Storing Cheese

I have started buying the real cheeses in the cheese department at my grocery store, but I don't know how to store them after I've used them the first time. I have placed them in plastic bags and stored them in the fridge, but some of them get too moist and aren't as good afterward.

How should I properly store cheeses? I buy a variety, so ideas for different types will be helpful.

Thanks!

I usually wrap cheese back up in it's original plastic wrapper and then put it in a small  tupperware box and place it in the fridge. If it is in a plastic container, it usually won't get too moist and it is also prevented from drying out too quickly.

For Parmesan,, I wrap it in baking paper first and then a tin foil.  Keeps for weeks like that.

Eat it all in one go! Problem solved! 

A real cheese connesiur will tel you cheese should always be served at room temperature! But we usually keep it in it's original wrapper + a food storage bag of some sort in the fridge. Although a block of Anchor did recently survive a night on the radiator after someone put it therewhen I wasn't looking!!!

A real cheese connesiur will tel you cheese should always be served at room temperature! But we usually keep it in it's original wrapper + a food storage bag of some sort in the fridge.

I do too. But I generally try to leave it out for 30 mins to an hour before eating so it's not too cold. After that, though, it's back into the fridge.

According to Patricia Michelson, who owns one of the great cheese shops in London, this is how to store cheese best:

Hard cut cheese (i.e. cheddar) should have plastic wrap on their cut side and the crust should be left to breathe naturally. As most of us don't buy cheddars with the crust still on, I'd take that to mean wrap the whole thing. She believes the plastic wrap should be replaced each time the cheese is unwrapped.

For bloomy crust (i.e. brie) it should be wrapped in foil or waxed paper.

For blue cheeses, wrap in waxed paper then foil.

Goat's cheese should be put on a plate with a food bag loosely covering it, or in a tupperware container with a tight lid.

What she does not make clear is whether cheese should always be stored in the fridge. Cheese has been around a helluva lot longer than refrigerators have. Some purists use cheese-keepers for their cheese. But these purists also tend to buy small amounts of cheese on a very frequent basis. So they aren't keeping huge blocks of cheddar or whatever...

Anyway, here's an interesting article:

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2271870,00.html

Thank you!

or in a tupperware container with a tight lid.

Tupperware has the "CheeseSmart" which stores cheese brilliantly in the fridge:  it keeps smells in, but also allows the cheese to breathe.  It looks nice enough to bring to the table too.

http://www.geocities.com/andrewtupperware/cheesesmart.jpg

Yes, I am a Tupperware consultant!