By now, you all know not to wrap any of your cheese in plastic. But did you know that if you’ve been using waxed paper, you’ve been wrapping your blue cheese wrong. Read on to learn about why aluminium foil is a better option for storing blue cheese.
SEE ALSO: Why blue cheese looks, smells and tastes the way it does →
Foil vs waxed paper
Wrapping cheese in plastic is bad, we can all agree on that. Because cheese is a living organism, it needs oxygen. And, plastic deprives it of that.
In most cases, waxed paper provides a great alternative for wrapping cheese. The fact that it is permeable allows the cheese to breathe, and continue to develop in your fridge.
However, with soft and semi-soft blue cheeses such as Roquefort and Gorgonzola, waxed paper is not the best option. Unlike most cheeses, what you want to achieve here is to actually slow down the maturation of the cheese. And keep it at its prime for as long as possible.
Pioneered by the makers of Roquefort
Did you know that makers of the legendary Roquefort actually wrap their wheels in foil to slow down the maturation? Historically, a team of cabanières would painstakingly wrap each individual wheel in a thick tin/aluminium alloy.
Once the wheels are ready for sale, they are unwrapped and cut in half before being wrapped again in a thinner aluminium foil.
This layer of foil controls the access of oxygen to the Penicillium roqueforti mould inside the cheese and preserves its moisture content. Moreover, it allows those uniquely complex flavours and texture to continue to develop.
Looking after your blue cheese at home
The reality of it is that unless you are buying half a wheel or even an entire wheel of cheese in one go, it will have to be cut and repackaged by your monger.
If you are buying from a cheese shop, it will likely be wrapped in cheese paper which is very suitable for a short period of time.
However, moisture from the cheese will damage that paper if you don’t repackage it in foil when you get back home.
Which foil should you use?
The ideal foil to use would be a perforated aluminium foil. However, perforated foil can be very expensive and quite hard to find. And, if you are like me, you will be buying heaps of blue cheese and will use up your foil really quickly.
Therefore, domestic grade aluminium foil (yeah, the one you can get from the supermarket) is a much more viable option. Surprisingly, it is also very effective at keeping your blue cheese at its best.
How to keep your cheese fresh and moist for longer
The key here is to make sure that you wrap your piece of cheese loosely and store it in your fridge’s vegetable drawer. This creates a microclimate with controlled temperature and humidity to allow your cheese to stay fresh and moist for longer.
Having said that, time is still important here. You will definitely want to consume a cut piece of soft/semi-soft blue cheese within a week. Who am I kidding? Surely it would not last one whole week in your fridge!
Conclusion: Wrap your blue cheese in foil
So, the take home message here is pretty simple. Do not wrap your blue cheese in waxed paper.
The better option is actually very affordable and accessible. Get some aluminium foil from your local supermarket and wrap your blue cheese loosely in it before storing it away in your fridge. How do you store your blue cheese? Drop us a comment below.
Jonah is a a hipster, eco-warrior and slow food afficionado. Coming from a scientific background, Jonah has a particular interest in cheese science. And yes, he loves a good cheese pun!
