Whether you are a kitchen professional, a cheese retailer or just a cheese fan our tips below will help you store and handle cheese correctly to keep the it at its best flavor before it is served, sold or eaten.

The number one tip for storing cheese is to refrigerate it properly. When storing the cheese make sure to date them, so you know when they need to be turned. Make sure to store by family of cheese.

The ideal temperature for storing fresh cheeses is 5-6 C°, whereas semi-hard and hard cheeses should be kept at around 10 C°. The optimal humidity for most cheeses is 65%. The cheeses that require more humidity (cheeses with white rinds, washed rinds and blue cheese) can be stored in plastic containers, with a dampened towel placed at the bottom of the container to add more humidity. Every 3-4 days the container should be opened, for the air to exchange, and the towel should be replaced.

Do not leave cheeses exposed to room temperature for more then 3 hours, otherwise the flavor may change and the cheese may develop a mold. If this happens, the mold should be removed, the rest of the cheese can still be used. Soft and semi-soft cheeses are an exception to this rule. When these cheeses develop a mold, they should be discarded.

When a cheese is cut from a larger piece it needs to be wrapped properly so it can both breath and preserve its moisture in order not to dry out. A craft or a waxed paper can be used to wrap the cheese.

It is important that good sanitary conditions are maintained when handling the cheese. The cutting boards should be used only for cheeses and both the boards and the knives should be cleaned before cutting a different type of cheese.

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