Storing grande cheese

[barrelli]

I can purchase Grande Mozzarella cheese in cubes at Merchant's Mart in Houston, but you have to purchase it in a six pack of 5 pound packages. How long will the unopened packages keep in the refrigerator. Grande recommends that you do not freeze the cheese.

Thanks,

Lou

[Jackitup]

Whole chunks last longer than cubes or shredded. The thing with cubes or shredded is once it starts to go....it's gone, where as whole chunks you can get away with cutting off mold once or twice but not as much as with hard cheese that last alot longer. I would say a few weeks for the cubes. Get some and freeze it, then try it on a pizza to see if you notice a big difference from fresh, unfrozen on a couple pies. If froze in it's original package you'll probably get some freezer burn after a month or two so you would be best to vac pac if you choose to freeze a bunch and expect it to retain its quality for a longer period. I freeze the Stella 5lb blocks cut into 4-5 pieces and double wrap in Reynolds plastic wrap with very little loss in quality all the time.
Jon

[Pete-zza]

Lou,

Grande serves primarily professional pizza operators so it is to be expected that, for quality and reputation reasons (and to minimize complaints), they will not suggest that one freeze their cheeses. In my experience, some brands of mozzarella cheese do not freeze well and can have a tendency to break apart and become crumbly when trying to shred them. If that happens, I would use my food processor to dice the cheese, which it does nicely and quickly. I recently purchased several one-pound blocks of mozzarella cheese from my local supermarket source that, as a result of a change in ownership, has decided to no longer carry the brand. The brand is my standard brand (a house brand) to use on pizzas. I have frozen them in their original shrink-wrap packaging. If they turn out not to shred easily, I will dice them in my food processor. The dice form is a very common form among pizza operators (a good example being Papa John's), so its performance on a pizza should not be much different than the shredded form. When I did all of my experiments with the PJ clone pizzas, I used the diced form and could not tell the difference. In fact, I found dicing the cheese in my food processor to be much simpler and much faster than shredding.

Peter

[johnnytuinals]

Geeeeee I have been buying Grande East Coast Blend Diced chesse  Six 5 lbs bags per case at $83 for at least a year......
When you first open a case you should Frezze four of the 5lb bags
Leave 2 unfrozen.......
Its funny you will go though the chesse faster then you think.....
Each open bag will last 4 - 6 weeks before going bad.
For each pizza you make you will use about 8-10oz of chesse.
If you make a pizza twice a week or even a meatball or pepperonni roll..,the chesse will last you about a month....
I just put the bag in a Tupperware so it will stay freash......
I feel you cannot tell the chesse was frozen when you use the rest.......
Its best to buy the Grande,,,,knowing your having the best.......JT

[Essen1]

Geeeeee I have been buying Grande East Coast Blend Diced chesse  Six 5 lbs bags per case at $83 for at least a year......

Unless you mixed up the 2008/2009 calendars, I think you meant "for at least six months". 

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,6501.0.html

[Frankie G]

They'll hate me for saying this....

Grande shred or diced freezes well....

Sorry.

[barrelli]

Thanks for all of your replies. In the next week I wiil buy the cubes and will let you know how it works in several months.

Lou

[Kemosa]

I buy it in 30 pd. quantities and also freeze.  5 months later I'm at the end of the case and it remains excellent tasting and bakes off really well. 

[johnnytuinals]

lollllllll
Thats what I do.....
I am sure Most are paying under $100 a case?
I feel the first bag you open will last you maybe amonth depends on how many pizzas you make or meatball heros or pepperonni rolls you make......
But I have read that a bag will stay good up till 6 weeks before starting to go bad?
I taste no differance taking the chesse out from being frozen...
I keep the Bag in a Rubbermaid so I can close it tight.But I keep it in the bag so it does not stick....
I would think if you buy a case of chesse it can last a year or longer if its frozen,,,now when you un frezze it then will will last awhile,,,,But I am not sure because I always end up useing the chesse very quick,,,and I do give a bag here and there to friends.......
Its cheap if you know where to buy the cases.....Jt

Updated,,,,,I think I started useing Grande Chesse last Feb or March 2008,,,,I am getting my 3rd case Fri so I have it for the winter if it last that long lol...Jt

[Essen1]

I would think if you buy a case of chesse it can last a year or longer if its frozen,,,now when you un frezze it then will will last awhile,,,,But I am not sure

I still don't get it...

Is it going to last longer because you freeze it or no? You said your bags sometimes only last a few months, and starting in April 2008, you've bought 3 cases, 18 bags of 5lbs each.

That's 90 lbs of cheese you've gone through since April. I know that everyone on this board is a pizza addict, in some form or another, but you, JT,  break the record! 

Is that cheese blend really that good?

[johnnytuinals]

The chesse is Yummy
Well I have not gone though that much chesse,as
I said I gave a few bags away......
As for your question.
Each bag last a few weeks if you use the chesse as offen as I do.(maybe a month per bag I use}
As I said I Freeze the other 5 bags
Lets see the last time I bought cheese was late June of 2008 by the case.
Now its 4 months and the chesse taste as good as it was before I frozed it.
So I feel even if I didnot use as much chesse as I am useing now,I would think the chesse
would be good for many more months frozen...
I can be wrong,,,,,but the chesse tastes as good when you unfrezze abag to use

Updated
As I read your question again
If I put all 6 bags in the Refrigerator,,,,I think the chesse will only last 6 weeks too 2 months before going bad.
Thats why I use 1 bag at a time,,,,simple enough huh lol

[widespreadpizza]

Well,  based on this thread,  I stopped by colony foods in lawrence Mass and picked up a case of the diced grande LMWMmozz yesterday.  Cost me 90 bucks.  I was thinking on the way home that maybe someone on the board might want a few bags of it and may in the future as well.  if anyone near me (Nashua NH) is interested in some let me know.  I have not frozen it yet.  While I am here does anyone know how to decode the freshness code?  thanks -marc

[Pete-zza]

While I am here does anyone know how to decode the freshness code?

Marc,

See http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,3429.msg29127.html#msg29127 and my Reply 3 in that thread.

Peter

[johnnytuinals]

Got my Grande east coast Blend today,,,price was $86 for the case...
I guess I will have a few friends that will bumm 2 bags of the stuff
off of me......
Geee why is it whenever I buy a case I only get to use 4 bags instead of the 6 lol.(freaking friends}.....Jt