Cheese - Freeze it??

[kezguy]

Going to Bahamas for a month. We want to take REAL cheeses with us. Can cheese be frozen and Thawed... hey let me try it! I know from back-packing it gets oily if left to get warm/hot. Any suggestions?

Kezguy
S/V Double Bells
Prout Manta 39

[ShirKhan]

Canned Cheese.

By Kraft: http://www.internet-grocer.net/cheese.htm

Cougar Canned Cheese has won gourmet awards: http://www.wsu.edu/creamery

You could try canning your own: http://www.endtimesreport.com/canning_soft_cheese.html

[ughmo2000]

The Pardey's "The Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew" discuss several methods of storing cheese as well as other perishables.

Excellent reference worth having aboard.

[bluepearl]

Cheese freezes just fine. It gets a little crumblier is the only change we've noticed. If you don't have that much freezer space it can be cut into chunks and submerged in olive oil in a large pre-scalded glass jar, a la Lynn Pardey. Easily keeps six months. That said, I have not had a problem finding acceptible cheese most places in the Bahamas.

YMMV

Denece

[JeffC_]

For preserving in oil: make sure it's a harder cheese. Softer cheeses will go "gooey" in oil.

[merc2dogs]

Cheese freezes well and keeps for a long time, but I don't realy care for it afterwards it just doesn't have the same texture.
It's better to cut it as you normally do, slice or chunk, before freezing it as it does get real crumbly afterwards.

ken

[Ssor]

I asked a cheese merchant in New York about cheese that would keep without refrigeration and he recommended the hard drier cheeses like asiago, Romano and parmigiano. From experience I know that cheddar won't keep without cold but will keep for a long time if bought waxed and kept colder than 50 degrees f.

[sailingdog]

Generally, the harder and drier cheeses will last longer than the softer and moister cheeses. Dipping the cheeses in wax or storing them in oil will further prolong their shelf-life.

I generally don't recommend freezing cheeses for a couple of reasons. First, it changes the texture and the taste of the cheese a bit. Second, freezers require energy, which is something that is a scarce commodity on a boat—I'd prefer to use the electricity for something else, and use a non-refrigeration method of cheese preservation.

If you're sailing in more temperate waters, the bilge of your boat will often be cool enough to help preserve most cheese. This doesn't work in the tropics, where the bilge and the water can be above normal room temps.

[TXS-ALAMO]

Would one of those home vacume packing machines work to preserve cheeses?

[Vasco]

The Bahamian government subsidizes certain foods. Cheddar cheese is one of them. If you go in a Bahamian supermarket you'll find all sorts of fancy cheeses at higher than Stateside prices but if you nose around you'll find the fairly good subsidized cheddar in a corner somewhere, usually not with the rest of the expensive cheeses. We have had Irish and New zealand cheddar over the years. Both excellent. We also bring our own and it lasts months in the fridge.