Cheese

I'm the cheese lover in our house. I find it freezes well, either grated or in a block. If it turns out too crumbly, I use it in cooking. My all time fave is St Aigur, a creamy blue cheese. Yum!

I eat a lot of cheese most of it in cooking, but a cheese and tried so many times on sandwich is DH’s all time favorite.

I keep about five different cheeses, each wrapped in tinfoil(after removing all other packaging first) and store in a plastic, tupperware type box in the fridge.Lasts ages, and if there is any mould on them I just cut it off, then wrap the good piece.Cheese lasts longer than you think.

Was out to lunch yesterday, and thought I'd have my usual problem, which is, I've got sensitive to cow milk (the casein protein).
So when the cheese'n'biccies came, I asked....and they produced two kinds of sheep and goat milk as well!
Wonderful!

But I did love extra strong Cheddar, and miss it.

I bought the cheese box recommended by Teetime and think it's great!

Um I cut the mound off and use it

We like Tickler cheddar (from Tesco). It's really tasty and keeps well in a box in the fridge. I am also partial to Pie d'Angloys which is a bit like a brie/camembert cross.

At Christmas we always have stilton and DS's favourite Wensledale with cranberries. I like that one with ginger too - lovely with a digestive biscuit.

mould

@Greyduster - my daughter is working there now, still the same ethos/ambiance

I'm firmly of the belief that there's no such thing as too much cheese. I eat a LOT - all different types - and rarely take any notice of eat-by dates. If I've been neglecting the cheddar in favour of something else and it gets mouldy, I just cut off the mould - it's what the rind is, after all.

Kitty, please don't throw away green cheese, just cut off the mould and the cheese underneath is perfectly edible.
Just an additional suggestion to all the useful ones here.

DH isn't allowed much cheese, so when I grate some Cheddar for putting on a dish, I do the whole block and freeze thegrated cheese.
We only have fancy cheeses for special occasions - it doesn't last as DH has some with almost every meal. Personally, I can take or leave cheese - unless there is some particularly a nice and crusty french stick.
The green on cheese is only penicillin - eat it or cut it off if you feel unhappy!

We dont eat too much cheese but if it has a bit of mould on it we just cut it off and carry on eating the rest.

Wrap in greaseproof paper not plastic (mskes it sweat). OH had Saturday job in cheese shop (many years ago!) and says there's no such thing as 'gone off' hard cheese. They just used to cut the outside off and continue selling it!

I chop up old cheese and put it on the bird tables. Robins in particular just love it and it helps keep them warm in winter.

I am a cheese addict and have some almost every day. Cathedral City, one pack a week. I read somewhere that it is not so fattening if you do not use butter as well (in a sandwich). My favorite lunch is a crusty cheese roll with tomatos, cucumber or mustard, or I melt some in the microwave and spread it on Ryvita or toast - for a treat I might add a poached egg on top. If I snack on crisps, or nuts, or an apple, I often have a chunk of cheese too, and have a thin slice with fruit cake. I also buy feta cheese for pasta dishes with spinach, or for salads.

Just returned from day trip to France, had to put my camembert in shed as even when foil wrapped and stored in sealed container still smells too much for the kids!

As I live alone I used to have the problem of cheese going 'off' before I could finish it but I now use a solution I found on the internet and it works! Take the cheese out of whatever packaging it comes in and put it in a rigid polythene container with a scrunched up piece of kitchen paper, when the paper gets a bit damp, usually after 3-4 days for cheddar, just use a new piece. Not had a piece of cheese that's not in tip top condition since.

If cheese has mould on it I trim, grate & freeze.

I have cheese from Wensleydale Creamery in my freezer as a Christmas treat.

I am lucky that I have a lovely Deli & a Specialist Cheese Shop in my little Devon Town. Cheese Heaven.

I am Diabetic Type 2 so have to limit my cheese consumption, shame really as I'm a "2 legged mouse"

In our house we have opposite problem. We buy 2 large blocks of cheddar from Aldi, brie, stilton and gorgonzola and we always run out before Saturday when we shop.

Toss any bits of cheese leftover at the end of the week in the food processor- pop it in the freezer, you can add to this every week until needed. Don't worry about mixing different cheeses this just adds to the flavour when used in sauces etc.

I suspect it depends a little on what kind of cheese we are talking about, but I halve the piece because otherwise it won't fit into the cheese dish and wrap the half to be kept in greaseproof paper and then pop it into a freezer bag and keep it in the fridge until we have eaten the first half of the piece. Næe bother, as the say north of the border.

Some cheeses freeze well; others don't. The ones that crumble on being de- frozen should be grated before going into the freezer.

Before cheese goes mouldy, it doesn't matter if it is dry, chop it finely and put it in a jar and dampened it with a little milk, cream or yoghurt. After a day or so in the fridge it can be spread on bread or biscuits. You can add dried dill or other flavourings if you like. Here in Denmark this dish has kept its German name and is called Potkäse (cheese in a jar) if you want to keep it for a longish time you add a teaspoonful of brandy or rum.

We don’t use cheese very much but I buy the large packs and as soon as I open it, I put it back in its pack and make sure as much of the air as possible is out of it and tightly closed and packed and then put strong elastic bands around it and put it back in the fridge. It seems to keep well for as long as I need it and I very rarely waste any.

Amazed anyone needs to throw cheddar away - have you looked at the sell by dates on the packs? Apparently they'll keep almost for ever!

I keep mine in the packets with a klippit on, and squeeze most of the air out. If the edges go a bit dry & hard you can still grate that bit and use it in cooking, and any mould is just scraped off. I don't actually find cheddar goes mouldy but parmesan does sometimes, a tip I read was to wrap it in kitchen roll to stop it sweating, before putting it back in the packet.

I'm another of the 'scrape off' brigade. Been doing it for many years and doesn't seem to have had any adverse effect.
Mind you, I daresay many who know me might dispute that second sentence!!

Blimey unless it’s completely mouldy all over I cut the bits off and still use it, talking about cheddar of course, not sure about soft cheeses.
Remember my mum always cutting the mould off and we didn’t have a fridge, just a larder.