How to defrost cheese

Put it on burgers, grate it in salads or slice it in sandwiches -- cheese is a versatile ingredient that is creamy, salty, sweet and satisfying. As much as you enjoy putting cheese on everything, sometimes it's hard to judge how much you will need and you end up with a surplus. After freezing your cheese to preserve it, proper defrosting will keep both the taste and the texture of the cheese intact.

Remove the cheese from the freezer. Hard cheeses such as Parmesan, cheddar and Emmenthal store well wrapped with cling film and stored in a freezer bag in the freezer. Cut the cheese in half before freezing to speed the thawing process.

Place the wrapped and bagged cheese in the fridge.

Let the cheese defrost in the fridge for three hours or until it is soft to the touch.

Remove soft cheese, such as cream cheese, Brie or Camembert, from the freezer. These cheeses should be wrapped in cling film and placed in a freezer bag before freezing.

Place the cheese in a microwave-safe container. Loosely cover with cling film. Place the cheese in the microwave.

Enter the cook time of three minutes with the defrost setting on, or set the power to low. Begin defrosting the cheese in the microwave. Once finished, check the cheese, entering another one to three minutes to continue to defrost. The cheese should be pliable but not melted.