Have you bought too much Mozzarella cheese and don’t know where to use it? Want to freeze it, but don’t know how, worried about what you will do. How exactly, can you freeze Mozzarella cheese?
If you are wondering about this, and want to know how the answer actually is, then you are in the right place. Here we will explain all about Mozzarella cheese, including how to freeze fresh Mozzarella cheese, mozzarella cheese blocks and how to thaw them. Here we will learn a lot about how to control your Mozzarella cheese.
Can You Freeze Fresh Mozzarella Cheese?
Usually fresh mozzarella is widely used as an addition to salads and as a side dish. It is very wet because it is submerged in salt water and makes it last a long time.
Even if you remove some of the moisture before freezing it, it will still be runny and soft after you thaw it. The texture still changes but not significantly.
Frozen fresh mozzarella works well when thawed or when used as a topping. Frozen mozzarella can still be used in your dishes and cakes as long as you have thawed it.
Warning:
Defrosted fresh mozzarella turns out to be runny in texture, if the moisture is too much it can ruin your dish. Melt the cheese and thaw and dry it first before you melt it. Otherwise, just skip thawing and use straight from the freezer.
Now, let’s assume you know how fresh frozen mozzarella works. Now as we get into the explanation of how you can do it. Don’t worry, you only need a few moments and some equipment to be able to do it.
How To Freeze Fresh Mozzarella?
While you can freeze whole mozzarella, you should only freeze chunks or slices of cheese. So in this way you can take it little by little from the freezer without having to disturb the cheese that you don’t use.
This is very practical and very useful for those of you who plan to store mozzarella for a long time.
You can determine the size yourself, what size do you usually use, then you can freeze it at that size. This makes it easy for you to get as much out of the freezer as you want and without disturbing any other cheese you aren’t using.
Follow these steps to freeze your mozzarella cheese.
Discard the brine, excess water, and give the ball a moment to release more water.
Make mozzarella portions of reasonable size, of course, for use in the recipe you are about to make. You can slice according to your wishes.
Remove excess moisture. After cutting the cheese, you will find a lot of moisture, so remove this moisture with a paper towel, the brine will not congeal along with the slices.
Then, the portions that have been made, transfer them in a freezer bag, you can freeze the pieces on the tray, but I prefer to put them straight in the freezer bag to freeze. So in this way you can take one piece or two according to what you want.
Fresh mozzarella is freezer safe and can be waiting for you to use it. You can find out how to treat your mozzarella after reading all this article.
How about a block of mozzarella cheese, now we’re going to talk about it.
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Can You Freeze Mozzarella Cheese Blocks?
Mozzarella blocks actually contain more water than fresh ones. It looks almost like hard or semi-hard cheese. This means that freezing mozzarella blocks is also easier and less worrying.
The only thing to worry about is that your cheese will dry out once it’s frozen, but in most use cases, this isn’t a big deal.
You can easily and as much as you like freezing mozzarella blocks and can use them however you like.
So, now we’ll see how to freeze mozzarella blocks that are said to be very easy.
How To Freeze Mozzarella Blocks?
Freezing mozzarella blocks can be done in two ways as per our experience. You can freeze it portioned or grated.
Before choosing a freezing method at your disposal, consider how you will use it.
If you want to make homemade or homemade mozzarella sticks, then you have to have the portioned mozzarella block freezing method on hand.
But it’s different if you need mozzarella cheese to melt on pizza or casserole, then freezing grated cheese is the best option for you.
If you don’t have an idea to use this cheese, we suggest that you freeze it grated. All or most dishes would be better with a touch of mozzarella topping on top.
Freezing Mozzarella Sticks or Portions
The cheese will harden and dry unless you wrap it tightly. Before you start freezing it you should think about this.
This means that when you thaw it, the cheese shouldn’t be a problem, so make sure to wrap it properly because no one likes dry mozzarella, and you definitely don’t want your mozzarella to dry out.
Check the following steps:
Cheese portion. do with what works best for later use in the recipe. Mozzarella sticks, maybe you’ve already cut the logs into sticks or slices.
Wrap the portions, if you are not too concerned with the cheese drying out then you can skip this step. But if not, then you have to use an aluminum package, freezer, this aims to cover every part of your cheese.
Then put the portions in a freezer bag or airtight container. If the pieces of cheese aren’t wrapped, then you have to pay attention to their layout, making sure they don’t touch each other. As an alternative so that they don’t stick together, you can freeze them first on a baking sheet, and then place them in the container of your choice.
Transfer the airtight bag or container to the freezer section.
Well, that’s it, now your cheese is tucked away neatly in the freezer and you can grab it whenever you need it.
Tip: You can also freeze cheese sticks using the same freezing method.
Freezing Shredded or Grated Mozzarella
Before freezing mozzarella cheese, we usually grate it first. Once cheese is frozen, it will be dry and not the same as before freezing. But this frozen cheese doesn’t matter if you want to use it as a topping.
Below I freeze grated cheese:
– Cheese grate. Previously, put the cheese block in the freezer for 30 minutes, try to make the texture slightly harden but still able to be shredded.
– Pre-freeze on a baking sheet. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil or with a silicone mat. This is so that the cheese doesn’t stick to the surface, then the grated cheese is transferred to a tin and placed in the freezer until frozen.
– If it’s frozen, crush the frozen cheese with a spatula, your cheese will freeze in big lumps. In order for the cheese to be available when you need it, it needs to be broken into small pieces, you don’t need much time for this.
– Transfer the cheese to a bag or freezer container, if using a bag, then squeeze out the air, label it for easy identification when you take it. But maybe not because this cheese will last continuously as long as it is still frozen.
– Now, put the cheese back in the freezer and it is ready to freeze for long term storage in the freezer.
How To Thaw Mozzarella?
Let’s assume you know how to freeze mozzarella cheese, but what about using it after a long time in the freezer?
Well, to use it of course you have to melt it first. How do you thaw frozen cheese? Check out the following.
Take frozen mozzarella and transfer it to the refrigerator for a few hours. The time it takes you to thaw it depends on how you freeze it, whether grated or portioned. The grated cheese will melt quickly and large portions may take a while.
If you can be patient, then leaving it in the refrigerator overnight is the best option, the cheese will slowly melt.
If you need to melt the cheese, then skip this defrosting. You can let the oven heat on to make it melt.
Tip: If you have fresh frozen mozzarella cheese and you don’t want extra moisture in whatever you are cooking, then you can pat the mozzarella cheese dry with a paper towel first.
How To Use Frozen and Thawed Mozzarella?
If you want to use mozzarella that you have frozen then we offer several options.
toppings. For toppings you can use cubes or fresh mozzarella, or melt the cheese on a pizza, or on a piece of plain bread.
melting. You can use it for Creamy soups, egg scrambles, and others. A little extra cheese will be very useful for the taste of your food.
For many recipes that call for melted mozzarella, it’s best to use frozen cheese.