How to Store Your Christmas Cheese
How to Store Your Christmas Cheese
Wondering how to store your Christmas cheese and keep it tasting its best for the big day? You've chosen the cheese, stocked up on crackers, and hidden the chutney from anyone likely to open it before Christmas. Now you just need to look after your cheese until it's time to eat it.
The good news is that cheese is generally straightforward to store. A few simple steps can make a big difference to its flavour, texture, and freshness. Knowing how to store your Christmas cheese helps ensure it’s a delicious part of your festivities.
Keep Christmas Cheese in the Fridge
Your Christmas cheese should be stored in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. Keep unopened cheeses in their original packaging and always check the individual use-by or best-before date and storage instructions on the pack. If you’re buying your Christmas cheese in advance, it’s worth checking the dates upon arrival so you know which cheeses need enjoying first. Properly learning how to store your Christmas cheese from the moment it arrives helps keep it in the best condition for your Christmas cheeseboard.
How to Store Waxed Cheese Truckles
One of the great things about waxed cheese truckles is that they’re already sealed and protected. Keep them unopened and refrigerated in their original wax coating until you’re ready to enjoy them. There’s no need to remove the wax or rewrap them beforehand. Once you’ve cut into a truckle, however, the exposed cheese needs protecting.
How to Wrap Cheese Once It’s Open
Once opened, don’t leave the cut surface of your cheese uncovered in the fridge. This can cause it to dry out and may allow it to pick up other flavours and smells. Wrap the opened cheese well using cheese paper, waxed paper, or baking parchment, then place it in a suitable container or loosely wrapped food-safe covering. The aim is to protect the cheese without letting the cut surface dry out. Also, keep strongly flavoured cheeses separate where possible—unless you particularly fancy everything in the fridge tasting slightly of blue cheese!
Where Should Cheese Go in the Fridge?
An important aspect of how to store your Christmas cheese is choosing the right place in your fridge. Cheese is best kept somewhere with a fairly consistent, cool temperature rather than somewhere that regularly warms up and cools down. A fridge drawer or suitable covered container works well. Avoid leaving opened cheese sitting uncovered next to strongly scented foods.
Take Cheese Out Before Serving
This is the bit that can really improve your Christmas cheeseboard. Cheese straight from the fridge can taste firmer and less flavoursome than it should. Allowing it to warm slightly before serving helps bring out its texture, aroma, and flavour. As a general guide, take the cheese you plan to serve out of the fridge around 30–60 minutes beforehand, depending on the cheese and the temperature of the room. Only take out what you expect to eat and don’t leave cheese sitting somewhere warm for extended periods.
Don’t Cut Everything Too Early
It might be tempting to prepare the entire cheeseboard hours before everyone arrives, but cheese is generally better when it’s freshly cut. Get your crackers, chutneys, fruit, and serving board ready in advance, and add and cut the cheeses closer to serving time. It’ll look fresher and help stop the cheese from drying out.
How to Store Leftover Christmas Cheese
Christmas cheeseboard leftovers are rarely a bad thing. Wrap each cheese separately, return it to the fridge promptly, and enjoy it over the following days in accordance with the storage instructions on the packaging. And don’t feel that everything has to go back onto another cheeseboard. Leftover cheese is perfect for toasties, cheese on toast, macaroni cheese, omelettes, sauces, pies, and Boxing Day creations involving whatever else happens to be lurking in the fridge.
One Last Tip…
Once you know how to store your Christmas cheese, there’s really only one important thing left to do — enjoy it. Store it properly, give it a little time out of the fridge before serving, and, most importantly, don’t save the good cheese for so long that Christmas is over before you open it.