Dear Home-Ec 101,
I like to shred my own cheese. How do I keep it from clumping while I store it?
Signed,
Louis the Lump
Heather says:
There’s a simple trick to store shredded cheese without clumping, whether it’s in the refrigerator or freezer. Simply add 1 – 2 tablespoons of corn starch to the freezer bag and shake vigorously to distribute it evenly. If you look at bags of pre-shredded cheese in the supermarket, you will see they have an anti-clumping agent, usually cellulose. Corn starch plays that role for home storage.
Don’t forget, when you shred cheese you dramatically increase its surface area which causes it to dry out quickly. Try to remove as much air from the bag as possible before storing. Be careful, squashing the bag could yield one giant clump.
Please remember this advice is meant to apply to your garden variety cheddar and Monterey jack style cheeses. Please don’t spend a ton of money on high-end $16 lb cheese and expect it to be as lovely after spending three months in the freezer.
Send your domestic questions to Helpme@Home-Ec101.com.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
cool tip! never would have occurred to me to try that! Thx!
Recently ran across a product called Cheese Paper in a kitchen specialty shop and while I did't buy it, I did start using wax paper to wrap my cheese BEFORE storing it in a ziplock bag and it really prolongs the quality of the cheese. The chef in the store begged us not to let the plastic have contact with the cheese. I just couldn't disappoint her.
Cheese paper is great. If you can't find it, waxed paper makes a very fine substitute. (It's what I generally use.)
GREAT tip
Two great tips, thanks. I confess I've just been shredding and putting it into a reusable plastic container…and didn't even mind it this way as long as whatever I was adding it to later caused it to melt.
I've just been shredding and putting it into a reusable plastic container…and didn't even mind it this way as long as whatever I was adding it to later caused it to melt.
Thanks! I'd never heard of cheese paper before, I'm going to give that a try.
Me too never heard of that. Maybe its expensive?
I'm just crazy to try it out! I love shredded cheese.. nom nom.. FarmVille
I had not heard of using waxed paper before. I will try that on the brick of mozz in my fridge.