yousaf #UsmanYousaf


Tips which can save you money:


1. You must have heard it thousand times, prepare your shopping list, there are so many free apps available these days. Not a fan of apps! then use a pen and paper and write down your shopping list


2. If you buying cheese, don’t go over board and buy every type on the shelf!! Just buy what you need and type of cheese you need. Once you open the packaging of cheese it has to be consumed with in the time frame written on the packaging.


3. If you buying it in bulk for your family to save money it’s okay to do that, make sure you try different recipes to use it all and not to waste it


4. If cheese is on sale buy it now and freeze it for later use


5. If you have a big family, it’s worth investing money on a bigger freezer, it will reduce food waste and save money in a longer run


If you like to learn more about cheese and get to know food bloggers or cheese makers (Australia), please check following links:



Cheese refrigeration and storage:


If you are wondering, how should I store my cheese in the fridge so it will last longer? And what’s the best container for cheese? Is Tupperware container better? Or should I buy Storage Vault for cheese? #tupperware #storagevault #bestcontainerforcheese


Hang on!! First thing first – Always make sure you double wrap your cheese, use aluminum foil or baking paper to wrap it, then put it in a plastic container with a dampened kitchen towel, close the lid and put it on the salad drawer or in the top of the fridge where temperature is same most times


You don’t need any fancy container, make sure it’s air tight...


Can you freeze sliced cheese?


Answer is Yes!! Use baking paper in between each slice and wrap them in sealed bag, use a freezer bag to store it in the freezer. #canyoufreezecheeseslice


Have you ever heard of cheese ice cream?


This is first time I have found out that yes, it’s a thing! I have never tried it but I have read on internet people are raving about their experiences. Apparently, it’s called cheddar cheese ice cream and this variety comes from Philippines. I thought I mention this here in my blog as first its cheese related and secondly, I have learned something new today.


Please feel free to check out the recipe for Cheddar cheese ice cream or Queso ice cream



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