Feta cheese is a delicious, tangy cheese that comes from Greece. It is traditionally served with toasted bread and as a topping on salads. However, the downside to this cheese is that, when refrigerated, it only lasts for about one week before it begins to spoil. Fortunately, freezing may be the perfect alternative.
Freezing your feta cheese will allow you to keep the cheese fresh for 1 to 3 months instead of the usual one week. However, if not done properly, freezing feta cheese can make the texture dry and overly crumbly.
Before you freeze your feta cheese it is important to learn exactly how to do it. Freezing your feta cheese correctly can help to significantly improve the texture of your cheese once you thaw it.
Freezing Feta Cheese – Does It Work?
In terms of food preservation, freezing feta cheese does work. Freezing feta cheese will prevent bacterial growth that will lead to the cheese spoiling. It will allow it to stay fresh for several months longer than the typical week-long lifespan of feta cheese in the refrigerator.
However, feta cheese is not the best cheese to freeze in terms of texture. When you freeze feta cheese, you risk changing both the texture and the flavor of the feta cheese.
Texture Changes
Feta cheese is normally a fairly crumbly cheese and it is prized for its soft crumbly texture. However, freezing the cheese can take this crumbly texture a few steps too far.
When you freeze cheese, the water molecules and the actual cheese are frozen separately. This can cause crystallization within the cheese. Once the cheese thaws, this crystallization can cause the cheese to become crumbly.
Freezing feta cheese can also cause the cheese to become dryer. Normally, when refrigerated, feta cheese is stored in water or another liquid such as oil. This helps to prevent the cheese from drying out and allows it to keep its signature soft texture.
When you freeze feta cheese you normally have to take it out of whatever liquid it was stored in. If you leave it in the liquid you will be left trying to get your cheese out of a giant ice cube when you’re ready to eat it. Removing your feta cheese from the liquid can cause the cheese to dry out more quickly which can make the cheese even more crumbly.
Flavor Changes
Although the flavor of feta cheese does not change as significantly as the texture when frozen, there are still some notable changes that you should be aware of. Feta cheese is known for its tangy and salty taste. When you freeze and rethaw feta cheese, both of these signature notes will be weaker.
You will not notice as much of a tang and the salty flavor will also be less noticeable. If you are purchasing cheap feta cheese in bulk you may not care about these subtle differences. However, if you are purchasing expensive, authentic feta cheese, the freezing process may take away the flavors that you were after when purchasing your cheese.
How To Freeze Feta Cheese
If you do decide to freeze feta cheese, it is important to do so in the right way. Freezing your feta cheese correctly will help to prevent significant texture changes and flavor loss.
There are two main forms that you will buy feta cheese in, block form and crumbled. There is a different process for freezing each one which will lessen the negative effects on the texture and flavor of the feta cheese.
How To Freeze Feta Blocks
To freeze feta cheese blocks you will first need to gather some supplies. You will need clean paper towels, plastic wrap, freezer bags, and airtight containers. Once you have gotten these supplies, you are ready to begin the feta cheese freezing process.
1. Drain Your Feta
The first step to freezing a block of feta cheese is to drain the cheese. When you freeze feta cheese, you want to minimize the amount of water or other liquids that are sitting on the cheese. This will help to prevent your feta cheese from becoming extremely crumbly once thawed.
To drain your feta you will want to want to place your block of feta on clean paper towels and allow the excess water to drain away. However, be careful not to remove all of the moisture from the cheese. There is no need to squeeze the cheese or place a weight on top of it to press the moisture out.
2. Portion
After your cheese has been drained it is time to portion it. Technically, this process isn’t strictly necessary. However, it will make the thawing process easier once you are ready to eat your feta cheese.
Think about how much cheese you will want to pull out of the freezer at a time then cut the feta cheese into blocks of about that size. That way, when you are ready to eat your cheese you will only have to thaw as much as you are prepared to consume.
Thawing the cheese multiple times increases the chances that you experience significant changes in the flavor and texture of the cheese.
3. Wrap the Cheese
After the cheese has been portioned out you will want to wrap each individual block in plastic wrap. This will help to prevent the dry freezer air from coming into contact with the cheese. This helps to keep the cheese from drying out and getting freezer burn.
