[marduke]

Need some info on this. I have a block of Parmesan left over from a previous recipe. Whats the best way to store it?
Grate it all up and keep in airtight bottle in fridge?
Ziplok bag in the fridge?
Vacuum seal and store in the fridge? Block or grated?

[KYHeirloomer]

Why would you even consider pre-grating it? That's a sure-fire way to have it dry out.

I don't know if it's the best way, but I just slip the block into a ziplock and store it in the fridge---basically how I keep all my cheeses once they're started.

[marduke]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

Why would you even consider pre-grating it? That's a sure-fire way to have it dry out.

I have always bought a bottle of pre-grated cheese. Parmasan or Romano. Always pre-grated. A block of parmasan is new to me. Don't know how to store it.

[Mapiva]

I buy parmesan at a great italian deli around here. I usually have them grate it for me because I like how finely they grate it - like a powder. I then place it in a plastic container and store in the freezer. Oddly enough when it is very finely grated it does not freeze. I can take it out of the freezer at serving time and it is not clumped or anything.

If I have a left over block of cheese that I wasn't going to use right away I'd put in a ziploc bag and store in the freezer. Otherwise it keeps in the fridge for a while.

Don't forget to keep the rind. I add it to soups and stock for risotto.

[humpty99]

I have heard that you are supposed to wrap in parchment paper and then foil for the longest life. I buy huge blocks of cheese for my pizza making, and I just put them in a zip loc. I use it fast enough so it doesn't go bad. Zip loc is probably just fine as long as you are going to use it sometime soon.

[ED BUCHANAN]

To buy it pre grated is a sin, as soon as its grated it starts to lose flavor as well as aroma. To store it grated is ok for a while making sure it stays dry or it will mold. I prefer putting it in a plastic bag and then getting as much air as possible out of bag then store in a fridg that maintains a steady temperature of 38 to 40 F. It can also be frozen which iI have found does not affect quality that much. chefed

[marduke]

Freezing seems to be the most popular so far. So... will freezing, using what I need, re-freezing, using what I need, re-freezing again... will this ruin the block?

[Luc_H]

Originally Posted by marduke

Freezing seems to be the most popular so far. So... will freezing, using what I need, re-freezing, using what I need, re-freezing again... will this ruin the block?

Nope.

I have been freezing, using what I need and refreezing my blocks of Parmesan for years. The only real down side is you cannot make nice slivers with the frozen stuff.

When I need parmesan I slice a section off the frozen block and grate in my handy hand held hard cheese grater. The taste is not lost (very little if any lost). You can even still make cheese <tuile> or tiles if you want.

Luc H

[ED BUCHANAN]

Before you freeze it, cut it into smaller pieces so you wont have to thaw the whole thing.

[food-macro]

what would happen if you tried freezing Parmesan cheese without removing all the air possible? would it affect flavour and aroma?

[Mezzaluna]

I have a FoodSaver vacuum sealing system. I rarely have moldy cheese now. I have a block of Grana Padano in the fridge that I bought in April. It has no mold on it. I try not to handle it with bare hands, as I feel that would transfer substances that would make the cheese spoil faster. I put a plastic sandwich bag on my hand to hold the cheese while grating it.

I don't freeze cheese often, but I would only freeze it if I vacuum sealed it.

[Anneke]

Never pregrate, and never freeze. While Parmigiano withstands freezing better than most cheese, you are turning a $20 hunk of heaven into a $10 piece of cheese that has little to do with what the the craft and tradition behind parmigiano intended. Freezing cheese ALWAYS affects texture. It will get moisture pockets, and can absorb off-flavours. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, keep it cold, change the wrap every time you use it and it will last a long time in your fridge. No need to freeze, I promise! Besides, how long can a good piece of parm last in anyone's fridge??

[bughut]

I've been advised never to store any cheese in plastic of any kind. It needs to breath, not sweat. Wrap in greasproof paper or parchment and buy just as much as you need. I stand by that.

[I <3 Vodka]

Originally Posted by marduke

Freezing seems to be the most popular so far. So... will freezing, using what I need, re-freezing, using what I need, re-freezing again... will this ruin the block?

Repeated freezing/thawing is usually not the best practice with anything. Why not cut the block into smaller blocks with each block being the amount you'd anticipate to use in each cooking and take out one smaller block at a time as needed?

[teamfat]

Many years ago we bought a nice Rubbermaid or Tupperware or some such brand cheese storage box, a tightly sealable plastic thing. What a waste! The first few days we had various bits of cheese in there it was sweating, getting gooey and all starting to smell bad. I imagine it might be better if all you buy is the common plastic wrapped blocks of pastuerized, processed, cheese like food product, they might be more adaptable to such an environment.

It does seem like harder, drier grating cheeses like parm can handle being wrapped more tightly in plastic bags. I have a small wedge I bought about two weeks ago that I keep in a plastic sandwich bag in the meat compartment of the fridge. For dinner tonight I got too lazy to brine and grill some pork loin I had planned on doing, guess I'll do that tomorrow. So I boiled up a pot of pasta topped with nothing but butter, garlic and a nice pile of that parm, freshly grated. If you have access to a market that sells small chunks of parm ,and you've always used pregrated, you owe it to your taste buds to try some freshly grated. That stuff in the green cardboard cans just can't compare to the real thing!

mjb.