Is it OK to vacuum pack cheese?

[CRUZMISL]

I got a Foodsaver for Christmas and I vacuum packed all my old cheese. Alton Brown said on a cheese episode that it needs to breath and should be wrapped in wax paper. I found it dried out that way. Is it OK to vacuum pack?

Thanks,

Joe

[culinary bear]

Depends on the cheese:

Grocery store cheddar, faux-parmesan, that sort of thing... you'll get away with it, as long as you're not going to try and keep it around forever.

Artisanal cheeses, made with love and passion? I'll kill you myself if you even try. :)

[Anna N]

Depends on the cheese:

Grocery store cheddar, faux-parmesan, that sort of thing...  you'll get away with it, as long as you're not going to try and keep it around forever.

Artisanal cheeses, made with love and passion?  I'll kill you myself if you even try. :)

←

The FoodSaver allows me to have a selection of cheeses on hand without finding mold on them before we get to use them. With only two of us, a variety of cheese was not possible before the FoodSaver. I admit, though, that none are artisanal.

[CRUZMISL]

Does Reggiano qualify as "artisanal"?

[Anna N]

Does Reggiano qualify as "artisanal"?

←

Not with me. I buy a big hunk at Costco and then divide it up, wrap it tightly in saran wrap and then vacuum pack it with my FoodSaver and I have not had any problems whatever. (I wrap it in saran wrap first, so I don't have to wash the FoodSaver bag before I re-use it!).

[irodguy]

You will find top quality Reggiano vacuum packed in Northern Italy. In fact it's very common that it's vacuum packed and frozen. In fact this is from a friends organic Parmesan farm.

[EdS]

I've read advice to wrap cheese in parchment paper and then wrap in foil. Unfortunately, I've noticed my Parmagiano-Reggiano dries out more quickly than it did when I was "abusing" it with plastic wrap. My Gruyere and old Cheddar are fine. I'm wondering if it would be wise to use different wrapping techniques for different cheeses.