Fine cheeses can easily cost more per pound than steak, so unwrapping a long-anticipated treat to discover a science experiment gone wrong can be horrifying. A perfectly ripe cheese can be a transcendent eating experience, but what is the best way to manage that aging window? Storing cheese improperly can negatively affect taste and texture, and can hasten the growth of bad mold. Proper storage can preserve the product for weeks and even go so far as to encourage the good, naturally occurring mold to grow back.
By keeping factors such as moisture retention, breathability and flavor impact in mind, you can store cheese to keep it tasting as good as possible, for as long as possible. So is cheese storage really necessary? In short, yes, depending on your habits. If you’re looking to give your Humboldt Fog double the shelf life, then forget what you know about cheese storage and take a look at some of the products below.
Why you should trust us
To gain some insight into how the world of cheese professionals store their cheese, we talked with Emilia D’Albero, ACS CCP, a member of Guilde Internationale des Fromagers and Meilleure Fromagère du Monde 2025. (Full disclosure: among her other titles, D’Albero is the sales and marketing manager at Formaticum, which is one of the brands in our roundup.) When asked about what makes a cheese storage method effective, she said: “The two key elements are breathability and humidity … It allows the cheese to breathe because, remember, cheese is a living product. It needs oxygen … so [proper storage] allows the cheese to breathe but also maintains the right amount of humidity in the package.”
We decided to dive deeper into the mechanics of cheese and spoke with Michael Tunick, PhD, an adjunct professor of food science at Drexel University, and the author of The Science of Cheese. “Cheese is a living object,” says Tunick. If it’s just stored in plastic, he explains, “eventually microbes will die out so you are not getting more flavor development. If you are going to keep it for a while … then it ages better when there is some sort of ventilation.” As cheese ages, the microbes change over time. “I just saw an article about an English cheese [that] had over a thousand species in there,” Tunick says.
Not all microbes are a benefit, however. While there are many cheeses where molds are purposely introduced, for example to add flavor in blue cheese, Tunick says that if you see green or pink mold growing on the outside of your cheese, you should be wary. If it’s on a hard cheese, you can just cut off the mold and continue to eat it. With soft cheeses, the mold can grow deep inside – if you see green or pink mold growing on a wedge of camembert, for instance, play it safe and throw it away.
How we tested ways to store cheese
Over the course of two months, we tested brie and cheddar in nine different storage methods. We wanted to look at how well they worked for different types of cheeses while simulating normal storage and use conditions. To minimize variables, we used samples of brie and cheddar from the same wheel and block, respectively. We stored them in a consumer-grade KitchenAid refrigerator in our Dietz & Watson Food Technology Lab in the Drexel Food Lab and regularly opened the refrigerator to simulate normal household use, and to inspect and photograph them.
Throughout the testing, we completed water activity, pH and taste testing, which showed little measurable difference between storage methods. Where we did see significant differences were in appearance, texture and time to spoilage.
The results for best cheese storage
The very best way to store cheese:
Formaticum Two-Ply Cheese Storage Paper Sheets
Formaticum
Two-Ply Cheese Storage Paper Sheets
from $18.50
According to D’Albero, the go-to storage method in professional environments is cheese paper. Formaticum’s cheese paper is a multi-layered wrap that’s made of polyethylene to create the perfect humid but oxygenated environment that cheese thrives in.
The best performance of any storage method was with Formaticum’s flagship cheese storage paper. The cheese stayed fresh without drying out. The brie saw regrowth of its natural rind on the cut faces, and cheddar didn’t see any unwanted growth for almost two months of storage.
Having to fold the product over the cheese felt slightly awkward at first, but after just a couple of tries, we were able to unwrap and wrap the cheese in just a couple of seconds.
Formaticum
Two-Ply Cheese Storage Paper Sheets
from $18.50
An eco-friendly option to store cheese:
Zero by Formaticum Cheese Storage Paper
Formaticum
Zero by Formaticum Cheese Storage Paper
from $18.50
We also tested Zero by Formaticum cheese storage paper, the plastic-free reusable alternative. For anyone prioritizing environmental impact, this Formaticum paper might make more sense than the brand’s flagship product. However, if you are looking just for the best possible performance, the Zero did fall short during our testing. While the cheese didn’t form mold at the eight-week mark, it did dry out more than most other options over a longer storage period. If cheese typically goes fast in your house, the reduction in environmental impact may outweigh this minor concern.
Formaticum
Zero by Formaticum Cheese Storage Paper
from $18.50
The best way to store cheese for daily consumption:
Cheese Grotto Fresco
With a hefty price tag and a more niche use case, the Cheese Grotto Fresco is not for everyone. However, if you love cheese enough to invest in its storage and some upkeep and are curious about how to age your own cheese, this might be exactly what you need.
The Fresco can be used to store cheese temporarily to bring it up to room temperature from the fridge for the best eating experience, or used as dedicated storage in the refrigerator. It has an elegant, rustic aesthetic and convenient sliding front panel and shelves so you can access the cheese without removing the whole device.
