Cheeses can be kept for a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years, depending on the variety. The maturing process of the cheese ends the moment your local cheesemonger or cheesemaker slices into it. Your cheese doesn’t have to remain unchanged, though. The helpful bacteria, yeasts, and molds that turned it from a pale, flavorless curd into a rich, aromatic cheese are still abundant in it.
As a result, the cheeses you purchase will continue to develop and alter in your refrigerator or on your counter. How you store them, however, may determine how quickly they acquire off flavors, unfavorable textures, early molding, or other problems that reduce their taste.
What is Cheese?
Cheese is a dairy product that comes in a huge variety of tastes and textures. It is created by maturing milk from various farm animals, processing the milk’s solid components, or adding acid or bacteria to the milk. Depending on the type of milk used in the manufacture of the cheese, the nutritional value and flavor may change.
Some people are concerned that cheese has a lot of fat, sodium, and calories. But cheese is a great source of protein, calcium, and a number of other minerals. Consuming cheese may benefit heart health, osteoporosis prevention, and weight loss. But certain cheeses are healthier for you than others.
Quick Facts About Cheese
The term “cheese-flavored” meal does not refer to any of the many varieties of cheese that exist.
Although many pieces of cheese are heavy in fat and sodium, the advantages may exceed the drawbacks.
Cheese that is natural, low in fat, and sodium can be a healthy supplement to most diets.
While cheese should not be consumed by anyone with a lactose allergy, some varieties may be suitable for individuals who are lactose intolerant.
How to Store Cheese in the Fridge?
Cheese should typically be kept in the refrigerator for up to an hour before you plan to eat it. When keeping cheese, we want to preserve it and prevent mold growth before it has a chance to start. In order to preserve your cheese from the drying air in your fridge, it’s often a good idea to store it in the cheese drawer or crisper.
There are, of course, certain exceptions. The cheddar you’re grating for mac and cheese or the mozzarella you’re preparing to use on pizza? Since you’re going to melt them anyway, those don’t need to warm up before being consumed.
For commodity cheddar cheese, which actually ages in large, vacuum-sealed blocks, plastic wrap is OK. It’s also no huge deal to wrap fresh mozzarella for consumption within a couple of days. It’s also okay to keep fresh cheeses in a transparent plastic tub, such as chevre or feta that has been brined.
Plastic wrap, however, is the least preferable method of cheese storage for the majority of kinds. This is due to the fact that cheese cannot breathe as easily when sealed in plastic as it can when in other storage containers.
What are the Health Benefits of Cheese?
There are numerous good kinds of cheese to pick from, and cheese has many health benefits.
Excellent Source of Nutrients
A good supply of calcium, protein, and fat is cheese. It also contains significant amounts of riboflavin, phosphorus, zinc, and vitamins B12 and A.
Prevent Cavities in your Teeth
According to several research, cheese and dairy products in general may help prevent cavities. According to a 2015 Danish study, children who consumed more dairy than the norm had a higher likelihood of having healthy teeth three years later than children who consumed less dairy than the norm.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid from a Source (CLA)
Cheddar, Brie, and blue cheese are all examples of high-fat cheeses. Each one contains only trace levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). A healthy lipid called CLA may lower inflammation and aid in the prevention of obesity and heart disease.
Good for Health
Fermented dairy products like yogurt and cheese, according to research from a 2018 Reliable Source, are beneficial for heart health. Full-fat dairy products appeared to be healthier and less likely to incite inflammation in the same study.
Which Cheese is Healthiest?
All cheeses have some nutritional value, however, not all cheeses have the same amount of key nutrients such as amino acids, protein, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. There are some cheeses that are healthier than others.
Mozzarella
The mozzarella was initially produced as a soft cheese in Italy. Most frequently, it is made with cow or buffalo milk. The fat and calorie content of mozzarella is moderate. It is healthier than other types of cheese because of this.
Cheddar
An English cheese that is neither too hard nor too soft is called a cheddar. It is produced with cow’s milk. Compared to other cheeses, cheddar has more fat, calories, and salt. Vitamin K is abundant in cheddar, especially when produced with all the fat. However, its vitamins can benefit your health in a variety of ways.
