How to Freeze and Thaw Ricotta Cheese

The history of cheese-making technique is probably as ancient as winemaking, with refined cheese-making techniques invented and widely practiced since the ancient Roman times. The Romans developed and improved cheese-making techniques to help feed their legions during long journeys, spreading cheese-making techniques in various parts of Europe where their soldiers had ever set their feet on. Today, there are hundreds to thousands of cheese varieties worldwide, and various ways to enjoy cheese. Dieters enjoy light, reduced-fat cheeses for lunch, while kids enjoy cheese snacks during school recess.

Most cheese products are highly versatile. Cut them into pieces and enjoy them with vegetable crackers as light snacks. Add shredded cheese to spinach and tomato salad for lunch, mix them with egg and milk to create tasty quiche, or spread cream cheese to your toast for breakfast, the choice is truly endless. For you who love to add some cheese to your culinary experience every now and then, you might be interested in getting fat-free ricotta cheese. Whether you wish to spread it on bagels or add some of it to your pasta dishes, you can have all of the popular taste of Ricotta, sans the fat! However, some ricotta fans’ most frequent question is probably “can you freeze ricotta cheese?”

The answer is yes. Whether you have light ricotta to lighten up your lasagna, part-skim ricotta for your bagels instead of cream cheese, or whole milk ricotta cheese for making that mouth-watering cheesecake you usually make in the summer, it is possible to freeze cheese. In fact, ricotta cheese can be frozen for up to two months. Some homemakers even span the lifetime of their frozen ricotta up to six month. When you are ready to use it, thaw the cheese in the fridge for about a day. After thawed, when you find some liquid on top of the cheese, all you need to do is to stir it back into the cheese and voila, you get your ricotta back.

However, freezing ricotta cheese might change the texture of the cheese. Nevertheless, freezing ricotta is probably one of the most sensible (and budget-friendly) methods of saving unused portions of ricotta cheese for future use. Whole milk ricotta is allegedly the one that performs well after being frozen, as experts say that some of its fat helps keep the texture smooth after it is frozen. Store your ricotta into airtight container and make sure to put expiration date label on it along with the date it was frozen. Make sure not to leave frozen ricotta to thaw on the counter to avoid spoiling the cheese.