Can i freeze philadelphia cream cheese

Spoon tablespoons of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, or however much is considered a serving to you, and seal the bag before putting it in the freezer. Remove either the entire tub of unopened Philadelphia Cream Cheese from the freezer, or take out as many servings as you need of the spread. Leave them either out on the counter at room temperature or in the refrigerator to thaw. Bear in mind that the latter method will take longer for the cream cheese to properly thaw, so remove it from the freezer in plenty of time.

You might find that the fat and water have separated in the single-serving freezer bags or the tub. This will mix the components back together to leave you with somewhat of the same consistency as before it went into the freezer. If you have a tub and open it to find separated Philadelphia Cream Cheese, you can tip the spread into a bowl and whip it back together before adding it back into the original tub.

Make sure that you use your Philadelphia Cream Cheese within 24 hours of it being defrosted. Philadelphia Cream Cheese can remain in your freezer for up to two months, which is where the dated bags will come in handy. There are a few factors that might affect your decision to freeze your Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Just because you can freeze something, does not mean that you should freeze it. Below are the most pressing considerations to think about before freezing your cream cheese.

If your Philadelphia Cream Cheese is on the verge of turning bad after being open for a while, you can still freeze it to preserve it for longer than if you were to leave it in the freezer.

Always check the freshness as the cream cheese is thawing to prevent eating bad spreads. Though you may love cream cheese, sometimes you cannot use what you have in one go for a single meal or recipe.

As a result, you are left with an opened cream cheese block that may not be needed anytime soon. This got me thinking one day; can you freeze cream cheese?

Yes, you can freeze cream cheese for up to 2 months. However, the cheese will suffer some texture and consistency changes, making it unsuitable to use as a spread. Instead, it can be used in a recipe in baked foods and desserts. Are you wondering how to make your defrosted cheese looking creamy again?

Keep on reading as we answer these and some other questions you may have! However, a lot of changes happen when you put your cream cheese in the freezer. One example may be that your cream cheese changes in texture and consistency.

Frozen cream cheese will feel grainy and crumbly compared to unfrozen cream cheese, which is usually more smooth and dense. The reason for the texture difference can be traced to the water content of the cream cheese itself.

The addition of cream makes cream cheese softer and, some would say, tastier than other types of cheeses. When you freeze cream cheese, the water content from the cream freezes into ice crystals. This makes frozen cream cheese grainy, gritty and crumbly. Hence, frozen cream cheese becomes unsuitable for use as a spread. However, due to texture changes, the cheese will be unsuitable to use as a spread. So, if you plan to use your cream cheese as a traditional spread for bagels, crackers, or any other food product, you may want to consider keeping it in the refrigerator first.

Cream cheese will last for one to two weeks in the refrigerator. If you plan to use it within this period, the refrigerator is the best place for storage. Since we have established that it is perfectly okay to freeze cream cheese to preserve and extend its shelf life, we move on to how to store cream cheese in the freezer. How cream cheese is stored in the freezer is based on whether it is opened or not. Below, we will take a closer look at both situations. Putting an opened block of cream cheese directly into the freezer puts it at risk of freezer burn.

Any product exposed to air and stored directly in the freezer may experience freezer burn, and cream cheese is no exception. Transfer opened cream cheese from its foil to a sealable container, freezer bag, or food saver bag. Wrap the container with a cling wrap for added protection if you choose to use a sealable container instead.

While the original package is enough, some people still prefer to toss blocks of unopened cream cheese in a plastic wrap or freezer bag for adequate protection. Cream cheese can be stored opened, and unopened, in the freezer for up to 2 months. However, the spreadable cream cheese, sold in plastic tubs, is not recommended for freezing.

Do note that the spreadable cream cheese in plastic tubs can last up to two weeks in the refrigerator once opened, and up to a month if unopened. It is also important to remember that any cream cheese left at room temperature for more than two hours should be disposed of immediately.

Because of that, it works best in cooked and baked dishes. The texture change is also why Philadelphia advise against freezing their cream cheese. As you can tell, the cream cheese is yogurt-like and not a thick one, mind you in texture and is no longer smooth. I tried eating defrosted Philadelphia spread with fresh fruit photo later on , but it was pretty bad.

Or you can quickly fix those issues by adjusting the amounts of other ingredients. Those are the basics. You might be wondering what are the differences between freezing Philadelphia spreads and blocks or bricks. The Philadelphia cream cheese spread is much softer and spreadable , while the blocks are more firm and difficult to spread.

Once frozen, the texture of both types changes. I give a few ideas on how to do that in a later section. Like with the cream cheese itself, the texture of the filling changes after defrosting.

In other words, the thawed Philadelphia cheesecake filling requires some extra work before you can use it, assuming you care about the quality of the cake. A better way to go about this is to bake that cheesecake and freeze it after it cools down. That should give you enough time to buy those crackers or find the time need for baking. If you really want to make freezing Philadelphia filling work, feel free to give it a go. You might need a couple of tries to nail fixing the texture issues after defrosting, but you should be able to make it work.