Does cheese need to breathe?

Cheese is a living thing, and like most living things it needs air to breathe. All those lovely organisms that give the cheese its flavor and help the cheese mature will die if cut off from oxygen. And if they die you end up with a dead cheese that may actually be unsafe to eat, and at the very least will taste stale.

So to keep your cheese healthy, wrap it loosely in wax paper (or even better, the paper the cheese monger wrapped it in). Avoid cling film, and try to keep the rind exposed so the cheese can continue to respire. Lastly, avoid storing your cheese near smelly foods in your fridge, to prevent the cheese absorbing those flavors as it breathes. For more tips on how to store cheese at home, check out the Dec 2, 2005 entry "How should I store cheese at home?"

Oh, and Melinda, you can tell Jason that I’ve obtained an exclusive as to why people say the moon is made of cheese. Some say the craters are reminiscent of the holes in Swiss cheese, while others went to great lengths to take a closer look... click here

Hey people, it’s OK to be cheesy when talking cheese…

Comments

[Cheesaholic]

Hi! the paper should be enough, but if you are planning on keeping it for a while (say a week or more), I would throw it in a Tupperware, which creates a more humid environment for the cheese, slowing down moisture loss. Ziploc bags are great too, as you can adjust the amount of air around the cheese, and they keep out other fridge odors very well.

[Erum Hartung]

Hello! I have a follow-up question about cheese storage -- after I wrap it in wax/parchment paper, should I put it in anything else (like a Tupperware container or a ziploc bag), or just leave it in the paper alone?