To maintain the proper humidity in the Fresco, there’s a porous clay brick that you soak in water and place on the bottom shelf of the Fresco to help keep the cheese from drying out. This works to maintain the perfect, cave-like conditions to age and store your cheese.
We did notice that the brick (and therefore the whole grotto) can dry out in just a few days. To keep your cheeses in perfect condition, you will have to re-soak the clay brick regularly to maintain proper humidity. The Fresco is smaller than their Classico model at just 9.5x7x8in, so we were able to store it neatly in our refrigerator. The two shelves offer plenty of space for two to three blocks of cheese, perhaps more if you have a few cubes of Perrystead’s Intergalactic.
If you’re an avid cheese connoisseur or are looking to start making and aging your own cheese, the Cheese Grotto is a great way to explore the benefits of a cave. or. When we asked Tunick about it, he explained that traditionally, caves were used to maintain constant temperature and humidity. As for why the Cheese Grotto works as a storage solution, he said: “If the idea [is] about storing the cheese until it’s ready, [it is] keeping it at particular temperatures and humidities that you want.”
This is currently sold out, but you can sign up for a restock notification on their website.
The easiest and cheapest way to store cheese:
Resealable plastic bag with a layer of paper towel
Plastic Bags and Paper Towel
from $6.99
Not everybody has the budget or cabinet space to buy and store specialized cheese storage solutions. That’s why we included several options in our testing that many people might have already lying around their house.
The best of these methods we tested was simply wrapping the cheese in a paper towel and then placing it in a resealable plastic bag, for an easy and relatively effective way to manage moisture. The sealed bag trapped the moisture evaporating from the cheese, creating a humid environment. However, if the bag is completely sealed and rarely, if ever opened, there could be problems. Cheese stored in a sealed plastic container or directly in a plastic bag saw condensation of full water droplets, which could then drip on to the cheese. This was visually unappealing and allowed the surface of the cheese to grow unwanted microbes, which led to spoilage and unpleasant smells. The additional layer of the paper towel is key – it absorbs that extra moisture without becoming completely saturated, so it helps keep the cheese humid but not wet.
The other potential downside of the completely sealed plastic bag is lack of oxygen. This may have contributed to the slower rind regrowth of the brie stored in this method in comparison to the cheese paper. That said, there was still some rind showing on the cut faces. If you choose this route, make sure the bag is big enough to hold plenty of air, and opening the bag to eat the cheese on a regular basis is enough circulation to keep the product healthy.
Plastic Bags and Paper Towel
from $6.99
What other storage methods were tested?
Formaticum Reusable Cheese Storage Bags
Our rating: 🧀🧀🧀
Formaticum
Reusable Cheese Storage Bags (pack of 10)
from $19.50
The Formaticum Reusable Cheese Storage Paper worked about as well as the flagship Formaticum paper. The only downside for us was that this paper was stiffer and tricky to keep well-wrapped around the cheese.
Chef’n Cheese Storage Slice’n Store:
Our rating: 🧀🧀
after newsletter promotion
Chef’n
Cheese Storage Slice’n Store
from $19.99
This tool might work well for you if you eat a lot of brick cheese. The built-in cheese slicer works well for the cheddar we tested but was not as convenient for soft cheese such as the brie. It also saw some condensation due to its lack of ventilation. However, despite the moisture buildup, the cheese still lasted three weeks longer than in the other plastic methods.
Resealable plastic bag:
Our rating: 🧀
Without the paper towel, this option produced the most extreme condensation of any option. The perfect seal meant water gathered on the sides of the bag and its flexibility caused the droplets to easily make their way on to the cheese, causing surface spoilage and creating mold way faster than any of the other storage methods tested.
Plastic storage container:
Our rating: 🧀
Much like the plastic bag, the plastic container saw significant moisture buildup, but its rigidity did help keep the water off the cheese. This staved off spoilage for a little bit, but the cheeses did still mold relatively quickly, just a few days after the cheese in the plastic bag.
Plastic wrap:
Our rating: 🧀🧀
The plastic wrap did help to prevent molding, but repeated wrapping and unwrapping meant that it lost its stickiness quickly. This caused a poor seal and led to too much air flow, drying the cheese out slightly. If you’re willing to use fresh wrap every time you take the cheese out of the fridge, it could be a good option. But D’Albero suggests avoiding this method as plastic products that are directly touching the surface of the cheese like plastic wrap (or vacuum-seal bags) can impart an unpleasant chemical flavor.
The Drexel Food Lab at Drexel University is a food product design and culinary innovation lab that applies culinary arts and science to improve the health of people, the planet and economies. It is a faculty-mentored, interdisciplinary food product design and culinary innovation research lab whose staff has written for various publications around the world.
The lab maintains a client list from startups through multinationals and is funded through philanthropic support, government and foundation research grants and contracts, and industry consulting projects. It is housed in the culinary arts and food science program, but is open to any Drexel students who want to learn about food product development. The team brings unique and extensive experience to every project and engagement.
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