Cheese

As a family of 7, it can be pretty expensive to buy cheese, milk, any dairy for that matter.   Well I think we have come up with a solution to that problem... at least when it comes to cheese.  About a year ago, while visiting the Amish in Wisconsin, we stopped in to a little cheese factory, right there in the hills of WI.  It was quaint, cute and most importantly they were stocked up with fresh cheese! 

My husband had this grand idea to buy a 40 pound block of fresh cheddar cheese.  We took some advice from the cheese maker, himself, before pursuing this of course.  We brought it home, cut it up into good size chunks, and vacuum sealed them into individual packages.   We like to cut them in different sizes, so we will have just what we need depending on the occasion. 

We then stored them in our refrigerator, NOT the freezer, and nine months later, when we pulled out our last package of cheese, it was just as delicious as the first!  It turned out so well, and has been so convenient and economical, that we returned to that same cheese factory just recently and purchased a couple of the cheese wheels, pictured above.

I keep an extra fridge, in my laundry room, for my overflow of bulk food items.  I store all my packaged cheese in the drawer's.  I even have guest's who have commented on how fresh the cheese taste, and ask where I got it from.... You can definitely taste the difference!

So, if you are ever traveling through the hills of Wisconsin, and stumble upon a cheese factory, stop in and pick up some cheese!