Should cheese be frozen?

Question

I just put a piece of parmesan cheese into the freezer part of a fridge. Is this practice good or bad? I did this because when I bought the cheese, I could not back to home immediately and the cheese stayed in room temperature (30 degree celsius maybe) for a day, I was afraid that the cheese would be soften, so I made a though of putting it into the freezer. Then I did it and haven't taken it out yet. In addition, the package of the cheese is not yet opened.

Also I was afraid the lower part of the fridge would be open frequently and some air will condense within the fridge, so I thought put the cheese into the freezer maybe better, because the cheese was frozen.

Any comment?

Answer

I freeze cheese all the time, mostly mozzarella. It keeps longer. (If I keep mozzarella or similar cheeses too long in the fridge it gets moldy, often even before its expiration date.) However, I usually use frozen cheese only for cooking - i.e. if it's going to be melted. Freezing cheese does change the texture. Parmesan, though, being a hard, aged cheese would probably be less affected by freezing. However, on the same token, aged cheeses keep very nicely in the fridge, so I wouldn't see much benefit in freezing it.

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