Ricotta
A soft Italian cheese called ricotta is created from whey. Whey protein, which is used to make ricotta, has a significant lowering effect on cholesterol, particularly the harmful LDL cholesterol. Compared to other types of cheese, ricotta cheese has significantly less fat and calories.
Goat cheese
Goat cheese is produced from goat milk. It feels silky and has a tangy flavor. Goat cheese has fewer calories than most other cheeses but higher fat per 21 g serving. Additionally, it has a lot of vitamin A, which supports eye health and enhances eyesight in low light.
Feta
Greek cheese called feta is produced from sheep’s milk. Feta has fewer calories but higher sodium than most other cheeses. An extremely healthy cheese is feta. Half of the 700 mg daily guideline for people of both sexes from Trusted Source is present in 100 g of phosphorus, or 337 mg.
Is it Unhealthy to Consume Cheese?
Knowing the benefits and risks of cheese consumption might help you make wiser decisions. You can suffer if the cheese is contaminated or if it conflicts with any of your medical needs or dietary restrictions.
Soft and blue-veined cheeses can occasionally get contaminated with Listeria, especially if they were made with unpasteurized or “raw” milk. You can become ill by eating listeria-contaminated food.
Cheese is a calorie-dense food. Depending on the type, one ounce of cheese has about 100 calories. Cheese is particularly high in saturated fat. Although some do, not all doctors advise cutting back on saturated fat. It frequently has a high salt content as well, which may be troublesome for people with high blood pressure.
Cheese contains lactose, a sugar that lactose-intolerant people are unable to digest due to a lack of the required enzyme in their bodies. Consuming lactose under these conditions may result in digestive problems such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
For those who have a milk allergy, cheese and other dairy-containing foods are off-limits. An immune reaction by your body to one or more milk proteins, such as casein, is known as a milk allergy. Casein, one of the main proteins in milk, is also an ingredient in several soy-based kinds of cheese.
How Much Cheese is Safe to Consume Daily?
Similar to other dairy products, cheese contains a lot of saturated fats, which have been linked to a higher risk of heart disease, high cholesterol, and atherosclerosis. Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that trans fats and added sugar, rather than dietary cholesterol and saturated fats, are what actually cause increased cholesterol and other heart disorders.
Studies show that those who ingested cheese frequently had a decreased chance of developing heart disease than those who either never or just occasionally did.
Cheese’s good qualities balance out the negative impacts of the saturated fat it contains. Cheese has a high probiotic content, which lowers inflammation, and is associated with many diseases.
It also contains CLA, which could help raise HDL (the good cholesterol) and lower LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol). It is acceptable to add a tiny quantity of cheese to your soup, but you shouldn’t eat more than 40 grams of cheese per day.
Reference: Eat Cheese And Butter To Lose Weight
Does all of this seem difficult? Yes, it is possible. However, the outcomes are far more rewarding, and it’s a very satisfying way to eat. Grass-fed beef, bison, chicken, lard, butter, whole-fat cheese, nuts, whole-fat dairy products, vegetables and berries of all types, eggs, fish, olive oil, and coconut oil are just a few of the delectable foods we may eat on this diet. After only a short while on the Ancestral Diet, people notice that they have more energy, a leaner body, a healthier waistline, and generally feel more alive and healthy.
Conclusion
There are several ways to store cheese in the fridge. It can be wrapped in wax or parchment paper, or placed in a partially sealed plastic bag. It can also be frozen. However, there are certain guidelines to follow for safe cheese storage. These will ensure that cheese stays fresh for longer.
It is important to avoid wrapping cheese in plastic wrap when storing it in the fridge. Plastic wrap can trap ammonia, which can ruin the taste of cheese. Ammonia is a natural part of the cheese-making process, but too much of it can spoil the flavor. Ammonia is produced during the surface ripening process, as dairy proteins break down. This trapped ammonia can give off a strong, unpleasant smell. To avoid this, you should always leave your cheese unwrapped at room temperature for about an hour before placing it in the fridge.
