CurdNerds

Here are some general suggestions about how to properly store cheese at home. The challenge is that cheese needs an environment that fulfills seemingly contradictory needs; it needs to be somewhere where air can flow in and out, but where moisture loss is kept at a minimum.

• The first rule is to buy only as much as you need; cheese is best shortly after it is cut from the wheel.
• If you are keeping cheese for more than a day or so, enjoy it quickly because every day that cheese hangs around in the fridge means a noticeable decrease in quality.
• The softer the cheese, the harder it will be to keep fresh for a long time.
• People generally recommend keeping the cheese in the warmest part of the fridge, but I find that this doesn't really matter as long as you give the cheese enough time to come to room temperature when you're ready to eat it again.
• One method I really like is to wrap the cheese first in breathable paper such as parchment paper, and then cover the whole thing in plastic wrap. Plastic wrap keeps in moisture nicely, but can impart off flavors if left touching the surface of the cheese. And if you use parchment only, you'll lose too much moisture. The combination of the two usually does the trick.
• Another method is to place some rolled up paper towels in a tupperware container, and then place the cheese on top of the paper. Closing the lid tightly creates a sealed environment that helps moisture stay in, while the paper towels help keep it from getting too wet in there. Be sure to open the container once a day to let some fresh air in.

If you have any other suggestions, please leave them in the comments below!

Photo by mattbrowne via Flickr

The endless debate over raw milk continues today with a balanced article in the Dining Section of the NY Times. For obvious reasons, I kind of wish they'd cover the debate as it affects cheeses, especially since raw milk cheeses are generally even safer than raw milk itself.

Today's Salon.com has a thoughtful and balanced article about the benefits and the dangers of consuming raw milk. The only downside to the article is that it doesn't explore the benefits of using raw milk for cheese production. While the case can definitely made that drinking raw milk is a somewhat dangerous proposition, eating raw milk cheeses that are made in clean environments under strict practices is considered safe[1]. In an age where eating spinach is more dangerous than eating cheese, journalists would do well to investigate issues of food safety much more deeply, and bring out exactly what foods are safe to eat and why.

Link to the full article from Salon.com  read more »