Freezing Cheese?

[shorte2326]

A local store has some really good smoked Gouda on sale $1.99 lb. So my question is can you freeze it. I vac packed some but was wondering if I could also freeze some for say cooking (mac n cheese etc)

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Soft cheese will freeze without much issue, but harder cheeses can tend to get crumbly and don't slice well. If it's intended for cooking, this may not be of concern for you, but even if you want to grate the cheese over your dish, could prove to be difficult to get uniformity. If you want to continue to age the cheese, freezing will prevent further aging. Best method for storage is to apply cheese wax, second being vac-sealed in bags (waxing prevents mold, vac-sealed reduces the risk compared to standard retail packaging) and store at fridge temps of 35-70* long-term...best temp range is dependent on the type of cheese.

Here's a very good read on smoking cheese, storage and aging: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/123130/mr-ts-smoked-cheese-from-go-to-show-w-q-view

Eric