Can You Freeze Cream Cheese? Is It Really Fine?

Who does not consume dishes with cream cheese? Cream cheese is an ingredient that you will see in both savory and sweet dishes. It is used as an ingredient for cakes, for making frosting, as filling for your bagel or as an ingredient in savory pies and whatnot.

You name it, cream cheese will probably elevate your recipes! So is it not quite handy to always have a block or a container of the beloved cream cheese right at your fingertips whenever you need it?

Oh, the possibilities! But that brings us to the question- can you freeze cream cheese?

Why Is Cream Cheese So Popular?

As I have mentioned earlier, cream cheese is very versatile. You can use it as a spread on a bagel, whip in some herbs to make it healthier or make sweet and yummy cheesecake with it. The list is endless! No wonder it is so popular, is it?

It is so popular that there is a huge array of variety of cream cheese available in every grocery stores. There are the blocks and containers of it, some low in fat content, some in original recipe. You will even find flavored cream cheese in savory and sweet!

You just have to walk the streets of New York and you will see enough varieties of cream cheese to last a whole month without repeating a flavor for the whole duration.

No, I am not kidding nor am I exaggerating! Of course, I could not say if all of the flavors are worth the try. I mean, it is not possible to have that much and have all of them turn out gold, right?

It is not limited to one country (or city, or state, really) either. Though, admittedly it is more well known to be an ingredient in cheesecake or a spread on bagels. If you love cream cheese and can’t get enough of it, there are more adventurous way of using it.

Origin Of Cream Cheese

When you think of cheese, what country comes to your mind? I must admit that I am pretty narrow minded on that regards and France and Italy are the only countries that I can think of. But did you know that cream cheese originated from America?

It was actually created by accident. William Lawrence (a dairyman from New York) was trying to reproduce Neufchatel, a type of cheese that is from France. He might have failed making a Neufchatel but what a success his failure turned out to be! We actually have to thank Mister Lawrence not just for what a lovely cheese he invented, but also for the fact that cream cheese is easier to pronounce that Neufchatel!

If you want to try a project one of these days, you can even make your own cream cheese. Yep! You are confident in your cooking skills and your stomach is not that weak? Then I dare you to try it! I just stumble upon it lately, but I must say it got me curious!

Is Cream Cheese Good Or Bad For Your Health?

We have another thing to delve in to before answering the question ‘can you freeze cream cheese?’ Is cream cheese healthy? Are you causing your body irrevocable harm each time you indulge in this tasty, creamy thing?

Since cream cheese comes in different forms, it is difficult to speak about cream cheese in general. Regular cream cheese is loaded with fat. Nope, not the good kind of fat. But that does not mean you should stop yourself from having cream cheese!

As I have said there are tons of variety of cream cheese. There are fat-free or low fat varieties of it, sure, it does not taste quite the same but that can be solved by adding a few healthy ingredients here and there. You can also choose whipped cream cheese just to fool yourself that you are eating the same amount even though you are actually consuming less.

But if you happen to be really health conscious and at the same time can’t help but crave cream cheese, there is a good way for you to achieve both. Try out some healthy dishes with cream cheese!

Can You Freeze Cream Cheese?

Now that we have almost all of the information we need about cream cheese (why is it popular, the dishes you can make with it, is it healthy) we will finally move on to the important question. So, can you freeze cream cheese? The answer to that question is not exactly straight forward but it will give you the general idea.

First of all, in a certain way, you can do it. If you feel like it is really imperative to do so, then by all means, go ahead and place your cream cheese in the freezer. It will not exactly go bad or anything like that, but the texture will be affected and will be completely different compared to the cream cheese you have thrown in the fridge.

Of course, we are not judging your decisions as to where you will put the cream cheese. We all do that, you know? As to what will happen with the texture of the cream cheese once you freeze it, it will be very crumbly and not the smooth, creamy texture of the cream cheese that was not frozen.

You might be asking, why? Well, that is because 55 percent of cream cheese is moisture content (meaning, it is 55 percent liquid). Things like that do not take too kindly to being frozen. Freezing makes the liquid and the solid contents separate and trust me, that is not the most appetizing thing to see.

Though it is still cream cheese, you will not be able to get the result you want in all the dishes that you can make with cream cheese that has not been frozen.

It is very obvious that, of course, you can’t use that cream cheese as a spread. No need to elaborate on that. The use of frozen cream cheese will be limited to baked or cooked dishes. In that way, the difference in texture will not be that noticeable.

To make it short, you can freeze it but it is not that advisable. If you happen to be on a sale and you want to take advantage of it and get as many cream cheese as you want, you can easily stow away the unopened cream cheese in the fridge.

It will stay good to consume a month after the sell by date. That is, of course, unless there is mold or it smells funny, then do not feel bad about throwing it away!

Alternative Things To Do

There are scenarios in our lives that just happen. You can never help it. It just is. So, say you are not actually indulging in your brand of cream cheese buying frenzy. You are simply making a dish with cream cheese and you find yourself in a situation where you have excess cream cheese.

You can’t donate it to us since I am pretty sure it will go bad before it gets to us. And at the same time, you do not want to risk freezing it. Add in the fact that you do not have space in your fridge (quite far fetched but bear with us). what will you do then?

That is easy, really. There are recipes that will allow you to use your left over cream cheese! Make something that is very far from the dish you are originally making. Better yet, why not turn it into snack that you will enjoy before or after your main cream cheese dish!
Conclusion

If you are second guessing yourself on whether you can freeze cream cheese, then you do not have to anymore. You can do it, of course, but it will cause a dramatic change in the texture of your cream cheese. It will be completely fine, though, to use cream cheese that has been frozen in cooked or baked dishes.

Another good thing to do if it is not a substantial amount is to just whip up a dish where you can use your left over cream cheese!

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