Bits of unused cheese are common company within the fridge, no? And since cheese is such a luxurious ingredient, with a big environmental footprint, losing it may trigger some niggling guilt. However even a scraping of cheese could be put to good use, as a result of it may impart a saltiness and umami flavour to no matter you’re cooking.
We’ve chosen essentially the most generally bought and wasted cheeses to debate right here. Keep in mind, cheese is a quite versatile ingredient. You may substitute most comfortable cheeses for different comfortable cheeses and likewise with onerous cheese. What’s extra, you may typically swap onerous cheese and comfortable cheese. Ricotta as a substitute of parmesan with pasta is okay; cheddar as a substitute of brie can work too. Simply be wise about it.
Blue cheese
So. A lot. Flavour. Suddenly metallic and floral with a touch of armpit, blue cheese can actually divide a family. There’s a spread of piquancy in blue cheeses, however not often are they thought of delicate. Often blue cheese is purchased in smaller quantities, with much less likelihood of waste, however generally many of the blue cheese is left on the cheese platter after a cocktail party and also you would possibly end up a bit caught as to what to do with it.
Storage Retailer blue cheese well-wrapped in baking paper within the extra humid a part of your fridge, such because the vegetable crisper, so it doesn’t dry out. It is going to final three to 4 weeks.
The way to use it up
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Crumble it over any cauliflower dish, similar to roasted cauliflower straight from the oven or cauli-salad – it’s particularly scrumptious in cauliflower soups.
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Make a salad with torn radicchio, sliced pear and crumbled blue cheese.
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Crumble it over roasted grapes for a flavour sensation.
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Make a toastie with blue cheese and slices of ripe pear, and eat with a glass of wine.
Blue cheese dressing
Makes 200ml
This basic dressing, wealthy and filled with flavour, is the type you’d use on bitter leaves similar to radicchio, endive or rocket, and never want a lot else. Or drizzle it over roasted brussels sprouts, steak or baked potatoes. Usually blue cheese dressing is made with buttermilk, however we cheat and add a squeeze of lemon juice to common milk.
Begin by souring a quarter-cup (60ml) of milk with an enormous squeeze of lemon juice and permitting it to face for a couple of minutes, till you may see the milk forming lumps. Put the milk in a meals processor (or use a handheld blender) with 30-50g blue cheese, a half-cup (120g) of mayonnaise, half a teaspoon of dijon mustard and a pinch every of salt and pepper. Whiz collectively.
Brie and camembert
It’s fairly thrilling to have some gooey, buttery brie or camembert in the home, isn’t it? Even a tiny sliver can add luxurious to a meal.
Storage Smooth cheeses like brie and camembert must breathe, so don’t use plastic. Wrap in baking paper and retailer within the fridge for not more than three to 4 days.
The way to use it up
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Pop on high of halved figs or stone fruits and place underneath the grill for one to 2 minutes, or drizzle with honey and serve for dessert or breakfast.
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Lower off the rind and throw the creamy half right into a salad of soppy lettuce leaves and nuts.
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Add it to tonight’s omelette – you gained’t be dissatisfied.
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Lower off the rind and use it in a cheese sauce, welsh rarebit, or our odd-knobs mac’n’cheese (see under for the recipe).
Brie and jam fried sandwich
Makes 1
Look, this is perhaps virtually too great. You’re not going to eat it typically (that’s an order out of your physician, by the best way), however while you do it’s price cancelling all different plans and actually being within the second.
Lower two slices of sourdough bread and butter on each side. Unfold a beneficiant layer of jam (berry jams are significantly suited to this Liberace of sandwiches) on one facet of every slice. Place slices of brie or camembert on one of many jam sides and pop the opposite slice on high, jam facet down. Warmth a frying pan over medium warmth and soften one tablespoon of butter. Fry the sandwich for about two to a few minutes both sides, till golden, crispy and melty.
Cheddar
In all probability the commonest aged cheese in fridges, cheddar is sharp, slightly candy and slightly salty, with a bitter end. The extra mature it’s, the extra pronounced these traits develop into. For essentially the most half cheddar is an efficient all-rounder for sandwiches, pizzas, cheese sauces, baking and past.
Storage Retailer in an hermetic container on the highest shelf of the fridge for as much as three weeks.
The way to use it up
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If it’s dried up and forgotten within the fridge, use it like a parmesan rind and toss it right into a soup or inventory because it’s cooking. It is going to give nice flavour.
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Grate and blend into mashed potatoes and use to high a cottage or shepherd’s pie.
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Make marmalade and cheddar toasties – sure, please.
Cottage cheese
Whats up cottage cheese. You’ve been slightly out of vogue for the reason that Nineteen Eighties however we suspect individuals are nonetheless shopping for you, as a result of we all know we’re. As one of the frequent contemporary cheeses out there, cottage cheese is slightly tangier than most and has a lumpy texture from the massive curds. It’s extraordinarily excessive in protein and low in fats, so it may be added because the creamy component of a dish or meal with out being too heavy.
