Can Cheese be Frozen?

"Can I do anything to help my cheese last longer?", you may ask. Well, there is something that you can do to help increase your cheese's life by over three months. Freezing hard cheeses is a great way to store cheese so that its shelf life is increased by a matter of months! However, soft cheeses don't take well to this method, so you're better off buying them when and if you are going to use them rather than in preparation for a day that is a ways off in the future.

Freezing cheese completely stops the molding process until you bring it back to room temperature. However, it does not get rid of any mold that may already be present on the cheese at the time of freezing. Freezing cheese is also a great way to save the money that you have surely invested in food products. If you've just spent one hundred dollars for food for the week, would you want to throw it away just because you couldn't eat it all? No, you wouldn't, and the same fact applies to cheese, as well. Freezing cheese is a great way to make sure that the food you buy lasts and keeps longer.

Written by Caitlyn Grisham

Do Creamy Cheeses Have More or Less Fat Than Hard Cheeses?

In the world of cheeses there are many different varieties to choose from and they are all different in their own way. Some are sharp while others are mild and, still, some have a creamier texture compared to others that may be of the drier variety. Some cheese lovers wonder, though, does creamy cheese have more fat than hard cheese? Contrary to popular belief, it does not! This is a difficult concept for some people to grasp because it conflicts with things that
they have grown up believing.

For example, ice cream (which has an inherently creamy texture) has more fat than milk. This is true, and it is one of the things that makes believing that creamy cheese has less fat than hard cheese hardly believable. Cheese that is creamy has had much more fat taken out of it, leaving it with much more water in its base than hard cheeses that have all (or nearly all) of the original fat left in the final outcome. Mozzarella cheese is a good example of this. Mozzarella is a soft, creamy, white cheese that is often used as a pizza topping, among other things. It's low in fat when compared to other cheeses such a Swiss cheese or Cheddar. Despite what some people would believe, creamy cheeses are, in fact, less fatty than hard cheeses.

One Great Pizza Recipe! Tofu & Cheese Curd Pizza

Everybody loves Pizza. This dish that was once considered as food for the poor is now an icon in the food scene. During the 16th century, it was sold in the street of Naples, Italy and was not thought of as a kitchen recipe for some time. By the end of 18th century, it was now being sold in Pizzerias located in the heart of Naples.

Today, there are countless variations to this popular dish; some with different crusts ranging from the super-thin to the inch-thick pan pizza crust; traditional toppings like Mozzarella, basil and tomatoes used in-tandem with more creative ingredients like tofu, cherries, pineapple and a lot more, are now common in Pizzerias found around the world.

Although traditional Neapolitan Pizza only calls for the classic toppings, one should not limit oneself in using all sorts of ingredients. However, there are certain ingredients, like cheeses, that should not be disregarded since these make up the qualities of a great pizza.

Quality cheeses are essential when cooking pizza. The most versatile cheese topping would have to be Mozzarella, prized for its high fat content and “stringy” quality; though other cheeses like Cheddar and Gouda can be mixed in to create a unique variation. In fact, one popular variety, the Four-cheese Pizza, utilizes four different types of cheeses.

The Tofu and Cheese Curd Pizza recipe below is a very unique and enticing approach to this dish. It has a light but creamy texture, perfect when served as a starter or appetizer

Tofu and Cheese Curd Pizza
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 piece Frozen Pizza Dough, medium size
• 1/2 Cup Tomato sauce, low-sodium
• 1 piece Green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 piece White Onion, cut into rings
• 1 piece Tomato, ripe, cut into rings
• 1 Tbsp Fresh basil
• 1 Tbsp Fresh oregano
• 1 piece Green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 piece White Onion, cut into rings
• 1 piece Tomato, ripe, cut into rings
• 6 pieces Black olives, pitted and sliced
• 1 Cup Cheese Curds, drained
• 1 1/2 Cups Tofu, drained and cubed
• 1/2 Cup Mozzarella cheese, low-fat, shredded

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400 - 425F. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and layer the pre-made pizza crust.

2. Apply a thin layer of tomato sauce to the pizza crust. Then, layer the tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, basil, oregano and olives. Top evenly with the cubed tofu, cheese curds and mozzarella cheese.

3. Bake for about 10 – 12 minutes or until surface is brown and crust is crisp. Serve immediately.

Cooking Tips:
- For a crunchy texture, fry the tofu in canola oil until golden brown before topping on pizza.
- When a deep-fried cheese curd is preferred, dredge in flour or batter then deep-fry before using as pizza topping.
- Use firm tofu instead of silken since the latter will cause the pizza to be mushy.
- Make sure to dry both the cheese curds and tofu since these are very watery and will cause your pizza to sog. Drain for at least 3 hours then pat dry with a kitchen towel.
- Substitute cheese curds with cottage cheese if unavailable.

-Written by Gab Castellano

Is it Safe to Cut the Mold off of Cheese?

Cheese molds. It's unfortunate, but it happens and most people will proceed to throw away the entire block of cheese because of a small piece of mold. However, you don't have to waste that yummy piece of cheese just because it has a bit of mold growing on it! Cheese itself has mold compounds involved in its creation, so it is safe to eat the rest of the cheese if you cut off the bit that has begun to grow the mold. If the mold begins to grow on soft cheeses such as cottage cheese or ricotta, then you should throw it out. Soft cheeses are not comparable to hard cheeses because the mold will spread and infect the entire carton of soft cheese. If you have hard cheese, though, it is perfectly safe to cut off the infected piece, along with another inch or so for insurance
purposes, and eat the rest of the cheese without worrying about it being a health liability. When you cut the mold off of the piece of cheese, be sure to keep the knife out of the mold itself to avoid cross contaminating the good pieces that are still left over, though!

-Written by Caitlyn Grisham

Is There Healthy Low Fat Cheese?

Cheese is a great source of healthy fats, protein, calcium and phosphorus, but is it really as low fat as some companies would like you to believe? Yes and no. Low fat cheese can be found all across grocery stores in the United States and otherwise. It is a great way to incorporate cheese, and the nutrients that it provides, into a daily, low fat diet. Low fat cheeses are generally not the best tasting things on the market. In fact, they tend to have a rubbery consistency that is like chewing on a rubber tire. There are some exceptions however, and low fat cheeses on the market are getting better and better as time goes on.

So far, the cheese with the lowest fat is Mozzarella. It comes in
natural versions, where the fat content is untouched, and it also comes in low
fat and skim varieties where you can get as little as fifteen percent of the
normal fat content.

If you are looking for something that is not milk based, you
can try rice or soy alternatives to milk cheese that often have lower fat and
calorie content than normal cheeses. You truly have many options if you are
looking for low fat cheese.

-Written by Caitlyn Grisha