Cheese, a costly staple in many shopping baskets, needs to be stored properly to prevent it from going mouldy.
Its shelf life is much longer for those who don’t mind cutting off spores of mould when the remaining block of cheese looks fine to eat, but there’s a better approach.
Sarah Taylor, a food hygiene expert at High-Speed Training has revealed the optimal ways to store cheese – and it’s not how you think.
Most people reach for plastic wrap, better known as cling film, in a bid to savour the remainder of a block of cheese. But Sarah warned against it.
She previously told Express.co.uk: “Each cheese is unique, and so they each have different requirements in order to keep them at their best.”
The food safety expert continued: “Hard cheeses such as parmesan have a low moisture content, and as bacteria require food and moisture to survive, cheese with a lower moisture content tends to keep longer.”
Due to this low moisture content, hard cheeses are better off wrapped in clingfilm rather than in waxed cheese paper (or baking parchment), as the paper will allow the air through, causing the cheese to dry out.
However, soft cheeses like brie, which have a higher moisture content, need to breathe.
If soft cheeses can’t ‘breathe’, they can accumulate ammonia gases that can alter the flavour and ruin the delicious savoury treat.
Sarah added: “Therefore, soft cheeses should not be tightly wrapped in clingfilm as they will sweat.”
Instead, soft cheeses should be wrapped in waxed cheese paper, baking parchment, or reusable waxed cloth, and then placed in an airtight container.
The expert also suggested: “If you have a particularly tricky cheese, add a piece of dampened kitchen towel to the container and this will help regulate the atmosphere inside the container.”
Storing cheese correctly has the added benefit of limiting the smell, which often spreads through the fridge in the absence of a container.
Concerning the optimum storage location within the fridge, Sarah explained: “Cheese benefits from consistency, for that reason you should keep it at the back of the fridge where the temperature and humidity are the most regulated.”
She cautioned against certain storage areas, advising: “Try not to keep cheese in the fridge door as the constant opening and closing subjects it to hugely varying temperatures.”
