How to store cottage cheese: what are the expiration dates, conditions, temperature, requirements according to GOST and SanPiN, where can it be stored, how to defrost it correctly, how to keep the product fresh for a long time?

foto50790-1 Cottage cheese, like other perishable foods, does not last long. The shelf life of this product depends on several conditions.

Among them are the fat content of the product and the presence of packaging. Different types of cottage cheese require different storage conditions.

We will tell you further about how to properly store cottage cheese so that it does not spoil.

What are the expiration dates?

Cottage cheese can be stored in the refrigerator without it. But the shelf life of the product in these cases will be different. The shelf life of products with or without packaging also differs. Read more here.

Packaged

foto50790-2 The presence or absence of packaging directly affects the freshness of the fermented milk product.

Typically, store-bought cottage cheese is placed in vacuum packaging. This method of storing the product is optimal. The maximum shelf life of the product in a vacuum is 30 days at temperatures from 0°C to +8°C.

You can also store fermented milk products wrapped in parchment paper or foil. This packaging reduces the area of contact of the cottage cheese with air and foreign odors. Therefore, the product stays fresh longer. But, in comparison with a vacuum, this method loses - the product does not remain fresh for long - 3-4 days.

A curd briquette wrapped in foil or parchment can be additionally packaged in polypropylene film. The result will be packaging similar to a store flow-pack. The product packaged in this way remains fresh for about 1 week.

Fermented milk products can be stored in tied plastic bags for up to 36 hours.

Open

After opening the vacuum packaging, the cottage cheese will not retain its freshness for long. The maximum shelf life at temperatures from 0°C to +8°C is 2 days. At temperatures above 8°C - no longer than 24 hours.

At room temperature

Fresh fermented milk products can be stored at room temperature for no longer than 6 hours. Outside the refrigerator you can only keep the cottage cheese which meets certain conditions:

as fresh as possible;
cooled;
dryish, loose (cottage cheese with released whey will spoil faster).

Chilled cottage cheese will stay fresh longer if you store it in an unglazed clay dish. The bottom of the container must first be sprinkled with a pinch of salt and covered with a piece of natural fabric. The fermented milk product is placed on a cloth and the top is also covered with material made from natural fibers.

Do not cover the product with a lid or leave it exposed to the sun.. Cottage cheese will last the longest when kept cool at a temperature no higher than +15 °C. Read more here.

Freezing

Cottage cheese can be frozen. But provided that it was previously on the refrigerator shelves for no more than 3 days. When deep frozen from -35 C°, the shelf life is 1-2 months. At temperatures from - 12 °C to - 18 °C - up to 14 days.

Freezing Recommendations cottage cheese:

Before putting it in the freezer, it is better to divide the fermented milk product into portions.Then, during thawing, each small piece will be completely used.
Place each serving in a container or sealed bag. This way, air and foreign odors do not get into the cottage cheese during storage. Using this method, the product remains fresh for up to 2 days.
You can store cottage cheese in the freezer wrapped in a dry cloth or foil. In this case, it will be easier to defrost, but the product will be preserved worse. It is not recommended to use metal utensils for freezing.
If there are lumps in the product, it is better to crumble them first. This way the product will freeze faster and then thaw faster when defrosted.
It is recommended to write the freezing date on the sealed bag or lid of the container with the fermented milk product. This is necessary in order not to miss the moment when the expiration date comes to an end.

Granular, non-pasty cottage cheese freezes best. It is better to freeze fermented milk products quickly. Slow freezing degrades the quality of the product. Is it possible to freeze cottage cheese, will you tell me? this article, is such a product useful - this, read about re-freezing herehow long is it stored? Here.

In a refrigerator

Fresh cottage cheese stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days at temperatures from 0 °C to +8 °C. If there are no obvious signs of spoilage on the fermented milk product (the color, smell, consistency have not changed), you can use it for preparing hot dishes or baking.

It is not recommended to store cottage cheese in the refrigerator next to smoked meats, meat and fish. Also, dishes rich in spices are not suitable as “neighbors”. It is acceptable to keep a fermented milk product next to butter, sour cream, eggs and cheese.

Details - in this article.

Conditions

The lower the fat content of a fermented milk product, the longer it will last. The expiration dates for children's and store-bought products also differ. You need to especially carefully control the freshness of natural and country cottage cheese. The conditions and temperature for storing cottage cheese are discussed in this article.

Natural

Obtained by fermenting milk and further removing whey. This product contains no synthetic components, palm oil or vegetable fats. The shelf life of this product does not exceed 72 hours at temperatures from 0 °C to +8 °C.

