The Right Way to Store Every Type of Cheese

June 29, 2015

I am not a cook. I am not even a smidgen of a cook. So when it’s time to host any sort of gathering—from a grown-up cocktail party to a birthday party for a toddler—I have limited options for food service if I want to do it myself.

One thing I do know, however, is cheese. It’s easy to serve, I like it, and I know that it’s a crowd-pleaser. I mean, you put out an assortment of cheeses from here with a few crackers, grapes, and olives, and you have yourself a helluva shindig. I always have cheese around the house. To keep it fresh, I always make sure it’s stored properly—both in the wrapper and once opened. (The last thing I want to do is serve anyone cheese that was never intended to be mouldy!)

Here are the simple rules to follow to keep your cheese fresh and flavourful. A lot of it depends on the type of cheese we’re talking about, as there are different rules for different cheeses.

Wrap It Right.

Keep your cheese in top form by wrapping it right. Leave whole cheeses in their original packaging; all the others do best when you use a one-two punch of wax paper and THEN aluminum foil. When you have chunks of cheese that came in plastic wrap, take them out and put them in wax paper. Plastic wrap actually doesn’t let cheese breathe and can make it taste and smell differently that it should! One exception to the wax-paper rule: firm cheeses. They can be wrapped directly in aluminum foil.

Keep It Fresh, Then Know When to Toss it.

Soft cheeses (i.e., Brie or Camembert) can stay fresh for several weeks, although peak freshness is usually within the first week after opening.
Semi-soft cheeses (i.e., Havarti Anco Danesborg) can be kept one week to one month, as long as they are well wrapped.
Firm cheeses (i.e., Cheddar, Swiss) can stay fresh for up to one month or even more! In fact, they keep aging and the flavors intensify!
Blue-veined cheese can be best preserved by keeping them wrapped in a wet cloth, then sealed in an airtight plastic container.
Fresh cheeses (i.e., ricotta) can stay fresh for two weeks when wrapped in a plastic film and kept cool in the fridge. The veggie drawer is best—for this and for all types of cheese, actually!

For more info about serving, storing, and choosing (mouthwatering!) cheese, check out the info here.

This post was sponsored by Our Cheeses

Liz Krieger is a wife, mother, writer in Brooklyn, New York. She's been a magazine editor for over 15 years, having worked at publications including Health, Self, More, Real Simple, Allure, Good Housekeeping, and Parents magazine. She has written for publications including Bazaar, WebMD Magazine, Women's Health, and O, the Oprah magazine. She's the mother of two lovely little girls, and when not chasing after clumps of cat hair (thanks to the two orange tabby cats who sleep near her head), she can be found avoiding to cook, attempting to regain some semblance of core muscles, listening to podcasts while jogging around Prospect Park, and reading really, really fast. Special skills and interests: Figuring out how to have a clean, organized home without actually having to clean or organize, seething at various Real Housewives, varsity-level lint rolling, and the ability to eat an entire pineapple in one sitting.