Do you like your fries dipped in fresh mozzarella cheese? Mozzarella has been winning hearts ever since it was introduced to the world. Every home kitchen or restaurant has loads of mozzarella cheese stocked up in their storage rooms.
Is frozen mozzarella as good as fresh mozzarella? Can you freeze mozzarella cheese at home? How long can you freeze mozzarella? And how can you thaw frozen cheese without affecting the taste and creamy texture of the cheese?
In this post, you will find answers to your queries about mozzarella cheese. Let’s start by understanding mozzarella cheese and why it is so popular.
What’s Mozzarella Cheese?
Mozzarella is an Italian cheese rich in vitamin B. It is one of the most popular food items among cheese lovers. It has a smooth, creamy texture with a thick white appearance.
Freezing is a great way of preserving its taste and texture. The good news is that you have a couple of options for freezing mozzarella cheese at home. Adding a few drops of milk won’t revive your cheese. So, your best bet is to freeze mozzarella like you freeze other dairy product items.
Frozen mozzarella can be used to prepare creamy soups, homemade pizza topping with fresh basil, cheesy desserts with fresh fruit, etc. You can try making all your favorite recipes with frozen mozzarella cheese! One simply can never get enough of eating mozzarella.
How to Freeze Mozzarella Cheese?
Having a pack of mozzarella cheese stored in your deep freezer is a must-have for every cheese lover. Storing frozen mozzarella at home can save you a trip to downtown dairy. You don’t have to run to the market whenever you’re craving a box of loaded cheese fries.
You can simply thaw your frozen mozzarella cheese whenever you want to make delicious evening meals or midnight snacks. In addition, frozen mozzarella makes it easy to cook restaurant-style dishes at home anytime.
For freezing mozzarella cheese, you must be very careful about the cheese quality and the method. The best way to safely freeze mozzarella at home for an extended period is by cutting it into cubes. This way, the hard cheeses retain their square shape and taste very well, even after thawing out.
What Do You Need For Freezing Mozzarella Cheese At Home?
If you plan to freeze mozzarella cheese at home, you’ll need some basic kitchen utensils and frozen bags. Here’s a list of items you need for safely storing frozen mozzarella cheese at home.
- Box of your favorite premium-quality Mozzarella cheese
- Set of Knives/ Shredder
- One large dish/ tray
- Silicone freezer bags (in various sizes)
- Freezing bag labels
- Plastic wrap roll.
Note: The kitchen tools mentioned above are not specific to any frozen item. You can freeze any cheese besides mozzarella using the same equipment and different methods of freezing.
Stepwise Guide to Freeze Mozzarella Cheese
We have five simple steps after breaking down the freezing method into a stepwise guide. Let’s see what our first step is.
Step 1: Quality Cheese Selection
Firstly, you need to get quality mozzarella cheese in bulk that you want to freeze and store for later use. Then, you can prepare your freshly made mozzarella cheese at home. Or, you can buy an original package of your favorite mozzarella cheese brand from your nearest local store.
Step 2: Get Rid of the Moisture
Next, you must dry the cheese and remove all the excess water. Moisture is the primary cause of spoilage as it facilitates microbial growth. Therefore, you should lose high moisture content from your mozzarella blocks for best results.
Freezing well-dried mozzarella having lower moisture content can significantly extend its storage life. Also, it helps to prevent freezer burn and the formation of cold water ice crystals on your whole Block mozzarella.
Use a handful of paper towels or tissues to drain your low-moisture mozzarella. Dab the low moisture content away gently by pressing the paper towel over the mozzarella. The right way is to use a light hand to remove as much moisture as possible. The less water content ensures better shelf life.
Step 3: Let’s Chop the Cheese
Now, it’s time to chop your dried mozzarella cheese into perfect square-shaped cubes. Pick up one of your sharpest cheese knives and start chopping down mozzarella into thin slices (only ¼-inch thick).
Cutting large mozzarella cheese blocks into several small pieces helps to quicken the freezing process. Plus, it also helps to retain the original cheese texture and flavor. You can use a paper towel again to absorb moisture from the sliced mozzarella cubes.
Step 4: Vacuum-seal Cheese
For the final step, take out a large baking tray. Wash it and dry it using kitchen towels. Take butter paper or a paper towel to place over the tray. Now, arrange all the small mozzarella cubes neatly on the baking sheet. Use plastic wrap to cover the whole cheese-filled tray tightly against the sharp freezing breeze of the freezer.
Step 5: Time to Freeze Mozzarella
Place the tray inside your freezer for a few hours. Make sure that the tray is horizontally stable in the freezer. So your cheese cubes won’t slide away to the sides.