No preservatives

The shelf life of fermented milk products without preservatives depends on the packaging. The product packed in laminated foil can be stored for up to 7 days. In sealed packaging - up to 10 days, and in a vacuum - up to 30 days. The weighed product, without the addition of dyes and preservatives, can be stored for no more than 72 hours.

Children's

foto50790-4 Cottage cheese intended for baby food can remain on the refrigerator shelves for no more than 36 hours. The manufacturer does not recommend storing such products after opening.

It's best to use it right away. This product cannot be stored without refrigeration. You can make a casserole from the leftover cottage cheese.

It is best to buy a small number of packages of baby cottage cheese at a time. Then the product not eaten by the child will not have time to deteriorate.

Goat

Cottage cheese made from goat's milk stored in the refrigerator for no longer than 3 days at a temperature from +4 ° C to +8 C °. It is recommended to place the product in clay, enamel or glass containers. The container must be tightly covered with a lid, since goat curd quickly absorbs odors. Details - in this article.

5% and 9% fat

In vacuum packaging at temperatures from +2 ° C to +4 C °, these products are stored for up to 30 days (without opening). In a plastic container - 72 hours. In glass or enamel containers, 5% and 9% products retain their freshness for up to 48 hours.

Low fat

Prepared from milk that has been separated, that is, cream has been removed. The low-fat product remains fresh longer than other types of cottage cheese. The maximum duration of its storage is 5 days.

By weight

This fermented milk product is not sealed. Therefore, the shelf life of such a product is shorter than that of a packaged one. Loose cottage cheese should be kept exclusively in the refrigerator.

Storage duration is 1-2 days at temperatures from 0 °C to + 4 °C. But only on condition that the exact date of its manufacture is known.

Store bought in a pack

foto50790-5 Store-bought curd briquette in a paper package stored for up to 14 days at a temperature of 0 ° C to + 4 C ° (without opening the package).

After purchasing the product, it is recommended to remove it from the packaging and place it in an airtight container. The dish must be tightly covered with a lid. Suitable containers made of glass, ceramics or enamel containers, food containers.

The exact expiration dates for store-bought curd briquettes are indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging. A possible storage location is also indicated here - freezer or refrigerator.

Agusha

Agusha and other curds for baby food should be stored closed.. The manufacturer indicates the expiration date of this product on the packaging. It usually does not exceed 36 hours when stored on refrigerator shelves. The optimal temperature is from +2 °C to +4 °C.

Fermented milk product for babies is available in convenient plastic tubs.You cannot store the curd after opening this package. Read more here.

Prostokvashino

Cottage cheese of the Prostokvashino brand is stored at temperatures from +2 ° C to +6 C °. Shelf life depends on the fat content of the product:

traditional 2% - up to 14 days;
traditional 9% - up to 14 days;
crumbly 5% - up to 35 days.

Details - in this article.

Home

This type of fermented milk product is produced without the addition of preservatives, and therefore does not last long. At temperatures from 0 ° C to +6 C °, its shelf life is 2-3 days.

Placed in food foil envelopes, such cottage cheese can be stored for up to 4 days. This homemade product is suitable for freezing.

When exposed to low temperatures, it will not lose its beneficial qualities.. But the consistency of the defrosted product may change. When frozen, homemade cottage cheese can be stored for up to 14 days.

Read about storing homemade cottage cheese Here And here.

Rustic

foto50790-6 Farmer's cottage cheese is a natural product with high fat content, without preservatives and secure packaging.

Since the manufacturer usually does not indicate the production time for such a product, It's better to eat it as quickly as possible.

Country cottage cheese is stored in the refrigerator at a temperature from +4 ° C to +8 C ° for no more than 36 hours.

Grained

Grain cottage cheese is stored longer than usual. This is explained by the fact that the grains of the fermented milk product contain less fat and more salt.

In a sealed package, the grain product can be stored for up to 30 days. at temperatures from +2 °C to +6 °C. After opening, the product is suitable for use for 5-10 days.

With sour cream and sugar

This dish cannot be stored for longer than 24 hours. Any components added to a fermented milk product shorten its shelf life.Therefore, it is undesirable to season cottage cheese with sour cream long before use.

It is also not recommended to prepare large portions of this dish at once. The remaining curd and sour cream mixture will quickly spoil.

Serum

Fresh natural curd whey without adding preservatives can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

The expiration date of a store-bought product in a closed package is indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer.. If, after opening the package, some of the whey remains unused, it must be poured into a glass jar. Cover the container tightly with a lid and store on the middle shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature not exceeding +5 °C.

