Canning Cheese


When I heard about canning butter, I was also told that you can do cheese the same way. Here's what I did. I've done it with cheddar/mozzarella/american/provolone , but I suppose it would work for any hard kinda cheese.

11 pounds will fill about 12 1/2 pint jars -- or just over 3/4 pound per pint jar. It's harder to work with 11 pounds of cheese, though, so I do it in smaller batches.

1. Cut up your cheese into cubes, or if it's frozen, just crumble it into a pan. Gradually melt the cheese, and add more to the pan as it melts. A double boiler works best for this since cheese tends to stick to the bottom of the pan if it's directly on the stove. This works best for smaller batches, unless you have a large double boiler or a way to keep it a good temperature while you fill the jars.

2. While the cheese is melting, heat your jars in a 250 degree oven for at least 20 minutes. Since it's harder to regulate a woodburning cookstove oven to that low a temperature, mine is usually hotter. Since you'll process for awhile, this probably isn't necessary, but I think it's safer, so it's what I do.

3. Sterilize new canning lids according to package instructions. I let them simmer about 5 minutes, then keep them in hot water until I need them.

4. When the cheese has melted and is hot enough, ladle, spoon or pour it into prepared jars. A canning funnel is helpful.

5. Wipe the rims of each jar clean, place the hot lids and bands, then hand tighten the bands.

6. Process 40 minutes in a boiling water bath. When ready, remove jars from water with a jar lifter. Leave undisturbed until completely cooled. Check to make sure all the lids have sealed before labeling and storing. We keep ours in the cache.

I thought this was a great way to keep cheese.