Popular semi-finished product: how to store grated cheese?
Grated cheese is a semi-finished product often used in cooking.
If such preparation was made in advance, it must be properly stored.
Otherwise, the product will disappear very quickly. We'll talk about storing grated cheese in the article.
Deadlines
Cheese is a perishable product that should be stored in a cool place. When crushed, its shelf life is further reduced, and the requirements for storage conditions become more stringent.
For catering, the rules are stricter, and Cheese shredded on site is always used throughout the day. If the product is sealed in original packaging, the shelf life is determined by the manufacturer.
In a refrigerator
Like lump cheese, grated cheese must be kept in the refrigerator. The temperature range from 0 to +6? C is the most suitable.
Shelf life depends on the type of cheese product. Hard varieties (eg Parmesan) can last significantly longer than semi-hard ones. Without opening the original packaging, Parmesan can be stored for 3 months, semi-solid - 1 month.
Once the sealed package is opened, the shelf life is sharply reduced. Even for hard types of varieties it does not exceed a week, for young and soft varieties - no more than 5 days. The manufacturer always indicates the expiration date of the product on the packaging.
Without refrigerator
The grated product should not be stored at room temperature. Such conditions are not suitable. Just lying in a container on the table, crushed cheese dries out very quickly, losing its appearance and taste. The maximum period of time without a refrigerator is a couple of hours.
Frozen
If too much product has been grated, the excess can be frozen. For long-term storage, prepared cheese is packaged in separate containers.
These can be plastic containers with a lid or ziplock bags.. It is also possible to use vacuum packaging. Shelf life is up to 3 months for most types of cheese.
Grated and frozen semi-finished product will help speed up the process of preparing pizza or meat, which according to the recipe needs to be sprinkled with hard cheese. In such dishes it will melt during the cooking process, and the fact that it was previously frozen will have virtually no effect on the final result.
You can use a wooden spatula for this. After this, the container with the workpiece is returned to the freezer and left until the product is needed. Hard varieties tolerate low temperatures best.
Useful recommendations for freezing - in the video:
Storage rules
Grated cheese will better retain its beneficial qualities and consistency, if you adhere to the following rules:
- Store the product only in the packaging (or under the lid), not in an open state.
- Keep only in the refrigerator.
- Place the packaging away from smoked meats and other products with a strong odor.
- Different types of cheese should be stored separately.
- Spoiled or expired products should not be used for food.
- If there is a lot of grated product, then it is better to immediately freeze it while it is fresh and of excellent quality.
- Stale cheese should not be frozen.
Defrosting
Frozen cheese must be defrosted properly. When planning to use a product that is in the freezer, it is important to consider that this will take time.
The workpiece is transferred from the freezer to the refrigerator shelf so that thawing occurs gradually.
You should not force defrosting, as cheese is very sensitive to temperature changes and can easily lose its properties and consistency.
On average, cheese shavings defrost completely in the refrigerator from half an hour to several hours, depending on the volume.
If cheese is used to sprinkle on dishes that will be baked in the oven, it can be used without waiting for complete defrosting. But if the mass removed from the freezer is monolithic, you will have to wait.
Conclusion
Storing grated cheese is not as difficult a task as it might seem from the very beginning. With proper organization, excess product will not be wasted, but will allow you to diversify the table with interesting and easy-to-prepare dishes.
