# Smoked cream cheese storage time/tips needed



## spuds

OK,here's the deal.

Ive smoked cream cheese before and its excellent,but I want to store it for a friend who visits every few months.I did it at 41 degrees ambient in a bullet style smoker,and from experience know the amazen smoker with cherry dust adds but a temp or two to smoker temps when ambient so low so didnt even bother checking it,it was still cold.Did 2.5 hours and used 1/2 row of dust during the smoking.Got 4 hours on one row (did other hard cheese at same time)

I kept cheese very clean by opening wrapper and not touching it and laying wrapper on grill,and using tongs to transfer to vacuum bags and vacuum sealing.













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__ spuds
__ Oct 30, 2013


















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__ spuds
__ Oct 30, 2013






Its in the refer at about 37 degree's. So the question.....

How long will it last? Any storage tips on cream cheese?

Yup,I searched and didnt get answer,and Mr T your cheese tutorial was very good.


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## themule69

It sould last last just fine if you vacuum seal it or wax it.

Happy smoken.

David


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## spuds

Thanks for reply David.

Does the smoke act as a preservative? Ive done plenty hard cheese and know vacuum sealed is great and saran wrap is a moldy disaster.

So 3 months,6 months,a year or more?


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## themule69

Spuds said:


> Thanks for reply David.
> 
> Some reason pics wont post but links work now at least on my end.
> 
> So 3 months,6 months,a year or more?


I have had it last a year. I'm not sure how long it will last. Send MR T a pm. He knows cheese


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## spuds

Thanks David, much appreciated...just what I needed to know.

Hope Mr T will chime in.

Would like to hear how others have made out too doing this regarding storage and how you prepped and smoked and sealed and anything else to maximize storage times?

Snooky says Thank You.













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__ spuds
__ Oct 30, 2013


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## rexster314

I would think with it being vacuum sealed it would last as long as the expiration date on the original package


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## mr t 59874

Spuds, you will have no problem keeping your cheese to the use by date if you simply rewrap it in the original foil.  By vacuum sealing it will most likely keep fresh even longer.  My wife simply re-wraps and it keeps for weeks.

Note: The use by date on cheese is usually meant to insure the flavor that was intended by the producer (mild, medium, sharp or so on).

Waxing soft cheeses is not recommended.  Not only will it melt when the wax is applied, but it would be difficult to hold its shape as cheese wax is very pliable. Even hard cheeses should be turned from time to time.

You should be able to remove the cheese from the foil and place it on a rack or screen type material.  It will give you a better smoke coverage.

Hope this helps.

Tom


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## mdboatbum

It'll keep for a LONG time. The smoke isn't really what preserves it, but the culture is. It's essentially the same family as buttermilk and sour cream, meaning it's allowed to spoil in a controlled environment (culture) which grows certain bacteria which in turn fight off the bacteria that cause spoilage. If you need to keep it for more than a few months, you can freeze it. Just tell your friend to thaw it in the fridge and then mix it in an electric mixer until it's smooth. I've done this with cream cheese many times and there is no noticeable loss in quality.


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## spuds

Really good info folks,appreciated.Nice to see the mixer treatment for creamed frozen cheese,we did before and just tried thawing,not good,great idea to mix it up MD.

Mr T ,Ive been doing it on wrapper and had good results for sure,I will try some directly on grill.


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## mr t 59874

Mdboatbum said:


> mix it in an electric mixer until it's smooth.


Thanks for joining in Mdboatbum.  When my wife wants smoked cream cheese in a hurry, I put it in the food processor, give it a shot of smoke from my hand held smoker and blend for a few seconds, works great.

Tom


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## spuds

Thats interesting Mr T ,do you have a thread on the hand held smoker?


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## mr t 59874

Here you go.   My Cold Smoking Options w/Q - View      Have Smoking Gun - Will Travel     Smoked Butter - From Scratch Q/view - Updated 9/03/2013

The last one will give you an idea as to how the cheese is smoked.  My wife normally blends the other smoked cream cheese before use.

Tom


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## spuds

Lets see,thrift store parts making Rube Goldberg devices to smoke homemade butter....Yup,we like how you think Mr T !


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## spuds

2 weeks in and the refrigerated vacuum packed cream cheese looks very good,no problems at all.













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__ spuds
__ Nov 13, 2013


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## foamheart

Don't anyone show this thread to Fanboys!

I would have never have thought of smoking cream cheese.

Oooo...... smoked cream cheese with "Pickapeppa Sauce" .... my mouth just started watering!

Thanks Spuds for the inspiration !


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## spuds

Foamheart said:


> Don't anyone show this thread to Fanboys!
> 
> I would have never have thought of smoking cream cheese.
> 
> Oooo...... smoked cream cheese with "Pickapeppa Sauce" .... my mouth just started watering!
> 
> Thanks Spuds for the inspiration !


====================

Cant take credit,it came from SMF,Im appreciative too.

Yup,go for it,its awesome to the extreme.

You know,these smoked cheeses make great gifts and trade items,this is un-doable to most folks thinking.They have no idea how simple or inexpensive this is.


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## opforpaintball

Im smoking some cheap 88 cents cream chees right now on my charcoal grill.  Im hoping to amp up my holiday cheeseballs.  Should the cheese set for a while before I make it into a cheese ball or can I make it up and then let it sit?  Any thoughts?


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## spuds

Went to pull a couple for Christmas gifts,had spots of black mold.So stored in refer,vacuum packed,is a failure at 2 month mark.


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## spuds




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## spuds

Mdboatbum said:


> It'll keep for a LONG time. The smoke isn't really what preserves it, but the culture is. It's essentially the same family as buttermilk and sour cream, meaning it's allowed to spoil in a controlled environment (culture) which grows certain bacteria which in turn fight off the bacteria that cause spoilage. If you need to keep it for more than a few months, you can freeze it. Just tell your friend to thaw it in the fridge and then mix it in an electric mixer until it's smooth. I've done this with cream cheese many times and there is no noticeable loss in quality.
> 
> ============================================================================


OK,this will be next to try for me.


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## mr t 59874

opforpaintball said:


> Im smoking some cheap 88 cents cream chees right now on my charcoal grill. Im hoping to amp up my holiday cheeseballs. Should the cheese set for a while before I make it into a cheese ball or can I make it up and then let it sit? Any thoughts?


Just put it in a food processer and whip it then make your cheese ball.  It will be fine.

Tom


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## opforpaintball

Thanks.  I just put it together.  Totally awesome.


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