Cheese will stay fresh twice as long if wrapped in 1 kitchen basic

Cheese is a food item that is probably on the weekly shopping list of most Brits. Not only is it used for classics like cheese toasties and even beans on toast with a little bit of cheddar, but it is a vital ingredient in many dishes, such as salads and pastas. Keeping cheese fresh for longer is generally easy, but there is a vital mistake that not many people realise they are making, and it could give their cheese an extra lifespan of around two weeks.

That is according to food experts and chefs from across the globe, who tell homecooks and households to ditch one kind of storage method for cheese in favour of another. When it comes to wrapping up cheese that has already been taken out of the packaging in which it was wrapped in the supermarket, it is easy for households to reach for one thing when it comes to rewrapping it and placing it back in the fridge. But that is actually a common mistake.

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According to experts, you should never wrap cheese in plastic. Instead, you should use baking paper or wax paper.

Although plastic cling film works well as an air-tight wrap for some food items, it is not a go-to for everything. In fact, it is detrimental when it comes to cheese.

That is because cheese needs to breathe when it is stored. When you wrap it tightly in plastic, you trap the moisture, which can cause mould to grow faster. Instead, things like baking paper offer a more breathable solution for the cheese, helping it stay fresh for longer.

One expert, John Montez, certified cheese professional and head monger of Murray’s Cheese in New York, told CNET: "Cheese is a preserved product. It’s high in acid and salt, with much of the moisture removed. It’s rare you’d need to throw out a properly stored piece."

Meanwhile, social media users have found the value in this storage method. One Reddit user wrote: "I find that storing cheese in baking paper keeps it from going bad quickly, and helps it stay fresher for much longer."

Another said: "I'm going to try this! I hate wasting so much cheese due to mould."

"I've got these reusable wax-infused linen sheets. They work fantastically, in that they keep the cheese from drying out but also prevent mould," said another.