How can you Freeze American Cheese Slices at Home?

“It is important that the cheese needs to be properly prepped before freezing it to retain its freshness for a long time.”

American cheese slice is an easy-to-use ingredient to be used in sandwiches, snacks, or serving dishes. It is smart to buy a packet with many slices as a cost-effective package compared to purchasing single ones. But the main issue is how to store the unused ones for a long time. Here a question arises, can you freeze American cheese slices?

You cannot imagine a sandwich without cheese! To make sure it is available all time in your pantry, you need to buy it in bulk and try to save it for a long time possible. The typical shelf life of American cheese slices, when kept in a fridge, is only about a month.

A common way to preserve any food is to freeze it safely. So as a suggestion, you have to save the cheese by maintaining it safe to eat in the refrigerator for many weeks.

Many people say it is not an excellent decision to freeze the American cheese slices to extend its shelf life. It is because there are chances that the texture and flavor might change in the process due to low water content in it.

So, possibilities are you can found the cheese might turn into crumbly, tasteless, or brittle when kept frozen. However, if your only purpose is to use the cheese for cooking, you can sure freeze it.

Do you know about American Cheese?

American cheese is made up of Colby, cheddar, or other similar cheeses, so it is a kind of processed cheese available today. It has salty and creamy flavor, mild in nature, low melting point, and possess medium-firm consistency. You can buy it in white or yellow color. The yellow color is due to annatto and made after seasoning it and is mostly used in different American dishes.

There are different ways to make American cheese, and hence different varieties are available. It is a convenient and delicious option to use in a burger, sandwich, soup, cheesesteak, casseroles, and grilled cheese.

Can you Freeze American Cheese Slices?

When brought from the nearest deli, American cheese is fresh by nature and needs more care to preserve either in a freezer or refrigerator. It doesn’t include preservatives, so make sure to consume it sooner possible.

By the way, American cheese slices are made after heavily processing and with added preservatives. So even you can use the slices for a long time by keeping it outside the fridge in a dry place. Many prefer to buy packed slices instead of slabs or blocks of American cheese for ease of use.

Generally, American cheese comes in a freezer-friendly packaging provided by the manufacturers. You can also remove the plastic wrapping from the cheese slices before freezing them to avoid any issue like sticking at thawing. Never open the packets of remaining cheese to retain their optimal freshness.

5 Helpful Tips to Freeze American Cheese Slices

You might have seen a manufacturer’s label on the package mentioning – ‘not to freeze it‘! The reason behind that is that the cheese will turn out to be less appetizing, and its texture might change after it is frozen.

If you fail to cover the cheese, then the chances are that it will have freezer burns. There are chances of ice crystals that can be formed within or over the surface of the cheese. As a result of which the cheese will lose its original texture. Following are some helpful tricks to avoid it;

1. The best way to freeze slices is to unwrap them and make a layer by keeping waxed paper between them.
2. Use re-sealable plastic bags, preferably of the double layer that is made to be kept safe in a freezer.
3. Prefer to keep the cheese with its original packaging in the freezer to retain its quality for about two months. But for longer shelf life, it is best to use heavy-duty freezer-safe bags to avoid any possibility of freezer burn.
4. Now to store the slice packets in a freezer kept them inside lock bags and emptied the air from it before closing it. Before moving the pack for freezing, remember to mention the date of storing it!
5. Use a sealing container in place of bags to avoid getting the cheese to be dry out. There are chances that the cheese can absorb the flavors from other items kept around it, if not wrapped up well.

Double layer protection will help by first wrapping the slice using plastic wrap or wax paper to keep moisture and air away.  Further, then transfer the same into a heavy-duty freezer pouch or freezer-safe storage container.

How to melt it well?

First, transfer the frozen cheese to the fridge to let it thaw overnight. Do not reheat it once it turns soft, and you can use it for any cooking purpose. If you find any lousy appearance, flavor, or off odor in the cheese slices, they must be discarded.

Keeping the frozen cheese in the fridge for about 24 hours can make it thaw properly. It also reduces the possibility of its crumbling, retains creamy texture. In case of quick use, at least let the frozen cheese to melt in room temperature for about 1-2 hours. However, for cooking or baking purposes, you do not need to worry about how much time it needs to thaw.

Conclusion

It is not the right decision to go to the market whenever you crave to make any dish that needs American cheese slices. Hence, save the possibility of wastage if you do not need to use cheese for a long time. Follow the tricks mentioned above to freeze and save your cheese from getting ruined.

Just kept it on your shelf outside the refrigerator if you are sure to consume it in the next four weeks. Shift it to the fridge where you can save it for about two months from the date of processing.

For even longer preservation or a save your kitchen or fridge shelf space, you should definitely keep it in the freezer for about six months. It is easy to melt and retain the primary form of American cheese even after it.

By the way, you can keep it in a freezer for about three months. The longer you will let it frozen, the higher the chances that it will lose its original properties. Now the thawed cheese must be used either to cook sauce, casserole, or soup!