How to use left over cheese
When we have a dinner party Mr PaintSewGlueChew loves to do a cheeseboard – a groaning platter of deliciousness, the more oozing and smelly the better.
And while it looks like THIS at the start of the night.
At the end of the night, the left over cheese will most likely look a lot more like THIS.
It’s not particularly appetising….which honestly won’t always stop me snacking on it in a hungover state the next day! And unless I actively plan to use it, it will fester at the bottom of the fridge until finally being thrown out. One of my new years resolutions (and one thats lasted longer than my attempts to hit the gym) was to waste less food.
So to save me from myself, and to make sure it doesn’t go to waste, the next day before I get too lazy, I FREEZE all the left over cheese. Ok so, I maybe have a nibble before it goes in the freezer!
Freeze the cheese
The hard cheeses like cheddar I grate, and place in sealable freezer bag, the blue cheeses and soft goats, brie or camembert get wrapped individually in parchment and cling film in small (220gish) portions.
It can stay in the freezer for 6 months easily. And while it wouldn’t be any good for another chessboard, its great for cooking. The freezing process breaks down the composition of the cheese, so that when it thaws it will be crumbly. If you plan to use if for cooking, that doesn’t matter. Make sure you date and name the cheese when freezing, and thaw slowly before using.
Here are some great recipes that will work well with a selection of left over cheese:
Mac n Cheese (use for any cheese)
Obviously a classic – the key being a killer cheese sauce. The cheese could be made into a sauce and it could be frozen, but honestly, the day after a dinner party it would not be my hot priority.
I’m a big fan of Jamie Olivers mac n cheese. His recipe calls for 150g cheddar and 100g parmesan, but this is the place to throw in a melting pot of any of the oozy delicious cheeses you have. I like to add breadcrumbs on top for a crunchy topping.
Cheese and vegetable filo pie (best for using up soft cheeses)
This spinach and feta filo pie is perfect for throwing in any random soft or goasts cheese. Substitute whatever you have, its cheese and pastry. It will be delicious.
Cheese toasties (use for hard cheese)
Or in our case Waffle sandwiches.
Blue cheese and mushroom toasts (use for blue cheese)
Blue cheese in particular goes very crumbly after freezing. This blue cheese and mushroom toast recipe is a delicious easy supper, and to have a small portion of blue cheese ready go is perfect. I would hide it from the rest of the family, so I could hogg it all myself.
A Bonus Tip:
Always keen to give value for money over here at PaintSewGlueChew – Not strictly speaking left over cheese -but still fromage related: Don’t throw away the rinds from your parmesan or other hard cheese. Toss them in with your soup or stock, to add great flavour. Just watch out for how much salt they will add, and remove the rinds before serving.
What are your favourite cheese recipes? Id love to hear them.
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