Can Freeze Shredded Cheese?: Struggling to store your leftover cheese for a longer time and failed many times. Don’t worry shred and freeze your cheese and preserve it for a longer time with the best quality. Are you wondering if is it okay to freeze the shredded cheese?
This article will clear all your queries regarding frozen shredded cheese. As our team researched deeply on your questions to answer them with utmost confidence. So check the below sections and find all the answers to your queries like how to freeze shredded cheese, how to defrost the grated cheese, what happens if you eat frozen shredded cheese, how long grated cheese lasts in the freezer, etc.
- Can Freeze Shredded Cheese?
- What are the best cheese types that you can Shred and Freeze?
- How To Freeze Shredded Cheese?
- How To Defrost Shredded Cheese?
- Using Frozen Shredded Cheese
- How Long Can You Freeze Shredded Cheese?
- FAQs on Can You Freeze Grated Cheese
- What happens if you freeze shredded cheese?
- Does shredded cheese need to be refrigerated?
- Does shredded cheddar cheese freeze well?
Can Freeze Shredded Cheese?
Yes, you can freeze shredded cheese. By placing it in a sealed freezer-safe plastic bag, and removing as much air as possible, it can freeze in the best condition for a longer time. Technically, you can freeze any type of cheese whether it is in blocks or wedges or slices, or grated. If you need to learn more on can you freeze shredded cheese then go with the below modules and clear all your queries on freezing grated cheese.
What are the best cheese types that you can Shred and Freeze?
Basically, there is a scope of shredding and freezing any cheese type especially all hard cheeses. Some of the semi-hard cheeses are also pretty much easy to shred and freeze. Well, don’t get confused at all. Just take a look at the below list of popular cheese types to shred and freeze:
- Aged mozzarella (the dry and yellowish one, not the white and wet one)
- Cheddar
- Edam
- Emmental
- Gouda
- Grana Padano
- Gruyere
- Pecorino Romano
- Provolone
- Parmesan
Not just these only come under shred or grated cheese types. The count is not yet completed, you can freeze so many more hard or semihard for cooking purposes and increase their shelf life. Sometimes hard cheeses block or wedges can become tough to shred due to the smooth consistency. At that point, you have to freeze the whole block or wedge and after 30 minutes to an hour, you can try grating the cheese and freeze it.
How To Freeze Shredded Cheese?
The best ways to freeze the grated cheese are as follows:
Pre-freeze:
By going with this method you can easily freeze and store the shredded cheese in the freezer for a long time. Simply take the silicon mat or cookie sheet, place the shredded cheese in a thin layer and cover it with aluminum foil to prevent stickiness. After covering it properly place the sheet in the freezer for two or more than that or overnight till the cheese freezes.
Remove Clumps:
One more step you have to follow to freeze the shredded cheese for a longer time is removing clumps. You can do it by taking out the tray from the freezer and breaking up those clumps by stirring the cheese for 30 seconds to a minute via a spatula. Also, you can use an anticaking agent at this step like potato starch or cornstarch for removing clumpy as it helps while thawing too. If you have done this step properly then you can grab as much shredded cheese as you want directly from the freezer bag or containers.
Preserve shredded cheese using freezer bags:
After pre-freezing and removing clumps methods, you have to transfer the grated cheese to freezer bags. You can split the large portion into smaller ones or take one bag and fill it completely as your wish. If you use freezer bags then grabbing the desired amount of cheese is very easy. Also, remember to seal the bag properly and remove air from it every time before sealing and freezing the shredded cheese. If you want to check its shelf life of it then label the date and name on the bag while storing it in the freezer.
Freeze Entirely:
The process of grating and freezing the cheese hardly takes 10 minutes but the drawback is you can’t do it all in one go. Some of the steps mentioned above can be skipped as per the shredded cheese you picked. If it is the store-bought cheese then you can avoid the clumpy removing step and continue with other steps. As it contains an anticaking agent like cellulose, cornstarch, or potato starch to prevent clumping
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How To Defrost Shredded Cheese?
Defrosting shredded cheese can be done in two ways. They thaw it in the fridge or else use it as it is from the freezer. If confused to follow one way then check the comparison of both from below:
In the fridge method:
Want to use the shredded cheese for pizza or any other dish but it’s totally frozen? Then make sure to thaw it properly before you use it. The process of thawing depends on your mood and the time you have to prepare. When you have much time then you can thaw your shredded cheese by keeping the frozen ones in the fridge for some hours to defrost. When you failed to use an anticaking agent, then the cheese clumps will be formed after thawing as it can be considered the main drawback of this method. To avoid such an issue, you can directly sprinkle the shredded cheese on the dish and place it in the fridge. This idea works best for salads and Italian cuisine.
Skip thawing/defrosting:
Without Defrosting also you can use shredded cheese and it’s easy to do. Just take out the bag of the shredded cheese you have in the frozen condition and scoop the amount of cheese you need and place the bag of cheese into the freezer back. Use the scoop of cheese on the dishes like salads or non-cooked ones and let them sit for some time to melt with the ingredients and give a good stir before you start eating. It also tastes good and saves valuable time.
Thus, you have seen the two methods of defrosting above, pick the one which helps you in your cooking. Most of chefs or junk food lovers go with the skip defrosting method and made their dish so tasty in a minute by directly using the shredded cheese from the freezer.
If you need the most convenient way to thaw the shredded cheese then follow this point. Open the freezer, pick a handful of cheese or the required amount of cheese and use it in the dish. It takes less time compared with defrosting it in the fridge. Worried about the mold or drying out the shredded cheese in the fridge? Not to worry at all, it will be safe in the fridge too but not for much time.
Using Frozen Shredded Cheese
As we said prior that you can use the frozen shredded cheese directly and freshly from the freezer. The dishes options you can opt for this method of defrosting are as follows:
- sandwiches
- pizza toppings
- stews
- casseroles
- pasta
- soups
- melting over food for extra taste (try adding some to your scrambled eggs!)
How Long Can You Freeze Shredded Cheese?
With the best quality, you can use frozen shredded cheese within 3 to 6 months. But not sure it can sit for a longer time in the freezer because as the time goes longer the quality becomes worse. Sometimes one-year frozen cheese can also be pretty okay to consume as you won’t find any spoilage.
FAQs on Can You Freeze Grated Cheese
1. What happens if you freeze shredded cheese?
If you freeze shredded cheese it doesn’t affect much in its flavor or texture. Moreover, it preserves so well and retains the same taste whenever you use it.
2. Does shredded cheese need to be refrigerated?
No, shredded cheese needs to be refrigerated if possible they should be in the freezer for safety and best quality usage. Keeping all types of cheeses in the fridge or freezer can last longer time compare to other storage methods.
3. Does shredded cheddar cheese freeze well?
Yes, hard cheese like cheddar and some other semi-hard shredded cheese can freeze well but after thawing their texture may change to clumpy and mealy. To avoid such drawbacks, you can follow some instructions mentioned above and enjoy the clumpy-free shredded cheddar cheese in your dishes.
Key Outcomes
The Instructions and Points shared here on can freeze shredded cheese helps you more while planning to freeze your cheese type. For more information on shredded cheese or other cheese freezing processes like Freeze Blue Cheese, Freeze Mozzarella Cheese, and more you can visit our website CanYouPreserve.Com at any time and clear all your doubts at a faster pace or else comment us for better clarification.