Care and Storage

 

How to kill a cheese

Natural rind cheese should never be completely wrapped in cling wrap, especially for long periods. Plastic does not allow the cheese to breathe and will asphyxiate any living organisms, resulting in unpleasant flavours. It will also cause sweating when the cheese is brought to higher temperature for serving.

If cling film must be used, only wrap the cut surfaces as this will still allow the cheese rind to breathe. When storing a cheese this way, always remember to shave the faces of the cheese just before presenting the cheese as this will remove all oxidization from the surface of the cheese and refresh the flavour.

There is nothing worse than serving an oxidized piece of cheese to a customer as its flavours and texture are far removed from the actual beauty of the cheese. Looking after good cheeses involves understanding how temperature, humidity and wrapping can affect their condition. Traditional cheeses with a natural rind require minimal air to breathe and mature, and cool, humid conditions to keep them moist. Temperature and humidity are critical factors. 

All natural cheeses are best kept at 8-14 degrees at a relative humidity of minimum 80%. If the environment is too cold, they dry out and crack. If it is too warm, they ooze butterfat and turn soft and mushy. 

Cheese storage compartment and cheese paper

The fridge is not ideal for storage of cheeses as the cold stops any further maturation of whole cheeses. It also has a lower humidity than the ideal level for traditional cheeses. Colder temperatures are ideal though for the preservation of cheeses and minimizing wastage of a cheese that is too ripe. It is a matter of finding a balance with this predicament and that comes through making sure they are properly wrapped to stop them from drying out or kept in a separate box; our cheese storage compartment. 

How to build a cheese storage compartment (home of the cheese): 

  • 1 x tupperware container or plastic container with a lid that has a couple of holes punctured in it for breathing 

  • 1 x damp cloth changed daily 

  • 1 x sushi mat or similar plastic mat 

Basically, all we do is slightly dampen the cloth and place this on the bottom of the container. You then place the sushi mat or plastic mat on top of this and a couple of sugar cubes in the box and we then seal the lid. This is then stored in the fridge. What this does is create a micro-environment within our fridge of roughly 7-8 degrees and 70-80% relative humidity. The damp cloth will need to be changed daily and this needs discipline and diligence to work.

The cheeses of course will be wrapped in their cheese paper. This improves the quality of our cheese tenfold compared to the basic storage of foil and fridge. Bring out your inner cheese geek and have fun caring for your cheese. 

Cheese paper

For all pieces of cheese cut from the wheel, the best way to store them in the fridge is wrapped in waxed cheese paper. Waxed paper prevents the cheese from drying out and at the same time allows the cheese and associated living organisms to breathe. Cheese wrapped in this way can be brought to serving temperature without sweating.

If there is no cheese paper on hand, then baking paper & covered in foil will suffice. The only exception to this rule is blue cheese. Blue cheese is best stored in foil as it is the only cheese that loves air and breathing to continue developing as the blue veins, derived from Penicillium roqueforti which develops when it comes into contact with air. 

Cheese care BEFORE SERVING

Before serving always give the faces of the semi hard, hard cooked and blue cheeses a light shaving with a butter knife as this scraps away the oxidization that has created a light film on the faces of the cheese as it is stored in any condition; whether it be at room temperature or in the fridge.

A great way to understand this is to shave the cheese and taste it yourself and then try the piece of fresh face and see the difference. It usually resembles a dishwasher chemical flavour. If any hard cheese’s face starts to harden up and discolour it should either be cut and discarded or scrapped back sufficiently to reveal a fresh paste.