Make sure to wrap each piece tightly and don’t leave any air between the plastic wrap and the cheese. If you leave any air your cheese could become dry and the portion in contact with the air could get freezer burn. Although freezer burn is not dangerous, it can create unpleasant changes in the flavor and texture of the cheese.
4. Place in Freezer Bags
After each block of cheese has been wrapped, you can place multiple blocks of cheese into freezer bags. The freezer bags will provide an extra layer of protection to the cheese and help prevent drying out and freezer burn.
As long as you have wrapped each block individually, you can freeze as many blocks as will fit in one bag. If you have not wrapped each block you should limit the bags to one block per bag to avoid the blocks freezing together.
Make sure to squeeze out any excess air before closing the bag!
5. Place Bags in Airtight Container
The last step you’ll take before putting your feta in the freezer is to place the bags of cheese in an airtight container. This will provide just one more layer of protection and can help to prevent your blocks of cheese from being crushed in the freezer.
How to Freeze Crumbled Feta
Freezing crumbled feta cheese is a slightly different process than freezing blocks of feta cheese. To freeze crumbled feta cheese you will need freezer bags, plastic wrap, and an airtight container.
1. Divide Cheese Into Portions
The first step you will need to take is dividing your crumbled feta cheese into portions. Just like with the blocks of cheese, this will make it easier to thaw the cheese.
As you do this you can allow some of the excess water to drain away, but there shouldn’t be as much excess moisture as there is with blocks of feta cheese.
2. Wrap Portions in Plastic Wrap
Once you have your crumbled feta portioned out you will want to wrap each portion with plastic wrap. As you do this make sure to squeeze out as much of the air as possible.
Wrapping each portion in plastic wrap will help to keep it separate and prevent the cheese from drying out. Since crumbled feta has a higher surface area than block feta it is especially prone to drying out when exposed to air.
3. Place in Freezer Bags
After each portion has been wrapped you can place several portions into a freezer bag and then seal it up. The freezer bag will help to protect the cheese from drying out and getting freezer burned while in the freezer.
4. Place Bags in Airtight Container
Once all of your cheese has been separated into freezer bags you can place all of these bags into an airtight container. The rigid container will help to prevent your cheese from being squished while it is in the freezer. It also provides one last protection against freezer burn and drying out.
Defrosting & Thawing
No matter which form of feta cheese you have frozen, the process of defrosting and thawing them for consumption is similar.
You will want to pull your portion of cheese out of the freezer and place it in the fridge the night before you plan on using it. Thawing your cheese in the fridge will allow the cheese to thaw slowly and doesn’t create a chance of bacteria developing. If you thaw your cheese on the countertop some bacteria can develop since the cheese is not being kept below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you don’t have time to start the thawing process the night before, you can also thaw your cheese using cool water. To do this you will keep the frozen cheese in a watertight bag and place it in a bowl of cool water. As the water becomes cold from the cheese you will continue to change the water.
This temperature difference will allow the cheese to thaw more quickly than it would in the refrigerator. However, you still won’t run the risk of melting your cheese or bacteria developing while it is outside of the fridge.
Avoid Heat
The most important thing to avoid when thawing feta cheese is heat. You don’t want to try and thaw cheese in the microwave or oven the same way that you might with other foods. Doing this will increase the chances that your cheese melts which will completely change the texture and flavor of your cheese.
Thawing foods in the microwave can also unevenly thaw your foods. This will leave the outer layers hot and the inner layers still frozen.
How Long Does Feta Cheese Last in The Freezer
If you package your feta cheese properly, the cheese should last for 1-3 months in the fridge before the flavor quality begins to decrease significantly. Ideally, you should eat your cheese within one month to preserve as much of the flavor and texture as possible.
However, feta cheese does not technically go bad after 3 months. Feta cheese can be frozen then thawed and consumed safely for up to 6 months after the initial freezing. Once you pass 6 months it is recommended that you throw the cheese out to prevent foodborne illness.
Conclusion
Freezing feta cheese can be a good way to keep the cheese fresh for longer. However, it can also cause permanent changes in the texture and flavor of the cheese. The strength of the flavor will decrease and the texture of the cheese can become more crumbly.
Before freezing your feta cheese it is important to prepare it properly. This will help to minimize the negative effects that freezing can have on the cheese’s texture and taste. The most important thing to remember when freezing feta cheese is to wrap it in multiple layers. This helps to keep the cheese from drying out and getting freezer burn.
