Freeze Dried Mozzarella Cheese Is The Best Way To Go!
If you find a great sale and buy lots of mozzarella cheese, then freeze dried mozzarella cheese is the obvious answer to preserve most of it through long term storage.
Refrigerated mozzarella cheese lasts about a month.
You could just freeze it – in freezer bags – and, the shredded mozzarella cheese would last for 6 months – maybe.
But, why not take it to the next – and ultimate – level? Freeze dry shredded mozzarella cheese – or blocks of mozzarella – and have it available for a lifetime – or 25 years – whichever comes first!
We can use freeze dried shredded mozzarella cheese the same way we use it when it’s fresh – in salads, on pizzas, or, in any number of dishes where this wonderful cheese is used. Reconstitution by soaking it in water takes only a few minutes – and it rebounds back into its original fresh form!
The Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryer – priced to fit just about any homeowner’s budget – is a great machine to use for all your freeze drying activities!
Let’s Freeze Dry Mozzarella Cheese
Folks – it doesn’t get any easier than this…
It is much more productive to shred the mozzarella cheese before freeze drying. Shredded cheese is a great deal easier to reconstitute – and it is also trouble-free to use in its dry form – sprinkled on most dishes.
- Load the shredded mozzarella cheese onto the freeze dryer trays. Being shredded, it can be literally piled on the trays willy nilly – since it provides natural air spaces to aid in thoroughly completing the drying process.
- Load the freeze dryer with the trays full of cheese.
- Press “START.”
- Select “NON LIQUID.”
- Select “NOT FROZEN” if the cheese is going straight from the refrigerator to the freeze dryer. NOTE: It’s best not to freeze the cheese first – before freeze drying. This makes it difficult to spread the cheese evenly across the surface of the trays. Frozen shredded mozzarella cheese will be a very solid block of cheese – not allowing for much, if any, air space to facilitate the drying process.
- The next screen says, “PLEASE CLOSE THE DRAIN VALVE” – so make certain that the drain valve is closed – in other words, the closed valve will be at right angles to the drain tube – and press “CONTINUE.” See Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Operation for additional details.
Now, just sit back and wait for anywhere from a day – to a day-and-a-half – to reap the rewards of the beautiful finished freeze dried mozzarella cheese!
Visually, it is next to impossible to tell the difference between the shredded mozzarella cheese that went into the freeze dryer and the cheese that has been completely freeze dried.
Fresh shredded mozzarella cheese ready to be freeze dried:
Freeze dried mozzarella cheese that completed the freeze drying cycle:
Even though they may look the same – before and after – a quick touch will reveal the difference. The fresh mozzarella cheese – of course – feels moist and supple. While the freeze dried mozzarella cheese is completely dry and crumbly.
Taste some freeze dried cheese and discover how much “cheesier” it tastes – as compared to fresh mozzarella. The drying process literally concentrates the cheeses flavor – since only the water content has been removed – not the “cheesiness.”
Time To Store The Freeze Dried Mozzarella Cheese!
- Get out the Mason jars. You can use Foodsaver bags – but, the vacuum pressure will squish most of the cheese into fine particles. That’s why I use the jars instead – mostly the 32 ounce quart size – but, sometimes, I get out the half-gallon Mason jars (64 ounces).
- Fill the jars – leaving about an inch of space at the top – and add oxygen absorbers (100cc) to the jars – one oxygen absorber per jar.
- Place lids on the jars and, using the Mason jar attachment, vacuum pack the jars with the Foodsaver Vacuum system.
- Add a screw-on metal band (optional) and lightly tighten – only to the point of making contact with the lid. Too much pressure from the band can warp the lid and destroy the vacuum inside the jar – even if the vacuum isn’t ruined initially, it could happen slowly over time as the jar is sitting on a shelf.
- Write the contents and vacuum pack date on the jar labels.
- Find a good spot on your storage shelves to keep the Mason jars full of freeze dried mozzarella cheese and come back for one anytime over the next 25 years (or longer) of its shelf life!
Restoring Freeze Dried Mozzarella Cheese To Its Original State
Merely soak the mozzarella cheese in a bowl of water for 10 minutes or so – and, “presto” – the cheese reverts to the exact same texture, taste, and feel that it had when it was fresh! Then, it’s ready for anything – especially, my favorite – homemade pizza!
Freeze dried shredded mozzarella cheese can also be used without reconstituting – sprinkling on salads, adding to a casserole dish being baked, or other dishes.
But, for the most part, I prefer to revert it to its initial condition for the bulk of my cooking applications.
The Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryer Does It Right!
Ya just gotta love this contraption! There’re no two ways about it!
Got any comments, questions, stories, anecdotes, etc., about freeze drying or the Harvest Right Home Freeze Dryer? Tell me about it – either below – or by email. I’m all ears!