Once the mozzarella cubes are frozen into solid pieces, transfer them into a silicone freezing bag to keep them safely stored until next time. Label your bag as “Frozen Mozzarella” and keep it inside your freezer for later use.
Different Ways How To Freeze Mozzarella Cheese
To keep your favorite mozzarella cheese safe from being spoiled, you can freeze it for later use. Our top-notch cheese-freezing hacks work for all types of cheese. Whether you’re freezing Mozzarella, Cheddar cheese, Ricotta cheese, or Parmesan, the method works fine for every cheese type.
Is it necessary to chop the cheese block into cubes? Well, it’s a good idea but only necessary sometimes. Chopping is an easy way; however, the only thing that matters is how well your cheese is frozen. However, you can freeze your mozzarella cheese the way you like it best.
Here are different ways to freeze your mozzarella cheese at home.
Freezing Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
For freezing sliced mozzarella cheese, take a sharp knife to cut the mozzarella into thin slices. Now, use thin sheets of wax paper to separate cheese slices from one another.
Place all the slices into a vacuum-sealed freezer bag and label it. Vacuum the bag to remove high water content and air before storing the bag in the freezer.
Freezing Soft Mozzarella Cheese
You can also freeze soft mozzarella cheese available in original packaging in the grocery store. Soft cheese is a type of cheese having a short shelf life, so you should store the leftover mozzarella in an airtight container inside your freezer.
You don’t need to cut a thick block of mozzarella cheese into cubes for freezing soft cheese. Instead, divide the cheese into smaller portions and fill the vacuum-freezer bags. Remove air and excess moisture from the bags and seal them. Label the bags and keep them stored inside the freezer until used.
Freezing Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
If you like to sprinkle your food dishes with lots and lots of shredded cheese, then you must have frozen stock of shredded mozzarella available at home.
For freezing shredded mozzarella cheese, take a mozzarella block and shred it using a shredder. Now, spread a single layer of shredded mozzarella on a large baking sheet and freeze it for at least 10-15 minutes.
Take it out and fill the resealable freezer bag with different small potions of somewhat-frozen mozzarella in shredded form. Use a vacuum sealer to seal the plastic bag and store them inside the freezer.
Freezing Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
How can we forget mozzarella sticks when freezing different types of mozzarella cheese? For freezing mozzarella sticks, prepare mozzarella sticks. Spread the sticks on a large sheet of baking paper.
Cover it with Aluminum foil and freeze. After freezing them for 10 minutes, use a vacuum bag to fill them with mozzarella sticks. Remove moisture and air from the bag and freeze your freshly-made mozzarella sticks for up to 3 months.
If you’re fond of buying a packet of pre-made mozzarella sticks from your local market, use them as soon as possible. Avoid refreezing them at home as they’re already frozen.
Freezing Mozzarella Cheese Balls
Repeating the same process above for freezing another type of mozzarella cheese. You can prepare fresh cheese balls at home using your favorite recipe.
Spread the mozzarella cheese balls on a cookie sheet and freeze them for 20 minutes. Take them out and fill the freezer bags, removing as much air as possible. Store the fresh mozzarella balls inside the freezer until needed.
Can You Freeze Mozzarella Cheese? —Bottom line!
Freezing mozzarella cheese has many perks and health benefits. It helps to increase the shelf life of mozzarella. Once you learn how to freeze mozzarella cheese, you can keep the cheese’s taste and texture intact. Having it stored in your freezer is a blessing when making Italian cuisine.
Can You Freeze Mozzarella Cheese— FAQs
Why Preserve Mozzarella Cheese?
Preserving mozzarella cheese at home can be useful when making cheese-rich Italian dishes. Frozen mozzarella cheese available at home will save you an unnecessary trip to the store. Plus, preserving mozzarella saves it from early spoilage. All cheese lovers can also preserve frozen mozzarella at home to satisfy their cravings.
How Long Does Mozzarella Cheese Last In The Fridge?
Since mozzarella has a long shelf life, you can store it for a long time. At most, frozen mozzarella can last for approximately three months before getting stale.
As for the packaged mozzarella cheese, you should store it for up to three days once you open the packet.
How to Thaw Frozen Mozzarella Cheese?
After you’ve learned to freeze cheese, it’s time to learn the thawing process to defrost mozzarella at room temperature. We recommend changing its storage position when you want to thaw the frozen mozzarella.
Transfer the cheese from your freezer into the fridge a couple of hours before use. However, not all types of cheese take a lot of time when defrosting. For example, shredded mozzarella and mozzarella slices can be thawed when you want to eat them.
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