You can freeze cheese, but it will be crumbly when thawed.
For best results, wrap very well in foil, keeping the foil right on the surface of the cheese, then place the pieces in a freezer safe bag....and when thawing, thaw in the refrigerator.
Linda c

I vacuum-seal cheese, and it lasts many times longer than any other wrapping method I've ever tried. If you eat a lot of cheese and get good prices on large pieces, a vacuum sealer might pay for itself fairly quickly. Plus, there are all kinds of other things you can use it for besides cheese.

Google "cereal variety pack" and you'll find a whole bunch of places that still sell those cute little boxes. Linked you to one below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cereal serial

P.S. I meant to say that I vacuum-seal it and store it in the fridge, not the freezer.

maureen me: so it doesn't get moldy sealed that way in the frig.? And thanks for that cereal site ... what crazy memories that oddly come up!

lindac: does it still crumble using the foil wrap/freezing? Since I'd probably still use most of it in cooking the crumbling wouldn't be a problem though I guess!

Thanks both of you!

I have tried freezing cheese; the texture became very crumbly after that. I used it in lasagnas and casseroles so the texture doesn't bother me. Probably wouldn't eat it as fresh cheese though.

Al

Vieja - I just watched this little clip on buying/storing cheese and thought you might be interested in watching it. If the link does not take you directly to the clip, just follow the link, then on the right side, click on Cheese Storage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheese Glorious Cheese

I buy the 5 lb. bags of shredded Italian cheese at Sam's and divide it into 2 cup portions, vacuum seal and freeze for pizza topping. I also can my homemade pizza sauce in one cup jars. Then I make, prebake and freeze a bunch (usually a half dozen at a time) 12-14" pizza crusts and freeze those. Then when my college age kids are home with their friends, they can whip up a pizza in no time. The best part is the pizzas cost very little and the kids will use whatever is leftover in the fridge for toppings.

The frozen cheese works fine in this application.

Mold can be simply cut off of most solid cheeses (solid as opposed to cheeses like cottage or ricotta). I don't know if this is considered safe practice by whatever agency decides these things, but I have done it all my life and have never had any problem. Just pare a thin slice of cheese from the moldy surface. I generally wash my knife between each cut (if the mold is on more than one side) to avoid spreading mold spores back onto the remaining cheese.

That's good to know. Sometimes crumbly cheese is what you want.

Jim

Yes I remember how I loved those little cereal boxes as a kid and of course had to pour the milk in and eat it out of the box as they suggested.

I also remember buying cereal for the little 'Lil Abner or Dick Tracy metal badges that came inside for pinning to your sweater or hat, opening the box and groping around through the cereal just to find that little tin badge! Guess I'm also 'una vieja' LOL.

I haven't tried freezing cheese though.

SharonCb

I always grate whatever cheese I am going to freeze. DS eats a lot of nachos so it's handy to have. By bagging it in smaller quantities, we don't have a problem w/ cheese going moldy in the refrigerator.

sharon: Yes, our son remembers on trips he could eat his cereal right out of the box DRY while on the road; of course had it with milk when at home. Seems my sister & I always wanted the SAME box of cereal though in those packages! Oh, and those crackerboxes that had those 'precious' trinkets in the box with the popcorn... is it my imagination or are those trinkets really getting 'cheap'(?!!) or was it only precious in a youngster's eye back then?ha

-una vieja who has earned that title.. believe me!!
ci lantro:
does frozen cheese then melt well when heated after being frozen?

Vieja--yes, it melts just fine.

vieja, I regularly freeze cheese and it does melt just fine when I use it for cooking after thawing. Most do get crumbly, but the texture is a bit better if you thaw it in the fridge instead of on the counter.

As for those little cereal boxes, I can buy them at the grocery store right along with the other boxes of cereal. They come in packages with several different varieties.

Annie

When we go back to Iowa we always stock up on those great cheese curds, esp. the fried ones! They are made fresh weekly in those little towns along the Miss. River in NE Iowa & NW Wisconsin but we place an order just before coming home & I have frozen a lot of them & they thaw fine & same texture .... chewy! I see cheese curds labelled x Wisc. down here in NM but they must be pasteurized or something as they don't have an expiration date & taste 'somewhat' like the fresh cheese curds.

Annie: I guess I really hadn't looked for those cereal boxes since our son grew up but -like the crackerjacks- a fond childhood memory still! Glad both are still around for another generation! Those crackerbox 'precious' toys we searched in every box sure have gotten 'cheap' ... or maybe that is just viewing from an adult's viewpoint now!!! ha

Vieja, you're right, the prizes in CrackerJacks have gotten cheap, they only have "paper prizes" now, none of those plastic rings or metal puzzles, just paper stuff.

I only know about the little boxes of cereal because my daughter Ashley still asks me to buy them, they make a nice snack if she carries her lunch to work and she gets "bored" if she has to carry the same kind until a whole box is gone, LOL.

Annie