question re Stilton

[KeenCook]

We were given a M & S 200g pot of Stilton, it says use by 2nd January, however I know we will never finish it once we open it unless I am rather creative, and given that OH doesn't eat a great deal of cheese, and not in soup, I'm a bit stumped.

Do you think
a) I could freeze it in its pot?
b) Can I keep it unopened either in the fridge or in the cupboard until the beginning of February when I will be able to make a Stilton soup for my Book Group, as it will be my turn to host.

I haven't really got room in the freezer to make the soup now and then freeze it until I'll use it.

Thanks, all!

[Gruney]

I've frozen Stilton in the past - the flavour was retained, but the creamy texture suffered. I'd certainly do the same again rather than waste it,though.

[herbidacious]

It would not have occurred to me that it would not keep beyond its expiry date. Does it go off more quickly than, say, cheddar?

edit: I suppose it's not vacuum packed...

I have some stilton both opened and unopened that I was not hurrying to finish... In the fridge though.

[KeenCook]

I imagine it is vacuum packed as it's in a sealed tin?

It's this one: https://www.ocado.com/products/m-s-awar ... a3d4581a5b

[Suffs]

I’ve kept Stilton (and other cheeses) for months in the fridge. Cheese is a way to store a glut of milk. It never used to have a ‘use by’ date on it. I would happily keep (and use it) until it showed signs of trying to get out of the fridge by itself

Also I would happily portion it up into amounts that you’d use in one go , wrap them individually in foil/clingfilm and freeze in a plastic box.

I’ve got masses of cheese in the fridge by… ge not looked at the use by dates abd am unlikely to do so. All the cheese will be used. I have never thrown cheese away because it was past any specific date.

[herbidacious]

I don't really bother with best before dates with cheese if they are vaccum packed... (Stuff we buy in trays with clingfilm in France, or from a cheese counter, is another matter. It can go mouldy.)

That stilton will have a wax seal. I'm not sure that's quite the same as being vacuum packed in terms of longevity. I still think it will probably be ok until Feb if unopened though.

[Stokey Sue]

I think portioning and freezing as Suffs suggests might be the way to go, I’d happily keep it past its date, but it will deteriorate once opened.

[Earthmaiden]

I'd happily keep it unopened in the fridge but freezing seems the way to go if you have reservations or will be serving to guests.

[KeenCook]

Thx, all, I, too, am generally quite relaxed about hard cheese dates. I never buy stilton and so am not terribly familiar with its longevity or other attributes!

However I have found that eg goats' cheese logs, particularly, or brie or other soft cheese really needs to be finished very quickly. Herbi, I can well believe that French cheese counter cheese needs to be eaten shortly after buying.

I have also found that Lidl's Parmesan which always has a very long date on it often goes mouldy well before the expiry. I just scrape it off and use it anyway, but have often wondered why - I guess it's the packaging process?

[Ameew]

I wouldn’t have any worries about keeping it unopened until February in the fridge

[Stokey Sue]

Thx, all, I, too, am generally quite relaxed about hard cheese dates. I never buy stilton and so am not terribly familiar with its longevity or other attributes!

However I have found that eg goats' cheese logs, particularly, or brie or other soft cheese really needs to be finished very quickly. Herbi, I can well believe that French cheese counter cheese needs to be eaten shortly after buying.

I have also found that Lidl's Parmesan which always has a very long date on it often goes mouldy well before the expiry. I just scrape it off and use it anyway, but have often wondered why - I guess it's the packaging process?

Goat's log, and some other soft cheeses but particularly the goat such as Soissons, Chavroux (or Lidl's excellent clone) seem to me to have a particular issue with that double layer wrapper that isn't very effective at keeping the cheese fresh and sticks to it if the cheese sweats at all. I put it in a plastic bag or Tupperware, still in its packaging, as soon as I get it home and it keeps for much longer.

Do you have a problem with unopened Parmesan? I find it keeps indefinitely unopened, but as I work my way through it slowly it also goes in Tupperware when opened

It's the week for buying up little waxed cheeses at a massive post-Christmas discount, I keep them long past their stated date, but try to use them quickly once opened

[herbidacious]

I don't think soft cheeses have such long shelf lives as hard full stop.

I have had several Lidl cheeses go 'off' unopened.

I wonder if they sometimes freeze their cheese... the texture of some mature (but not extra mature) has sometimes been akin to when I've frozen and defrosted cheddar.

We recently ate a waxed cheddar that we bought for Christmas 2023. It had suffered no loss of quality.

[Lusciouslush]

I find Parmesan keeps better wrapped in greaseproof paper in the fridge & if it starts going hard towards the end then moisten the greaseproof with a drop of water & it brings it back to life.

[KeenCook]

Sue, yes, the problem is also with unopened parmesan. And well before their due date.

Interesting re the tupperware solution. We have a cheese box that was in the fridge we inherited when we bought the house, and which we still use, a couple of fridges on. But it has quite large breathing holes. I'll try the tupperware wheeze with the next Lidl log I buy. We've been getting the other one which has no rind, and that seems to last better. But it isn't double wrapped as it's soft. Obviously a different cheese eating experience as well!

We used to have a French cheese van at the North End Road market, an offshoot of the same firm at Borough Market, but we had very bad luck with the cheeses we used to get there and stopped using them. They would sell 3 for £5 - probably 4 or so years ago - and we really had some exceedingly unpleasant off cheeses; the sort of violent taste that goes up your nose. We figured they were offloading surplus stock from Borough that was probably already turning and they couldn't sell there any more.

There was also an absolutely lovely cheese van in the Richmond Homebase car park, years and years ago. We had the most fabulous Conte from him, and also some terrific charcuterie.

ETA Useful idea, Lush

[Stokey Sue]

For what it's worth, Ned Palmer (Cheesemonger and food writer says he keeps cheese in the salad drawer of his fridge but I didn't ask about the wrapping, my guess is he uses the special wax paper cheese shops use,

My fridge has a drawer above the salad drawer, so that's where I keep cheese and charcuterie (it's for that, not a raw meat drawer)

[Uschi]

I find Parmesan keeps better wrapped in greaseproof paper in the fridge & if it starts going hard towards the end then moisten the greaseproof with a drop of water & it brings it back to life.

Yep, we use Butterbrotpapier.

[Lusciouslush]

Butterbrotpapier.......I like that word - from now on that's what I'll call greaseproof - but I'll probably pronounce it all wrong!

[herbidacious]

I used to buy special cheese paper bags that you could get from the Netherlands. No longer...

My cheese goes in one of the drawers (the upper one) at the bottom of the fridge, too.

[WWordsworth]

There used to be a specialist cheese shop in Derby and we were regulars there.
I always bought half a baby stilton at Christmas, cut round the equator not the meridian.

His storage instructions were precise
Keep it in a cool place, preferably not the fridge
Butter (it must be butter) some greaseproof paper and place the cheese cut side down against the butter.
If the rind shows signs of dampness, sprinkle it with plain flour.

It worked every time.

[miss mouse]

wow. That's interesting WWordsworth.

I can see the logic. Keeping it dry.

I wonder if this would work with Parmesan. I usually just shave off the mouldy bits.