An expired product should not be eaten, but it is acceptable to use it for cosmetic purposes.

Outside the refrigerator, it is permissible to store whey for no longer than 2 days at a temperature not higher than +15 ° C and not lower than 0 ° C. Homemade whey can be stored in the cellar or on the balcony.

Frozen, this product remains fresh for a long time - up to 6 months. Read more Here.

Temperature

The average temperature for storing cottage cheese in the refrigerator varies from +2°C to +4°C. It is permissible to increase the temperature to +8 °C, but then the shelf life of the product is reduced.

Temperature changes in the refrigerator shorten the shelf life of fermented milk products. Air access to it should be minimal. Therefore, it is better to store a perishable product on the top shelf of the refrigerator, closer to the back wall.

Where can I keep it?

Cottage cheese can be stored at room temperature, in the refrigerator or freezer.

After removing from the store packaging, This product can be stored in different ways:

In enamel or glass containers. The material of this container does not enter into chemical reactions with fermented milk products.
Therefore, it stays fresh longer. It is better to line the container with a cloth before storing the product. In such a container, covered, the product is stored for up to 48 hours.
In a plastic container. In such a container, the cottage cheese will remain fresh for up to 72 hours. The container must be covered with a lid or wrapped in cling film.
In foil or parchment. In this packaging, the cottage cheese retains its freshness longer. The product wrapped in foil or parchment can be kept on the refrigerator shelves for up to 4 days.

How to defrost correctly?

It takes 10-12 hours to completely defrost the cottage cheese. For this fermented milk product is placed on the shelves of the refrigerator. Additionally, the product can be wrapped in a damp cloth. This speeds up the defrosting process. Cottage cheese cannot be defrosted using a microwave oven or hot water. The thawing process should be exclusively natural.

If the freezing process was organized correctly, the cottage cheese does not lose its beneficial properties. The bacteria in the product remain alive, but multiply much more slowly. But low temperatures affect the taste and appearance of the product. It becomes not crumbly, but more like a curd mass. Therefore, freezing is recommended only in extreme cases. That is, if in the future you plan to cook cottage cheese dishes in large quantities.

When defrosting, liquid—whey—begins to ooze out of the curd. To maintain the consistency of the fermented milk product, the whey must be removed.

To do this, the product is discarded in a colander and, after complete defrosting, wrung out.. The resulting whey can be used to prepare culinary dishes. Read more here.

Requirements according to GOST and SanPiN

The terms and conditions for storing cottage cheese are regulated by GOST and SanPiN. According to these documents, the manufacturer can set the shelf life of fermented milk products independently. But it is necessary - taking into account all sanitary standards and storage conditions. Information about the shelf life of the product must be placed on the product packaging.

foto50790-8 Appendix 1 to SanPiN 2.3.2.1324-03 regulates the shelf life of fermented milk products:

cottage cheese/curd products – 3 days;
cottage cheese that has undergone heat treatment – 5 days;
cottage cheese dishes (cheese cakes, puddings, casseroles, lazy dumplings) - 2 days;
children's cottage cheese - 36 hours.

Features of storing curd products

Curd products can be stored on the refrigerator shelf for no longer than 72 hours. But it is best to eat them within the first day after preparation.

Shelf life of dishes with curd filling:

pancakes - up to 12 hours;
pie, casserole, cheesecakes - up to 24 hours;
cakes, desserts with curd cream - until 18 hours.

How to keep a product fresh for a long time?

Several useful tips will help increase the shelf life of cottage cheese:

Freezer storage. Low temperatures allow the fermented milk product to remain fresh and healthy. But after freezing, the taste and consistency of the product may change. Therefore, it is better to freeze the cottage cheese that will later be used for cooking.
Vacuum packaging. You can vacuum pack cottage cheese at home. To do this, just purchase a vacuum bag, place the fermented milk product in it and remove all the air. The latter can be done using a regular cocktail straw. The vacuum-packed product will retain its freshness for up to 14 days.
Foil and parchment. To keep a loose product longer in the refrigerator, you can remove it from a plastic bag and wrap it in foil or parchment. You can also wrap it in gauze or damp linen cloth.

In refrigerators with a “no frost” system, the shelf life of fermented milk products is increased by 24 hours. If the refrigerator is additionally equipped with a modern antibacterial system - for another 12 hours.

Conclusion

The shelf life of cottage cheese directly depends on the storage location and temperature conditions. The product will stay fresh the longest in the freezer.

The mixture will deteriorate most quickly at room temperature.. Compliance with all sanitary requirements and storage conditions for cottage cheese will allow the product to remain fresh and healthy for a long time.