Can you freeze cheese?

Freezing does not make cheese unsafe. What it does is turn the water in it into ice crystals that puncture the protein and fat structure, so the cheese loses its ability to hold together when it thaws. Hard cheeses such as cheddar, gouda and parmesan survive this well enough to grate or cook with, and grating before freezing avoids the problem entirely. Fresh, high-moisture cheeses — mozzarella balls, ricotta, cottage cheese, brie — separate and weep, and are best avoided unless they are going into a cooked dish.

How to do it properly

1. Grate hard cheese first; it then freezes as loose shreds you can use straight from frozen
2. Wrap blocks tightly in film then foil or a freezer bag, pressing the air out
3. Freeze in portions you will actually use, because refreezing costs more texture
4. Thaw in the fridge overnight, not on the counter
5. Use frozen cheese in cooked dishes rather than on a board

What goes wrong

• Blocks become crumbly and will not slice cleanly
• Soft and fresh cheeses separate into curds and liquid
• Freezer burn on unwrapped cheese makes it dry and off-tasting

Other "can you freeze" questions

• Can you freeze milk? Yes — Yes — leave headspace for expansion and shake it hard after thawing.
• Can you freeze eggs? It depends — Not in the shell. Beat them first, or freeze whites on their own.
• Can you freeze bread? Yes — Yes — freezing is the best way to store bread, far better than the fridge.
• Can you freeze bananas? Yes — Yes — peel and slice them first, because the peel turns black and welds itself on.
• Can you freeze cooked rice? Yes — Yes, and freezing quickly is the safest way to keep leftover rice.
• Can you freeze raw chicken twice? It depends — Only if it thawed in the fridge and never got above 4 °C (40 °F).
• Can you freeze breast milk? Yes — Yes — freeze it flat in bags, and use within six months for best quality.
• Can you freeze avocado? It depends — Yes, but only as a purée — frozen slices go grey and watery.
• Can you freeze soup? It depends — Yes for most soups; cream, milk and potato-based ones separate or go grainy.
• Can you freeze butter? Yes — Yes — butter freezes better than almost anything else in the fridge.
• Can you freeze cooked pasta? Yes — Yes — undercook it slightly and toss it in oil first, or it thaws into a solid block.
• Can you freeze mashed potatoes? Yes — Yes — mash with plenty of butter or cream, which protects the texture through freezing.