Storage Preserve cottage cheese within the container it is available in and shut the lid correctly. If saved like this, opened cottage cheese will hold for about one week. You too can freeze unopened cottage cheese for as much as three months.
The way to use it up
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Use it as the bottom of a dip. Mix with herbs, deseeded cucumber or a ripe avocado, and loads of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
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Make a less-rich model of Alex’s tartare sauce (see under for the recipe) by changing the cream cheese with cottage cheese.
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Add slightly milk to cottage cheese till it has a runny consistency and use instead of buttermilk in baking and pancakes.
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Combine with grated mozzarella to high a pizza or use in a lasagne.
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Use as a condiment on baked potatoes.
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Unfold on rye crackers and high with pickled cucumber.
Cream cheese
We discover bagels practically unimaginable with out cream cheese. It most frequently is available in a block or tub, and its delicate flavour means it may be utilized in candy or savoury cooking. Even a spoonful can add richness to sauces, and it can be stirred by way of cooked grains or polenta.
Storage Unopened cream cheese will final one to 2 days after its use-by date – take a whiff and determine. If unsure, discard. Opened cream cheese will final about one week within the fridge if you happen to hold the lid on tight.
The way to use it up
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Add a beneficiant quantity to pork meatballs and also you’ve made a hack Swedish meatball.
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Stuff jalapeños and pop them on a baking tray underneath the grill till charred.
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Add two to a few tablespoons to eggs earlier than scrambling.
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Make a cream cheese icing. With a fork, whisk about 125g of cream cheese with two tablespoons of icing sugar, and a drop of vanilla extract or a number of lemon zest and juice, till clean and creamy.
Alex’s tartare sauce
Makes about 1 cup (250ml)
This can be a given for do-it-yourself fish and chips and fishcakes, but it surely’s equally good with roast potatoes or with celery stalks for dipping.
In a meals processor, place a half-cup (120g) of cream cheese or cottage cheese, two tablespoons every of finely chopped dill, snipped chives, drained and chopped capers, two tablespoons of caper brine, a slug of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of pepper or cayenne pepper. Whiz till clean. You possibly can additionally do that by hand if you happen to can’t be bothered getting the meals processor out. Add slightly water if it wants loosening.
Feta
Crumbly and as salty as an olive. Pair feta with the mildest of substances, like tomatoes, watermelon or cucumber, and it’s seasoning sufficient. Attempt to purchase solely a small quantity at a time to keep away from waste. You probably have some further mendacity round, contemplate your self fortunate.
Storage Due to its excessive salt content material, feta has an extended shelf life. To make it final even longer, make a brine with one cup (250ml) of water and one teaspoon of salt, pour the brine into an hermetic container and sit the feta in it. The feta ought to hold contemporary for 2 weeks if you happen to change the brine each three to 4 days.
The way to use it up
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Crumble and blend by way of meatballs and fritters.
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Utilizing a fork, combine slightly knob of feta with finely chopped olives and a slug of olive oil to make a fast unfold for bread. Prime with sliced tomato and pepper.
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Scatter slightly feta and loads of floor pepper over roast potatoes within the last 10 minutes of cooking.
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Crumble over grilled zucchini and high with a number of torn mint or parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice.
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It is going to go superbly in most salads, together with lentil and chickpea ones.
Mozzarella
Mozzarella is a semi-hard cheese that’s rindless and milky. It might probably are available in a pale yellow ball, grated in a plastic bag, or contemporary and swimming in brine. It’s the stretchy cheese most of us use for do-it-yourself pizzas, however melty mozzarella has extra to offer.
Storage Firmer-style mozzarella cheeses could be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for one week. The contemporary stuff in brine might be good for as much as 4 days if you happen to change the water, including a pinch of salt, daily.
The way to use it up
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Grate and stuff into garlic bread.
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Scatter grated mozzarella over roast greens in direction of the top of cooking. Eggplant, tomato and zucchini work properly.
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It makes a scrumptious molten mess in quesadillas. Scatter grated mozzarella over a tortilla. Sprinkle a pinch every of paprika and dried oregano and place one other tortilla on high. Place the tortillas in a dry frying pan over medium warmth and prepare dinner for one-and-a-half minutes both sides, till the tortillas develop into crisp and the mozzarella melts. Lower into wedges and serve.
Parmesan
Parmesan is so sharp and flavoursome – slightly goes a great distance. Italian cooks add the rind or dried-out chunks to soups and stews, fish it out when the cooking is finished, dry it off and hold it for an additional day. Take your cue from their resourcefulness and use each final bit, even when it’s a dry previous piece of leather-based hiding within the fridge.
Storage Wrap parmesan in a beeswax wrap or baking paper and hold in an hermetic container within the fridge for one to 2 months. If it dries out, wrap it in a clear damp muslin material or clear Chux, then pop in an hermetic container within the fridge. Go away in a single day and the following day it must be trying alive once more.
