When it comes to buying cheese, it’s easy to get carried away. Fortunately, you don’t have to limit yourself to storing it in the fridge…
Can You Freeze Gouda Cheese?
Yes, you can freeze Gouda cheese for up to 3 months. Wrap the cheese in an initial layer of baking paper loosely. Then, follow the baking paper with a tighter layer of cling film, forming a seal against itself before popping it in the freezer.
Does Gouda Cheese Freeze Well? Yes
Can You Refreeze Gouda Cheese? Yes
How to Freeze Gouda Cheese
Freezing Gouda cheese is simple, and it’s a great way to ensure you have a stock of tasty cheese ready to go:
- Portion: Portion out the cheese, as it shouldn’t be refrozen. While it will be safe to do so, the cheese will lose texture every time you freeze it, so only freezing it once is generally for the best.
- Wrap with Baking Paper: Wrap each cheese portion with a loose layer of baking paper – you want a thin layer of air between most of the cheese and the baking paper.
- Wrap with Cling Film: Wrap the baking paper parcel with a layer of cling film, forming a seal. Smooth the surface so that the cling film broadly touches the baking paper.
- Freeze: Freeze the parcel you’ve created in the centre of the freezer so that it’s as far as possible from the edge of the freezer.
3 Tips for Freezing Gouda Cheese
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing Gouda cheese to have the best results:
Label It Clearly
When at room temperature, you can probably tell Gouda, Emmental and Edam apart. Once frozen, however, things get a little more challenging. This is why writing a clear label on the cheese is a must!
Use an Airtight Container
An airtight container will help you maintain a good seal around any food you’re freezing! We recommend using a container that’s barely any larger than the food you’re using, as that will prevent frost from spreading through the air.
Freeze With Aromatics
Dairy items can absorb some scent and flavour levels while sitting, even when frozen. You can use that to your advantage by packing the Gouda cheese with aromatic herbs and spices. Try adding sprigs of thyme and rosemary to add a herby flavour to your Gouda.
How Long Can You Freeze Gouda Cheese?
You can freeze Gouda cheese for around 3 months before noticing any degradation in the cheese.
This degradation will most commonly take the form of textural changes – it’s not uncommon for the cheese to become quite crumbly when frozen and thawed.
Gouda will last for around 3 weeks in the fridge when wrapped in cheese paper or cling film.
How Do You Defrost Gouda Cheese?
You can defrost Gouda cheese most easily by placing it into the fridge to thaw overnight.
That should allow for the ice in the cheese to melt while it’s still allowed to sit and remain at a safe eating temperature. It’s not a good idea to thaw it in the microwave.
Can You Refreeze Gouda Cheese?
Yes, you can.
Technically, you can refreeze anything that’s not meat, fish, or raw dairy. The problem when refreezing cheese, though, is that you decrease the water content of the cheese every time you freeze it.
Eventually, this leads to the cheese becoming crumbly, making it less than ideal for your cheese board.
Does Gouda Cheese Freeze Well?
Yes, Gouda cheese does freeze well.
As with all high-protein items like meat and cheese, it freezes well thanks to the fact that it’s very dense. In turn, very little freezer burn can come to it, which is a plus.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing Gouda cheese or cheese in general, then these may help:
Yes, sliced Gouda can be frozen. Layer slices of Gouda with baking paper before wrapping the layered slices in cling film and freezing for up to 3 months.
Sources
We have verified the information on this page using the following resources:
