A foodie tip: buy soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert or Fromage D’Affinois whenever they’re on special (the riper the better), wrap them carefully, and stash in the freezer.
They will defrost overnight in the fridge to perfect, non-soggy ooziness for your next dinner party cheese platter. They’re also brilliant on pizzas – D’Affinois makes a particularly decadent topping.
I bought this 1kg wheel of Mon Père from Costco for just $20, cut it into eight wedges and (very carefully) vacuum sealed each piece to prevent freezer burn. I’ve also had great success with just wrapping the cheese tightly in cling film.
Here it is after having been frozen for a week, then defrosted overnight in the fridge…
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While I was at Costco, I also spotted pots of Jean Perrin Fromage des Clarines on special for $4.97. These are normally $20 each (and often more for the ones in ceramic bowls) but a friend told me that the importer had brought in too many for Christmas. With an expiry date of 13th January, they were massively marked down for a quick sale…
Knowing that I could freeze them, I bought four tubs! I stashed three in the freezer and baked one, following Tania’s recipe here…
It was ridiculously moreish…
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And while we’re on the topic…a cheese plate is an integral part of our dinner parties. If you need help assembling one, have a look at Sally’s comprehensive guide on putting one together.
Without fail though, I’m always left with a box of cheesy bits and pieces the following day. I turned leftovers into a cheese pâté recently and it was such a hit that I thought I’d best document it here so that I can find the recipe again next time. It’s basically a riff on the Fromage Fort recipe I posted years ago…
- 300g assorted leftover cheeses – I had a wedge of Cranberry Wensleydale, some 18-month Comte and a small piece of White Pearl Brie (which incidentally had been in the freezer for months, but had defrosted perfectly). It’s worth tasting the cheeses together first to make sure they don’t clash too much.
- 2 cloves garlic
- glug of good white wine
- splash of Kirsch
- black pepper
- walnuts, coarsely chopped
Set up the food processor with the grater blade and grate the hard cheeses into the bowl. Now switch to the chopping blade and add the soft cheeses, peeled and smashed garlic, pepper, wine and Kirsch. Blitz to form a smooth(ish) paste.
Scrape into a bowl and smooth out the top. Cover the surface with chopped walnuts, pressing in gently to stick them on (not shown in photo below, because I got the idea after it was taken).
Serve with crackers or sourdough focaccia.
As I mentioned above, the nuts were a last minute addition, but they made a huge difference to both taste and appearance, and are well worth the extra effort. The addition of the booze seems to help preserve the cheese. I’ve made versions of this with everything from blue to soft, but it might not work with fresh cheeses such as ricotta or mozzarella (because they go off quite quickly).
The pâté should improve with a couple of days’ rest, but I took this to dinner at Kevin and Carol’s place and it was demolished before the night was out!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Thank you for this. We have a friend who keeps buying cheese and I have lots left over in the fridge, so I’m going to try this recipe this weekend.Hope you are managing to stay cool. We have more snow falling as I type.
Thanks for the tip on freezing soft cheeses – I had never thought of it!
Great idea to freeze. I do love these cheeses but they are expensive and only picked up on special. Will try the recipe!
WHAT?? Costco is in AU?? You poor thing LOL What a hoot. I wondered re freezing soft cheeses. Good ideas, thanks.
Lesson: Eha – Cheese CAN be frozen and used at convenience :) !! News to me and so, so useful!! Thanks . . .
I’ve never frozen a soft cheese but I’ll admit to having to toss some out because we just had too much to eat in the fridge. What a fount of knowledge you are. xx
We never have leftover cheese for long… mice must somehow access the fridge 😉
But I will keep my eye out for on sale cheese. I ♡ freezer stashes.
Such a great tip, Celia. The cheese pate ingredients reminded me of when we used to have cheese fondues in the 70s. They were fun times.
Oh stop my beating heart…I’m on a dairy free kick for while…this is torture. However it hopefully wont be forever & I do occasionally see good cheese on special & unless I’m entertaining will force myself to keep on walking. Now I will take your lead Celia.
Many thanks for sharing!
Oh I have never frozen cheese either. i will take your esteemed word for it though Celia. i am not fond of freezing so it’s good to know. Glad that you enjoyed your baked Clarines. always one of my favourite ways to it. oh and thank you for making my recipe x
Oh yum. I’m not a chocolate girl so could live without it…but take cheese out of my life and I’d be a very sad Chica!
Oh Celia!!! what a tease with cheese! I practically opened my mouth when you finished spreading that oozy cheese on the cracker!! haha.. I never had an inkling you can freeze it! I will now! thank you!!
Great tip! I’ve frozen cheddar in the last past too :)
Love the idea of the cheese pate – will definitely use it for the odds and ends. Have frozen Stilton quite successfully – slight change in texture. Massive thanks for the shout out. Had my phone stolen and am in a bit of a spin so gave me a much needed lift.
I had no idea you could freeze soft cheeses!!! I freeze harder cheeses all the time – great to know, especially when they are on sale. AND I now have a vacuum sealer
Vacuum very gently Mel, or you’ll just end up with ooze. The cling film works very well too!
How very clever! The only cheese I have frozen is parmiggiano. I often get rinds from the Italian deli and pop them in the freezer as they are great to pop into soup and sauce during cooking.
I don’t bother vacuum sealing and they come out fine. It’s good to have some ripe soft cheese in the freezer for when people come round unexpectedly because the chances of rushing to the shops and buying something ripe are zero.
Your cheese pate reminds me of a potted cheese recipe I used to make years ago. I wonder why it fell out favour. I shall have to try your recipe next time we have an overload of cheese.
I’ve been freezing brie for ever, it’s so handy to have if you have some unscheduled guests. I simply put them into a zip lock baggy and they are good to go!
Freezers are such a wonderful tool to save both food and cash. I have frozen Camembert before with success (and it had been an absolute bargain!) Your spread looks delicious but I suspect I could see that off with just a spoon.
Thank you for a great tip, I had no idea it was ok to freeze soft cheeses.
ALDI have the big half wheels 500grm for $9.99 normal price.
You’re such a clever cook, Celia. Great post xx
many thanks for the info, I have never frozen cheese but freeze butter often (just when it is on special near the use by date).Will try cheese next opportunity. Hope you have a great year.