What everyone should know: shelf life of cottage cheese in the refrigerator

One of the tastiest and healthiest dairy products, cottage cheese, has long taken its place in the diet of almost every family. It is an invariable component of a huge number of diets, allowing you to keep the body in good shape. And many strive just to taste this delicacy.

And so that this most important storehouse of substances necessary for the body can stay fresh as long as possible, you need to know how much cottage cheese is stored in the refrigerator and how to do it correctly.

Features:

Cottage cheese deservedly gained its popularity, because it contains many:

• vitamins;
• proteins;
• mineral salts;
• fat.

For sick people, this fermented milk product helps to restore health and strength, healthy people - to prevent the appearance of certain diseases. To correctly understand how much cottage cheese can be stored in the refrigerator, it is important to determine its type.

There are several categories here:

• at least 18% fat - fat cottage cheese made from selected whole milk;
• about 9% fat is a semi-fat product, the main components of which are whole and skim milk at the same time;
• less than 9% fat - skim curd, which is made only from skimmed fresh skim milk.

I want to note that the most easily digestible type is precisely the last, low-fat curd, due to the fact that it is full of nutritious milk proteins.

Despite the many advantages of a fermented milk treat, the question of how to properly store cottage cheese in the refrigerator is one of the most relevant. I'll talk about this in the next section.

Optimal shelf life

The first thing you need to remember: cottage cheese is one of the most perishable types of food that is strongly discouraged for long storage. Within a short time, it loses its excellent taste, acquiring an unpleasant bitterness.

In general, the shelf life of cottage cheese in the refrigerator is due to two important factors:

1. Continuous processes of vital activity of the product bacteria.
2. Enzyme and microflora activity.

I can't help but note that even the type of packaging significantly affects the shelf life of this product.

In a refrigerator

Did you know that in ancient times, when the refrigerator was not part of the mandatory home appliances, fermented milk products were stored by wrapping them in pre-soaked clean the cloth? After that, the food was placed in a cool, dry place where the temperature did not exceed 15 degrees.

Now the conditions for storing food are much easier, and you can find out how much to store cottage cheese in the refrigerator by the power of the unit itself.

There are two options here:

• if you purchased fresh cottage cheese, then you can store it for exactly 2 days. The main thing is that the temperature does not exceed 8 degrees, the optimal indicator is 2-6 ° C;
• if you have a powerful refrigerator that freezes food quite strongly, the shelf life is automatically doubled to 4 days.

There are also several nuances that any housewife will not be superfluous to know.

1. Before placing the curd on the shelf in the refrigerator, wrap it in foil or parchment paper.
2. An excellent option would be to place it in an enamel bowl, to which you should also add a few pieces of refined sugar. In this way, you can achieve the maximum shelf life of this type of food.
3. Having learned how to store cottage cheese in the refrigerator and keeping it for half of the allotted period, it is better to heat the rest of the product. I mean, you can use them to make casseroles, dumplings, or cheesecakes.

In the freezer

How much open cottage cheese is stored in the refrigerator, or rather in the freezer, again depends on the temperature existing in it.

If you want to preserve the ideal appearance of the product for as long as possible and not be afraid of food poisoning, a freezer will do just fine.

1. If the temperature in the chamber reaches -35 degrees, cottage cheese can be stored for about one to two months. Agree, it is very convenient to always have such a valuable and useful product at hand.
2. At a temperature of -12 - -18 degrees, storage duration is significantly reduced, but still far beyond refrigeration times. In such a freezer, the product can be stored for about two weeks.
3. If the freezer temperature fluctuates between -2 and 0 degrees, you can keep such a useful delicacy in it for 6 days.

I will reveal to you a little secret of how to extend the shelf life of your favorite delicacy with your own hands. Place a regular paper towel at the bottom of a food grade plastic container and cover with crumbled curd. Place the lid tightly on the container and place it in the freezer immediately.

Additional storage information

I have already described how much cottage cheese is stored in the refrigerator in a bag or enamel dish, but this is more related to a regular purchased product. Homemade food, not subject to additional processing and the addition of preservatives, has its own storage conditions.

Homemade cottage cheese

The question of how much homemade cottage cheese is stored in the refrigerator is rather difficult and does not have an unambiguous answer.

Everything will depend on the freshness of the product itself.

• The shelf life of homemade cottage cheese in the refrigerator, prepared with your own hands, can reach about 48 hours.
• A product purchased from a grandmother on the market (albeit a proven one) is best eaten on the day of purchase. Taking risks and relying only on appearance is more expensive for yourself. The price to pay for such confidence is severe illness.

Vacuum packaging

The curd purchased in vacuum packaging is a real record holder in terms of shelf life. The vacuum keeps the product fresh, tasty and usable for about a month. Agree, this is much more than the content of food in ordinary paper.

The instructions on the package will tell you the most optimal temperature regime for storage, you just have to choose the appropriate shelf in the refrigerator.

Finally

In this material, I examined the features and shelf life of this or that type of cottage cheese, and also suggested to you in what container it is best to do it. Adhering to basic recommendations and elementary safety rules, you will always consume only fresh and unspoiled product.

If you have any further questions, be sure to check out the video in this article for a lot of useful information. Or you can easily ask your question in the comments below, I will gladly answer each of them.