TEOTWAWKI Cheese Options
by The first challenge in preparing for changes in the future
is learning how to work with long-term storage foods—storing them properly and
cooking them well. The second challenge
is replacing fresh ingredients that our recipes and palates call for with
substitutes that aren’t an affront to humanity.
That affront to humanity is the clincher when dealing with cheese. It’s easy to purchase nasty options that
delusional people provide rave reviews for on Amazon. (Yes, I have been suckered on more than one occasion.) But we don’t
have the luxury of wasting money. We’ve
got to know what works for our family and particular situation.
Today we’re talking about grid-down cheese choices. There are three types of cheese: soft, semi-hard, and hard. Soft cheeses have too much moisture and do
not store very long, even when refrigerated.
Some of them, like yogurt, cream cheese, and cottage cheese–can be made from powdered milk and previous blog posts have addressed how to make them. So they’re eliminated from our discussion today. Semi-hard and hard cheeses can be stored for
a long time. Just how long depends on
how it is stored. Examples of hard
cheeses include Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago.
They have been cooked, pressed, and aged to remove much of the
moisture. Semi-hard cheeses include
cheddar, Swiss, and provolone, and while they have been cooked and pressed,
they are not aged and thus retain more moisture. The shelf life of all cheeses is affected by
the processing method, heat exposure, storage temperature, and how it is
packaged.
First off, consider the regular everyday food storage methods:
Refrigeration. Simple
refrigeration, right? Cheeses are stored
at very low temperatures year-round and have an incredible shelf life with
nothing more than a wrap or containers to protect it from taking on odors. Semi-soft and hard cheeses will store 2 weeks
to 4 months or more, depending on the conditions listed above.
Freezing. All cheeses
will reportedly last at least 6-8 months in the freezer. Unfortunately, a lot of them become very crumbly when thawed and will not grate or slice well.
Cool basement. Before
we had electricity and modern refrigeration, early Americans made their own
cheese and stored it in cool basements for several months without issue. If the power goes out for good, move the
refrigerated cheese to a cool basement or root cellar. Semi-soft and hard cheeses will store up to 4
months.
There
are several shelf-stable cheese options:
Grated Parmesan cheese, you know, the one in the pasta aisle
with the green lid. At purchase it
usually has a shelf life of 6-8 months, unopened, at room temperature. But if you keep it cool and dark, it will
last a lot longer. Refrigeration or
freezing is even better, if they’re an option.
(Incidentally, that green lid fits perfectly on regular mouth canning
jars.)
Velveeta processed cheese.
This has at least a 6-month shelf life at manufacture. I used to store it, but the kids all said
they’d rather do without. However, a lot
of people really like it, and it sure works well for getting some cheese in the
family food shelves. It should be
refrigerated after opening.
Cheese powder. You
can actually buy just the cheese powder, like the powder that comes in boxes of
macaroni and cheese. It runs $12-16 per
pound on Amazon, but can often be purchased substantially less from bulk
grocery stores.
Everything else starts to get a bit more pricey.
Bega brand canned cheese boasts a 10-15 year shelf
life. It’s quite similar to Velveeta,
and runs about $6 for a 7-ounce can on Amazon.
It’s not usually found in stores.
Puck brand cheese reportedly tastes very much like cream
cheese. Unfortunately, it’s a bit
expensive if it has to be ordered online.
And while I really want to try it out, it isn’t carried in my local
grocery stores, and there’s no way I’m paying $24 for a small jar of it. If anyone has personal experience with it,
please respond in the comments below.
Freeze-dried cheese. All
the major food storage vendors offer cans of freeze-dried cheese. I am using today’s price of $48.99 for a #10
can of freeze-dried Colby cheese from Augason Farms as an example for calculating
the cost per serving. The nutrition
facts label states that there are 107 30-calorie (1 tablespoon) servings. However, when fresh cheese is sold by the block
or grated in grocery stores, the serving is 1 ounce, and the number of calories
is about 90-100. So to make the
comparison fair and accurate, we should say that the Augason Farms freeze-dried
Colby cheese has 36 1-ounce servings.
That’s 2.25 pounds of cheese for $49.
The same amount of freeze-dried mozzarella cheese costs $61. It’s about enough for 2 pizzas. In other words, if I had to use freeze-dried
mozzarella, pizza and lasagna wouldn’t be on the menu.
Are there perhaps more cost-efficient ways of using the
prepping budget?
Yep, there are. You
might recall reading way back when that early Americans made their cheese last
so much longer than a few months when they didn’t even have refrigeration. Waxing cheese was the most common
practice. We’ll cover how it’s done in a
future post, hopefully next week.
Whatever you do, do not “can” cheese. It’s a method touted by some preppers as
being safe and having been practiced by them or their grandmothers for
years. It involved simply melting cheese
in canning jars and then applying a lid and band. “They” state that the vacuum seal that forms
is sufficient to be safe and prevent food poisoning. It’s not safe and not true.
Links to related posts:
Cream Cheese Perfection–Entirely from Food Storage!
Making Creamy, Thicker Yogurt Faster–Perfect for Making Cream Cheese
