Grande Cheese expiration date

[brj8826]

I was lucky enough to find some Grande 50/50 here in Dallas but am having trouble with converting the date.  I had to buy a 5lb bag so I am looking for how long it can be kept in the fridge and then what's the best way to keep it in the freezer.  Also how long it will keep in the freezer.

The date on the package says 06266004.

I know it's been posted here before but I couldn't come up with the right search words to find it.

Thanks!

[bolabola]

if I recall,isn't that like a cheese for making nachos??if so it's probally processed and can keep for a long time..
my guess is the selling date was 6/26/06..don't know what the 04 could be..
if you can vacum seal it should last for months in the fridge..in the freezer it should keep for up to a year..

[Pete-zza]

brj8826,

On the matter of storing the Grande, you might find this thread helpful: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,946.msg8410.html#msg8410. I don't recall offhand reading anything about the expiration date matter you raised. Maybe I can do some searching on this subject.

Which 50/50 blend do you have: a 50/50 blend of whole-milk and part-skim or a mixture of whole/part-skim and Provolone?

BTW, where in the Dallas area were you able to find the Grande? I assume it is in a shredded form.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

brj8826,

After searching the forum and also doing a Google search, I couldn't find anything of value about expiration dates for Grande's cheese. So I simply called Grande, at 1-800-847-2633, and posed the question to the person who answered the phone. She told me that the particular cheese blend you have is 50% mozzarella cheese and 50% Provolone cheese. The only part of the expiration code that is relevant for your purposes is the 0626 part. That part gives the month and day that the cheese was produced, in other words, June 26 of this year in your case. The rest of the code is plant and other information that has nothing to do with the consumer.

The person I spoke with said that because the Grande cheeses are natural and include no preservatives or fillers, the recommended "use-by" date is 42 days, whether the package is opened or unopened, although she added that there will be some degradation of the quality of the cheese with time for even an unopened package, and more so for an opened package. As I suspected, Grande does not recommend freezing their cheeses although the gal I spoke with said that she understood that home users may have to freeze some of the cheese because of the large amount of cheese in the bag (5 lbs.). She agreed that freezing the cheese in vacuum sealed packages was the best way to go in a home freezer setting and letting the cheese defrost in the refrigerator compartment before using was also a sensible thing to do.

Peter

[Wallman]

I've had good luck freezing Grande cheese after vacuum packing with my Food Saver.  After defrosting in the fridge, I couldn't notice any real difference.  I also use the Food Saver to freeze unused canned tomatoes.

[bolabola]

hhmmmm..I have a friend who owns a Mexican restaurant and could of sworn I saw a pack of cheese that said Grande on it..it was yellow and looked processed like something you would melt on nachos..

[scott r]

I want to eat at that restaraunt!

Nachos made with grande cheese must rule.

[pizzaJoe]

The person I spoke with said that because the Grande cheeses are natural and include no preservatives or fillers, the recommended "use-by" date is 42 days, whether the package is opened or unopened, although she added that there will be some degradation of the quality of the cheese with time for even an unopened package, and more so for an opened package. As I suspected, Grande does not recommend freezing their cheeses although the gal I spoke with said that she understood that home users may have to freeze some of the cheese because of the large amount of cheese in the bag (5 lbs.). She agreed that freezing the cheese in vacuum sealed packages was the best way to go in a home freezer setting and letting the cheese defrost in the refrigerator compartment before using was also a sensible thing to do.

Peter

Hi Peter,

I'd like to pick your brain a bit about the subject of cheese storage if you would be so kind as to indulge me.  Pluuuueeease!   

Could you advise on how long you would think the cheese could be kept in the freezer?  In whole loaf blocks and also in chunk form (say a 7# loaf cut into two 3.5# portions, vacuum sealed and then frozen)?

Also, if I thaw cheese that was frozen at 3 weeks past the production date, did the clock literally stop on that cheese so that if I prefer to use the cheese at 4 weeks of age past the production date, I have a week more in the fridge (after defrosting) before I would ideally want to use it?

I would really appreciate input on this topic.


Thanks!!!   

[Pete-zza]

pizzaJoe,

I'm afraid that I am not the best one to ask those kinds of questions because I have had limited experience in freezing cheese in large quantity. I did once freeze whole milk and part skim Grande mozzarella cheese, which I had the pizza operator cut into 1-lb. chunks, but I did not vacuum pack them, and they were used within a month or two. I did detect some degradation in the texture of the cheeses, and especially the part skim variety, but otherwise I thought the cheeses held up reasonably well. Most of the time I try to buy cheeses in small quantity and only freeze them if I find myself unable to use them more promptly.

Since several of our members purchase mozzarella cheese in large quantities, hopefully one or more of them will step forward and try to answer your questions.

Peter

[marty]

I use grande cheese for certain things.

And it is true according to their sales reps that they use no preservatives and has a shorter shelf life than most cheeses. But have a more pure process and Consistency.

I too do not use the entire case. My sales rep suggested that I store it in the freezer till I could use it.

If that give you any ihelp. Next time I talk with him again I can ask in more detail.

Marty

[pizzaJoe]

I use grande cheese for certain things.

And it is true according to their sales reps that they use no preservatives and has a shorter shelf life than most cheeses. But have a more pure process and Consistency.

I too do not use the entire case. My sales rep suggested that I store it in the freezer till I could use it.

If that give you any ihelp. Next time I talk with him again I can ask in more detail.

Marty

Hi Marty,

I would very much appreciate any information you can find.  I know it's not recommended to freeze Grande but if one had to it would be nice to know some heuristics about how best to freeze it, how long it can be frozen and, once properly thawed (refrigerator thaw), how soon to use it up.

Thanks!

[pizzaJoe]

Hi Everyone,

I did some travelling over the holidays so I decided to freeze my half used 7lb block of grande.  I don't own a foodsaver(yet) but I was very careful to seal the open end of the remaining ~3.5lbs of Grande before putitng it in the freezer.  After two weeks in there and then 2 days in the fridge thawing, I couldn't notice any degredation in either the taste or performance of the cheese.  That's not to say there wasn't any, I just was not able to detect anything (wrong/bad, etc).  The real litmus test will be when I eventually have to freeze whole/half loaves for a month or two but this was at least encouraging.   

pIzzaJoe