Storing Cheese: Why You Must Ditch the Plastic Wrap
Wrapping a wedge of expensive brie or cheddar tightly in plastic wrap is suffocating it. Discover the proper materials needed to let your cheese breathe and prevent mold.
Cheese is Alive
You visit a specialty cheese shop, spend $20 on a beautiful wedge of aged Gouda or a soft Brie, bring it home, and immediately wrap it tightly in a cocoon of plastic wrap before throwing it in the fridge. A week later, it tastes like plastic chemicals, and the rind is covered in a terrifying fuzz of unnatural blue mold.
The fundamental rule of cheese storage is simple: Cheese is a living, breathing ecosystem of bacteria and molds. If you suffocate it, it will die (and taste terrible).
The Danger of Plastic Wrap
Plastic wrap is designed to be completely impermeable to air and moisture. This creates two massive problems for cheese.
- Suffocation: The living cultures in the cheese need oxygen to survive. Plastic cuts off the air supply, causing the cheese to sour and develop bitter, ammonia-like off-flavors.
- The Moisture Trap: Cheese naturally releases moisture. Plastic traps this moisture against the surface of the cheese, creating a damp, swampy environment that is the absolute perfect breeding ground for invasive, harmful molds to consume the cheese.
- The Flavor Transfer: The fats in cheese act like a sponge for odors and chemicals. The cheese will actually absorb the chemical flavor of the petroleum-based plastic wrap.
The Proper Storage Materials
To store cheese correctly, you must use a material that strikes a balance: it must allow oxygen and excess moisture to escape, while retaining enough humidity so the cheese does not dry out.
- Cheese Paper: This is the gold standard. It is a specialized, two-ply paper. The inside layer is porous paper (which absorbs excess moisture), and the outside layer is micro-perforated plastic (which allows the cheese to breathe while preventing it from drying out). This is what professional cheese shops use.
- Parchment Paper or Wax Paper (The Home Hack): If you do not have expensive cheese paper, simply wrap your cheese snugly in standard parchment baking paper or wax paper. Fold the edges neatly.
- The Loose Bag: Once the cheese is wrapped in parchment paper, place the wrapped wedge into a ziplock bag. Do NOT seal the bag completely. Leave it halfway open. This protects the cheese from the harsh, drying fans of the refrigerator while still allowing air circulation.
Temperature and Placement
The refrigerator is generally too cold for cheese, but it is a necessary evil in modern homes.
- Store your wrapped cheese in the crisper drawer (the vegetable or fruit drawer). This is the warmest, most humid, and most sheltered environment in the fridge, closely mimicking the environment of a traditional cheese cave.
By throwing away the plastic wrap, you respect the craftsmanship of the cheesemaker and guarantee your expensive wedges taste perfect down to the last bite.