Happy Cheese Day

Oh Thy Glorious Cheese...

Since today is National Cheese Day, let me share these cheese serving techniques that I've learned:

• Cheese should be refrigerated in the original wrapping until ready to use. Keep it in an area where it will be less likely to pick up the other odors/flavors floating around in the fridge.
• Once unwrapped, wrap hard or semi-soft cheese in wax paper (it's better than plastic) and if possible store in a sealed plastic container. Use a fresh piece of wax paper each time. Soft-cheeses do not need the wax paper and should be kept in a sealed container.
• Consider double wrapping potent (aka stinky) cheeses so that their odors do not escape.
• Remove cheese from fridge an hour before serving, so that it can be up to room temperature. Only remove what you're planning on eating.
• If you're going to eat it in a day or two, the cheese can be left out at room temperature.
• If mold develops on hard or semi-soft cheeses (such as cheddar and swiss), it's okay to cut it off. To be safe, cut a half inch of cheese off on all sides with visible mold. If it shows up on soft cheeses (such as brie), then say good bye and toss it out.
• Speaking of mold, keep blue cheeses away from other foods and definitely in separate containers. The spores in the blue cheese can migrate to other foods.
• Don't freeze your cheese. A lot of people say you can, but if you do, use the cheese for cooking only. The flavor and texture are definitely diminished after freezing.