How to keep your Christmas cheese tasting delicious throughout the holidays

It’s Christmastime, and for many of us, that means it’s time for cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. A cheeseboard on Christmas Eve, a bigger cheeseboard on Christmas Day, cheese with leftovers on Boxing Day, and cheese to nibble on until it runs out. 

Under the right conditions, the cheese you order before Christmas will remain in prime condition for the New Year – and beyond. But proper care is key.  

Cheeses change as they mature. Moisture evaporates from cut surfaces. Mould grows, influencing flavour – not always for the better. 

At our maturation arches, we spend our days carefully managing these changes. We can offer you some professional advice to ensure your cheese looks good and tastes delicious throughout the holidays.  

Basic cheese care like wrapping cut pieces will help to keep your cheese in good condition. 

1. How much cheese should I order?  

With Christmas being a time of excess, we recommend 100-150g of cheese per person, per sitting. We encourage you to order pieces large enough to last you through the festive period. Cheese keeps much better in large portions than in small pieces, which can dry more quickly.  

For example, if you’re hosting five people for two cheese courses of Pevensey Blue, we would recommend ordering a half wheel, rather than two quarters. You can cut the half wheel yourself at home, and the cheese will be all the fresher for it on the second serving. 

2. How long will my cheese last?  

When you order cheese from us it will arrive in peak condition. If you store it properly and care for it well, it will remain in this state for about 14 days, if not longer. Long enough to see you through the festive period! Harder cheeses like Lincolnshire Poacher and Coolea will last the longest, while softer varieties like Baron Bigod or St Jude are best consumed earlier. Remember that cheese is a preserved product, so it will remain edible and often delicious for quite some time after these recommended dates but will likely change in texture and taste.  

3. How should I store my cheese? 

Your cheese will arrive wrapped in waxed cheese paper, which achieves the best possible balance between maintaining humidity around the cheese and allowing it to breathe. As soon as you receive your cheese, be sure to unbox it and check it. If any of the paper wrapping has become damaged or loose en route to you, you should rewrap it before storing.  If you unwrap your cheese, be sure to re-wrap it unless you plan on eating it all at once. We are happy to provide some  extra cheese paper with your order. Click on the link above to add it to your order, or search 'cheese paper' on our site to add it to your basket. 

Struggling to rewrap your cheese? Cheesemonger Srdja gives you a quick tutorial in the video below. Tip: It's great practice for wrapping Christmas presents. 

Once wrapped, the best place for your cheese is in the refrigerator. If possible, avoid storing cheese in the fridge door as it is very drying. Instead, you can nestle the cheese in the salad drawer at the bottom of the fridge. The fruit and vegetables will create a humid microclimate that the cheese will keep quite happily in. Another option is placing the cheese in a loosely covered plastic container or cardboard box. You may be tempted to keep your cheese in an airtight container, but without any airflow, you’ll encourage a coating of white mould on the cut surface that may taint the flavour of the cheese. 

If you have purchased a whole cheese, such as a Colston Bassett Stilton, it can be kept in an unheated space such as a shed, a garage, larder or cellar until it is ready to cut. If you don’t have an unheated space, it is better to find room in your fridge rather than leaving it out in a centrally heated room.  

 4. I have lost the wrapping paper that my cheese arrived in. How can I rewrap my cheese?

Baking parchment or greaseproof paper is the best substitute for cheese paper. We strongly discourage you from wrapping your cheese in cling film. Binding it in cling film makes the cheese sweat without anywhere for the moisture to go. This moist layer will encourage white moulds to grow which will negatively affect the flavour.  

5. My cheese has started to look a bit dry, or it has developed mould on the surface. Is it still fine to eat?  

Absolutely. You can use a knife to scrape off the superficially damaged layer of the cheese or cut a thin slice off. What is underneath is perfectly safe to eat and should still taste delicious. 

6. How long before serving should I take the cheese out of the fridge? 

It is important not to serve your cheese as soon as you remove it from the fridge. Cold temperatures will numb the flavours of the cheese, which will be released once the cheese has been brought to room temperature. It’s best to let the cheese warm up gradually over a few hours to enjoy its full potential. Keeping your cheese wrapped whilst it is coming up to room temperature helps to avoid any risk of it drying out. 

7. I hope to serve the cheese at several small gatherings. Should I serve the whole pieces each time, or cut into portions? 

If you don’t plan on eating all of your cheese at once, we recommend cutting the amount you wish to serve each time from the larger piece, instead of bringing the whole piece out. Each time you remove cheese from the fridge and bring it up to room temperature, all the wonderful live cultures and moulds kick into action, which accelerates the pace of maturation and shortens its prime eating window. You can then rewrap the rest to return to the fridge, keeping it fresh for later.

8. Can I freeze my cheese? 

Yes, you can freeze your cheese, though we do not recommend it as a general rule. Freezing cheese will inevitably affect its taste and texture once defrosted. We advise reserving frozen cheese for cooking, where the flavours will mingle with the other ingredients.  

We hope that these tips will help you keep your Christmas cheese in prime condition and allow you to enjoy it in a variety of ways across the festive period. 

You can pre-order your Christmas cheese online now. Just choose a preferred delivery date in December by using the calendar at checkout. We encourage you to choose a delivery date a few days before the day you first wish to serve the cheese, in order to allow flexibility for unforeseen delivery delays during this busy time. 

If you have any further questions, would like some recommendations, or wish to place your order(s) by phone, contact us here. We would love to hear from you.