Unwanted Cheese - Storing At Back Of Fridge For 2 Years

[Boofer]

One of my earliest cheese efforts was supposed to be an alpine. More specifically, a Swiss cheese. Well, that cheese was made pretty much without a clue. There was so much I didn't know. I hadn't found this forum yet. That was January 9, 2009.

After nine months of aging, I decided to try this cheese. Umm, not so great. So I bagged it and put it away in the fridge, not wanting to just throw it away outright. After some months, I would check on it and it would have grown some mold. I removed it, dried it off (there was residual whey in the bag), and cleaned off the mold. Then I would vacuum-bag it and store it away. After a while I pretty much left it in the back of the cheese drawer. The mold grew but I just glanced at it and left it alone.

Last night I was out of parmesan and had some pasta that needed some cheese. I remembered that old cheese languishing out in the fridge and dragged it out of its lair. I scraped off the mold and shaved a few pieces. Oh, this is interesting. Not bad.

So the moral to this story is: if you've made a cheese disappointment, but it's not an outright disaster, vacuum bag it, date-label it, and store it away for a later day. You just might be surprised.

This cheese was over two years old and it possessed an attractive character and flavor.

-Boofer-

[darius]

How interesting! (and a bit funny  )

[MrsKK]

I've learned that lesson, as well.  Always good to remind people, though.