The way to use it up
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Deal with a hardened little bit of parmesan as you’ll the rind and add to slow-cooked dishes for further flavour, significantly tomatoey soups, lentil stews or ragu.
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Grate and add to breadcrumbs to crumb meat or greens. Tacky breadcrumbs freeze properly.
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You probably have a tiny bit left over, make a really fast tacky garlic bread to serve with soup. Lower one or two slices of bread and rub a lower garlic clove everywhere in the floor. Grate over the parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and toast underneath the grill.
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Thinly slice and add to salads for chew.
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Shave over sizzling greens and let the flavour seep in.
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Grate into soups for added umami.
Parmesan rind inventory
Makes about 4 cups (1 litre)
If you happen to’ve saved a number of parmesan rinds, then make this super-flavoured inventory. Use it for risotto, minestrone or to braise greens.
Preheat the oven to 200C. In a small roasting tin, place two halved unpeeled brown onions, a number of unpeeled garlic cloves and two halved tomatoes, then sprinkle with salt and add a superb slug of olive oil. Roast for 30–40 minutes, till the whole lot is collapsing. (Be certain the garlic doesn’t burn – if it does you’ll need to discard it.)
Switch greens to a medium-large saucepan and add three to 4 parmesan rinds, some bay leaves and peppercorns. Cowl with 4 cups (1 litre) of water and convey to a simmer over medium warmth. Cut back the warmth to low and simmer for half-hour. Pressure and add one teaspoon of salt. Use the inventory right away, or retailer within the fridge for one week or the freezer for as much as three months.
Ricotta
Recent and creamy ricotta brings richness with out being heavy. It’s simple to purchase an excessive amount of, because it has a brief lifespan. We sneak it into the whole lot.
Storage Retailer ricotta in an hermetic container within the fridge for two-to-four days. If it’s simply beginning to flip, prepare dinner it.
Some concepts for utilizing up ricotta
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Add to desserts and muffins, or any baking. A couple of tablespoons gained’t disrupt the recipe.
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Add slightly to your meatball combination – it’ll assist your meatballs keep moist.
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Make a sublime salad of steamed asparagus with dollops of ricotta, a drizzle of your greatest olive oil, and loads of salt and pepper.
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Skinny with slightly water, whisk in a pinch of sugar and use it like cream for pouring over fruit or crepes.
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Fold olives, herbs, salt and finely chopped garlic by way of one to 2 cups (230-460g) of ricotta. Pour right into a small ovenproof dish or ramekin and bake at 200C till golden. The cooking will make it final for a number of extra days within the fridge. Serve on toast with tomatoes, add to a cheese board, or put dollops by way of a salad or on high of do-it-yourself pizza.
All of the odd knobs
So that you’ve received a little bit of this cheese and a little bit of that cheese and it’s all fairly annoying. Collect them collectively and make a cheese medley.
Odd-knobs mac’n’cheese
Serves 4
This recipe may be very forgiving. Make the sauce utilizing no matter cheese is round, and expend all of the practically completed packets of pasta and even substitute a few of it with cauliflower or broccoli.
You’ll want about 1½ cups of cheese for the cheese sauce, plus extra for grating on high.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Boil 250g of any quick pasta in salted water and drain. In a small saucepan, warmth two cups (500ml) of milk to only under boiling level. In one other saucepan, soften 60g of butter over low warmth and stir in two tablespoons of plain flour till mixed and effervescent. This can be a roux. When it’s effervescent, slowly add the warmed milk, a half-cup (125ml) at a time, stirring continually with a wood spoon or whisk till you have got a thick sauce. Add your odds and ends of cheese, salt and pepper, and stir till melted and clean.
Place pasta in a mixing bowl (elective: add one cup of cooked cauliflower, broccoli or peas, and items of bacon). Pour the sauce over and stir to coat. Switch to an ovenproof dish, grate extra cheese on high and bake for 15–20 minutes.
Odd-knobs potted cheese
Makes 300g
A really British recipe to make use of up the odd knobs of cheese. Serve with crackers or crusty bread, or with raisin toast for breakfast.
In a meals processor, mix 250g of grated or chopped cheese with 90g of butter, and blitz to a paste. Add two tablespoons of sherry, port, marsala and even whisky, one teaspoon of sizzling English or dijon mustard and a quarter-teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Blitz once more till properly mixed and clean.
Press the combination right into a ramekin or wide-mouthed jar. Over very low warmth, soften two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Enable the butter to separate. With a spoon, rigorously take away and discard the little white clumps that float to the floor. Pour the golden clarified butter on high of the potted cheese, leaving the milk solids within the backside of the pan. Cowl the ramekin with a beeswax wrap or baking paper and refrigerate for 2 days earlier than consuming the potted cheese. It is going to then final for 2 weeks within the fridge.
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That is an edited extract from The Meals Saver’s A-Z by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards, images by Cath Muscat, illustrations by Mirra Whale. Obtainable now from Murdoch Books ($49.99).
