How long will cheese last vaccum sealed in Refrigerator?

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I have frozen cheddar, and it always comes out crumbly.  Fine for soups and sauces, but not what I like for slicing.

Good luck and good smoking!
 
The only one that didn't get crumbly was the Mozz'.

The others were various Jacks.

Hmmm-wonder what else it could have been---My freezer is always at " 0˚ "---too cold?

Bear
Cheese has a lot of moisture in it and the freezer drys out moisture for some reason. Cheese will go for a good 6 months without loosing any flavor if well vac sealed. If it starts to get mold you just scrape it with a knife dipped in vingar and remove the mold. Learned this from Mrs Scar who used to work at Hickory farms 
 
Cheese has a lot of moisture in it and the freezer drys out moisture for some reason. Cheese will go for a good 6 months without loosing any flavor if well vac sealed. If it starts to get mold you just scrape it with a knife dipped in vingar and remove the mold. Learned this from Mrs Scar who used to work at Hickory farms 


But Al's didn't get crumbly.

I have not frozen any since, but I'd still like to know why mine dried & got crumbly, and Al's didn't???

Thanks Scar,

Bear
 
I picked up the 3440 for $93 on Amazon. The FoodSaver link has them listed for $155. I have picked up on many threads here that vacuum sealing, before freezing, does great things for longer term storage. I have destroyed good food because of freezer burn. One of my primary reasons for smoking will be sausage. I hear that nitrites are not needed if sausages are smoked, vacuum sealed and then frozen. I am going to the n'th degree for sausages because all of the commercial foods like sausages, cold cuts and ham have preservatives which make me ill. Preservatives are by nature poisons. Smoked cheese is a life long favorite so I fully intend to journey down that road. Long live smoked cheese!    
Tommer,

I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

If you don't use a cure, you will have to cook the sausages from 40˚ to 140˚ in 4 hours, in some way, and at some time.

#1   You could vacuum pack & freeze them right away----Then at a later date, thaw & smoke/cook them from 40˚ to 140˚ in 4 hours----Then finish cooking them to 160˚ before eating.

#2   You could smoke/cook them from 40˚ to 140˚ in 4 hours, then finish them to 160˚, and then vacuum pack & freeze them.

#3   You could smoke/cook them from 40˚ to 140˚ in 4 hours, then vacuum pack & freeze them. Then at a later date, thaw & fry or cook them to 160˚, before eating.

The big difference is that without cure in your mix, you have to hot-smoke/cook them from 40˚ to 140˚ in no longer than 4 hours.

If you put the proper amount of cure in the mix, you can smoke them low & slow, and not have to worry about the danger zone.

I hope this helps,

Bear
 
I have a few pounds. Some been in there for over a year now.

9b8d23b9_DSC00923.jpg
 
I know it is a good month late but if the cheese does not have any mold it should still be good. My Mother hid some of my cheese i sent her and it was just in a zip lock for well over a year and it did have some mold on it that we cut off and the cheese was still good.
 
The reason the cheese gets crumbly is all freezers now are frost free which means that they remove moisture. Putting the cheese in a vacuum bag is the only way to go and would slow that down and or stop it altogether. I don't know for sure as i have never frozen any smoked cheese. It never last more then a month anyway and i smoke around 15 lbs at a time.
 
DuaneS,  I take it you are asking about hard cheese.  Hard cheeses such as cheddar will keep a very long time.  I have some in the packaging it was purchased in that is over three years old.  I do that so that it will age as we prefer a sharp cheese.  I keep it at temps between 70° and 35°.  Soft cheese should be kept in refrigerator at 35°.  I have some Limburger that is 11 years old and is the best cheese I have ever eaten.  If you have smoked it, I would suggest that you preserve it in cheese wax as this will allow the cheese to age even better along with destroying any bacteria that may be on the surface.

I will soon post a thread on aging, smoking and preserving cheese.  Hope this helps a little.  If you have questions, please ask.

Mr. T

When in the kitchen,  “Learn to deal with the facts, not tradition or sympathy.”
 
The reason the cheese gets crumbly is all freezers now are frost free which means that they remove moisture. Putting the cheese in a vacuum bag is the only way to go and would slow that down and or stop it altogether. I don't know for sure as i have never frozen any smoked cheese. It never last more then a month anyway and i smoke around 15 lbs at a time.
That would have been my guess too, but I vacuum packed some & froze it for about a month, and it got crumbly.

Nobody has told me why, so in the future I guess I will not ever freeze cheese again.

Seems to be the way to solve it for me.

Bear
 
When you first slide the bag in the sealer, push it in as far as you can. Then set it to seal & slowly slide it in until it seals a second time. You will have 2 seals next to each other.
 
When you first slide the bag in the sealer, push it in as far as you can. Then set it to seal & slowly slide it in until it seals a second time. You will have 2 seals next to each other.

Ohhhh, OK. Thank you. I think I've seen a vacuum sealer that does two seals automatically. Great tip, thanks again.
 
 
DuaneS,  I take it you are asking about hard cheese.  Hard cheeses such as cheddar will keep a very long time.  I have some in the packaging it was purchased in that is over three years old.  I do that so that it will age as we prefer a sharp cheese.  I keep it at temps between 70° and 35°.  Soft cheese should be kept in refrigerator at 35°.  I have some Limburger that is 11 years old and is the best cheese I have ever eaten.  If you have smoked it, I would suggest that you preserve it in cheese wax as this will allow the cheese to age even better along with destroying any bacteria that may be on the surface.

I will soon post a thread on aging, smoking and preserving cheese.  Hope this helps a little.  If you have questions, please ask.

Mr. T

When in the kitchen,  “Learn to deal with the facts, not tradition or sympathy.”
Mr T's "Smoked Cheese From Go To Show" w/ Q- View

T
 
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