Can You Freeze Blue Cheese?
You can freeze almost anything, and blue cheese is no exception. The only way to keep the flavor of blue cheese is to freeze it.
The reason is because of the enzymes produced by the bacteria in the cheese. When the cheese is frozen, the enzymes become inactive, making the cheese tasteless.
The process of freezing cheese is called freezing point depression, or FPD. When cheese freezes, it loses moisture and its texture changes.
When it thaws, it becomes softer and more pliable. This can be used to make cheese balls and puffs or coat baked goods.
You can also use the texture of frozen blue cheese in recipes, and it’s an easy way to add maximal flavor to your dishes.
Freezing Blue Cheese
Blue cheese is delicious, but if you can’t eat the whole thing, there’s no reason to throw away what’s left. Freeze it, and you’ll get a more lasting snack. It may even improve the flavor.
To freeze blue cheese, first, remove any rind from the cheese and cut cheese into portions. Then wrap the cheese tightly in plastic freezer wrap and place it into an airtight freezer-safe container.
Make sure the plastic container has a lid, so condensation doesn’t form on the outside of the container.
After about 2 hours, check the container for ice crystals. If there aren’t any, move the cheese to the refrigerator until needed.
If there are ice crystals, put the container back in the freezer for another hour. Check again after 1 hour. Repeat this process as necessary until the cheese is completely frozen.
Once the cheese is frozen, store it in the freezer. It will last up to 6 months.
What is Blue cheese?
Blue cheese is made with milk and cream, which gives it a rich taste. It’s usually made with cow’s milk, though some people use goat’s milk.
Most cheeses are made with rennet, a natural enzyme found in animal stomach linings. Rennet helps curdle the milk.
Some cheeses have added cultures, such as mesophilic lactobacillus, which help create the tangy flavor of blue cheese.
Cheesemakers often use other ingredients to give their cheeses special flavors. For example, they might add herbs like sage or rosemary. They might also add spices like cayenne pepper. Some cheeses are flavored with fruit juice, wine, vinegar, or beer.
How to Make Blue Cheese at Home
Making blue cheese at home isn’t difficult. There are many steps involved, but most of them are simple.
First, you need to find a good recipe for making blue cheese. Many recipes call for adding cultures and herbs, making it a little tricky.
There are two ways to make blue cheese: using cultured milk or not.
Using Cultured Milk
- Culturing is the step where you add cultures to the milk. These cultures cause the milk to separate and curdle.
- Cultures are available in powdered or liquid forms. Powdered cultures work better than liquids since they’re easier to measure out.
- Powdered cultures include mesophilic lactobacilli, lactic acid, and propionic acid.
- Liquid cultures include mesophilic Lactobacillus, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Propionibacterium shermanii.
- The culture should be mixed thoroughly before adding it to the milk. You can mix the powder directly into the milk or heat the milk slightly and then pour the powder into it.
- When you add the culture, stir the mixture well. This ensures that all of the powder gets stirred into the milk.
- Next, let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. Stirring the mixture during this time allows the cultures to start working.
- When you’ve waited 5 minutes, take your cheesecloth and strain the mixture through it. The cloth catches the curds while letting the whey pass through.
- You’ll end up with a thick mass of curds and whey.
- Now that you have the curds, you want to make sure they’re firm enough to hold together when pressed. To test this, press the curds between your fingers. When you squeeze them, they should feel firm.
- If they’re too soft, place them on a plate and refrigerate them overnight.
- If they’re still too soft, repeat these steps one more time.
- After pressing the curds, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator.
- Letting the curds rest overnight strengthens them, so they don’t break apart when you cut them.
- Once the curds are firm, you can begin cutting them into cubes.
- Cutting the curds into cubes will form a crust when they get cold.
- This process takes several hours.
- Please remove the crust from the fridge once the curd has formed a crust.
- This helps prevent mold from forming on the surface of the block of cheese.
- To finish the fresh cheese, brush it with an oil-based glaze.
Adding oil-based glazing gives the cheese a nice shine.
Some people prefer to leave the cheese portions unglazed.
It’s important to note that some types of cheese can contain penicillins. If you’re allergic to penicillin, you may want to avoid eating any blue cheese.
Making Blue Cheese Without Culturing
There are also other methods of making blue cheese without culturing.
- One method involves heating the milk until it reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit (82 degrees Celsius).
- Then, you add rennet to the milk. Rennet is an enzyme found naturally in animal stomachs. It causes the milk proteins to thicken and create a solid curds mass.
- The curds are removed from the milk and placed in an airtight container. They’re allowed to rest for about 12 hours.
- During this resting period, the curds continue to grow and thicken.
- Finally, the curds are cut into small pieces.
- These pieces are packed into containers and left to ripen at room temperature for 2 weeks.
- At this point, the cheese is ready to eat.
Blue cheeses made using this method tend to be milder than those made by culture.
They also tend to have less flavor because there isn’t much chance for bacteria to develop.
How To Defrost Blue Cheese?
If you’re like me, you love soft cheese, but you’d just as soon avoid the cold. Fortunately, this is one problem that can be easily solved.
Process:
STEP 1 Bring your frozen cheese to room temperature by leaving them in a warm spot. This is the first step for any food you want to bring back to life after a period of dormancy. Once your cheese is nice and toasty, please remove it from its original packaging and wrap it in aluminum foil.
STEP 2 Put it in the freezer. Most types of cheese can be frozen without losing their flavor or texture. However, if you’re planning on serving the cheese within a few days, you might consider freezing it in smaller portions.
STEP 3 Take out the cheese once it’s completely defrosted. You can serve it immediately or let it sit in the fridge for up to two days before serving.
Last Words:
You can find many different kinds of blue cheese online. Some are very expensive, while others are quite affordable. The best way to decide which kind of blue cheese you want to buy is to read reviews. You can check out what customers think about each product before buying.
If you want to make your blue cheese, you’ll need to start with raw milk. Raw milk contains more nutrients and enzymes than pasteurized milk.