There are a few reasons that you could be left with some blue cheese that you are not sure what to do with. If you have had a party where a cheese board has only been picked at by about half of the amount of people that you thought would, or you have bought a slab of blue cheese for a recipe but only needed about a quarter of it, then you might be at a loss.
But don’t worry about adding to your amount of food waste by throwing away a large amount of blue cheese, because this guide will help you to understand the freezing process of blue cheese. You can absolutely freeze blue cheese; in fact, it is recommended to do so if you are in a situation like either of the two above.
Below you will find a step by step guide on how to freeze your blue cheese, as well as a guide on how to safely and efficiently defrost your blue cheese for when you need to use it in another recipe. At the very end, there is a section dedicated to some tips and tricks and things to consider when you are freezing blue cheese.
How to freeze blue cheese
Since cheese, particularly blue cheese, can go off quite quickly in the grand scheme of how often you are likely to use it, freezing it for storage is a great option. This is a step by step guide on how to do just that:
- Step one: take your piece of blue cheese and wrap it in cling wrap. It is recommended to use two layers in order to reduce the chance of freezer burn on your blue cheese. This will also actually stop the blue cheese smell and taste from permeating into other foods in your freezer.
- Step two: take the cling wrapped blue cheese and place it into a freezer safe back that seals. Push any excess air out as much as possible and seal the bag.
- Step three: label the type of cheese it is on the bag with a marker pen, then also write the date you put it into the freezer, so as not to risk leaving it in there for too long and compromising the flavor.
- Step four: place your well wrapped blue cheese into the freezer and leave it until you need to take it out.
If you follow these steps to the letter, you should not experience any freezer burn on your blue cheese, but if you do, don't worry, it is still edible, it just will not taste as good as fresh blue cheese.
Be sure to only keep your blue cheese in the freezer for up to around three months, since this is when it could start getting freezer burn no matter how well you wrapped it. It will also taste fresher the sooner you take it out of the freezer for a meal.
How to defrost blue cheese
When it comes time that you have found yet another recipe that requires a certain amount of blue cheese, or you fancy a blue cheese salad, you can rest assured that you have some ready in the freezer and do not need to go out to buy a whole new block. This is perfect if you are trying to reduce your food waste. You can sleep easy knowing that you saved some blue cheese.
Here is a step by step guide on how to defrost blue cheese that you have frozen:
Step one: take your blue cheese out of the freezer and note the date written on the bag. If you have more than one block of frozen blue cheese, pick the date that means the blue cheese has been in the freezer for longer, within reason.
Step two: place the still wrapped blue cheese into the refrigerator and leave to thaw out in there.
Step three: leave in the refrigerator overnight before you need to use the blue cheese for a meal or recipe. Failing that, leave to thaw for at least six to eight hours.
Never leave your frozen blue cheese out on a countertop to quicken the thawing time, this will lead to the blue cheese being open to spoiling faster. And this will defeat the whole purpose of you freezing it in the first place.
Factors to consider when freezing blue cheese
The main thing to consider when you are going to freeze some blue cheese is that cheese is made up of milk products. When milk, and therefore cheese, is frozen then thawed out, the milk can lose its creaminess and sometimes split. Although milk is less likely to split when in cheese, it can cause the cheese to lose its creamy texture.
In order to avoid this loss of texture when you are freezing your blue cheese, you can make sure to always label your freezer bags with the dates that you placed them in the freezer and then take them out to defrost them within a couple of months. The blue cheese will keep for up to six months when frozen, but this would lead to a higher chance of this less desirable texture.
A smart tip is to portion your blue cheese for the freezer and place the portions into separate pieces of cling wrap but in the same freezer safe bag. You can prepare these portion sizes based on what meal recipes require certain amounts of blue cheese. Another example of a portion size is for a blue cheese salad.
Since blue cheese can lose its texture and creaminess, it is advised that you use blue cheese that has been frozen as cheese for salad or for a cooking ingredient as opposed to for spreading on crackers. So, it may not be a good idea to put blue cheese that has previously been frozen onto a cheese board for another party. But use it on salads and in cooked meals to your heart’s content!
