Storing cheese properly is a balance between two things: keeping it from drying out, while letting it breathe — without trapping excess moisture that encourages unwanted mould.
Three principles that cover almost everything
- Baking paper, not cling film. Cling film suffocates cheese and gives it a plasticky aftertaste. Wrap it in baking paper or parchment, and place it loosely in a bag or a ventilated box.
- The vegetable drawer is the right place. It is the area with the most stable temperature in the fridge — around 6–8°C — and the highest humidity, which stops the cheese drying out in the direct cold.
- Change the wrapping every time you cut. Each time you cut the cheese, move it to clean baking paper to prevent bacteria and liquids building up.
By type of cheese
| Type of cheese | How to store it |
|---|---|
| Hard and semi-hard cheeses | Baking paper, with a half-open zip-lock bag over it. Large pieces will keep this way for many weeks. |
| White-mould and soft cheeses | Especially sensitive to suffocation. Keep them in their original wrapping or in parchment paper, in a container that is not completely airtight. |
| Blue cheeses | Blue mould needs oxygen but tends to dry the cheese out. Aluminium foil keeps the moisture in and stops the smell spreading to the rest of the fridge. |
| Cheeses in brine | The cheese must be completely covered by liquid. If the brine runs low, make a home brine of 3%–5% salt in boiled, cooled water. |
| Fresh spreadable cheeses | In their original sealed container, and always with a completely clean knife or spoon to prevent spoilage. |
The serving rule
To enjoy the full richness of flavour and texture, take hard, semi-hard and soft cheeses out of the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before eating, and serve them at room temperature.
Mould on the cheese — when it can be saved
On hard and semi-hard cheeses, surface mould does not mean throwing away the whole piece. Because of their low moisture content and dense structure, the mould threads and their toxins do not easily penetrate deep inside.
- Cut with a safety margin: at least 2.5 cm around and below the affected area.
- Avoid cross-contamination: keep the knife away from the mould itself as you cut, so you don’t carry spores to the clean parts.
- Re-wrap: throw away the old wrapping paper and wrap the cheese in completely clean paper.
When to throw it away without hesitating
- Soft, fresh or grated cheeses — ricotta, cottage cheese, fresh mozzarella, cream cheeses or pre-grated cheese. In these, mould spreads invisibly through the whole cheese, and the entire package should be thrown away at once.
- Unusual mould — black, pink or orange, or with a slimy, sticky texture.
- A spoiled smell or taste — a sharp ammonia smell in a cheese that shouldn’t have one, a bitter aftertaste, or a change in the texture inside.