Let’s start with mold-avoidance. I won’t waste your time talking about how screamingly frustrating it is to discover your cheese has mold (not to mention how wasteful this is). You’ve likely been there, done that, and have the T-shirt. Instead, let’s zero-in on what to do to avoid it once and for all.

The expert testers at America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) found the answer in two brilliant products made by the same company. Formaticum Cheese Paper and Cheese Bags. Their paper is wax-coated, lined with thin and porous plastic. Testers found it kept cheddar, Brie, and goat cheeses free of mold and dryness for three solid weeks. It comes as a box of fifteen 11 by 6 1/4-inch sheets, with stickers for sealing and labeling the wrapped cheese. Simple and durable, the sheets let you open and rewrap cheese multiple times.

Formaticum’s Cheese Bags are also sized 11 by 6½-inch. They resemble bakery bags, but their insides have the same wax-coated, porous plastic layer used you’ll find in their Cheese Paper. The bags also kept Brie, cheddar, and goat cheeses free of mold and dryness for three weeks, letting the cheddar dry out just slightly in the fourth week. Slightly more convenient to use than the cheese paper, the bags didn’t need stickers to seal: you just fold over the ends a few times to close them.

With the mold issue resolved, now let’s look at what the ATK testers felt were the best tools for prepping this delectable food.

If you just want your cheese sliced, then ATK’S testers highly recommend the Wüsthof Gourmet 4 ¾-inch Cheese Plane: “It produced perfect, clean-edged, even slices of ideal thickness every time.” With a comfortable handle, a relatively long blade, and one of the thinnest and most flexible heads in the testing, they reported it was a pleasure to use.

But if you want to grate your cheese, they suggest start with the Zyliss Classic Hand Crank Cheese Grater. This is perfect for chunks of hard cheese (Parmesan, for instance). It consistently grated hard cheese more quickly than any other model. Small enough to pass around the table easily, it has a relatively large hopper that accommodates big chunks. Rubberized grips makes it easy to hold and the crank can be installed on either the left or the right side of its rotating drum, so both lefties and righties can use it.

The Rösle Coarse Paddle Grater won out because it had one of the largest, longest grating surfaces with ultrasharp teeth. It effortlessly shredded foods of all sizes and textures, taking the least time to do so and generating virtually no waste. Rubber-tipped feet kept the grater from slipping, and testers also loved how easy the grater was to clean and store.

But if you’re a box grater fan, then the ATK pros say the Cuisinart Box Grater is THE choice. It has a large, long grating surface studded with stamped holes. It grated hard vegetables and soft cheese quickly and efficiently. Testers liked how stably this grater sat on the cutting board (thanks in part to the grippy plastic bumper around its base) and that it has a large plastic handle that’s comfortable to hold in different positions.

Finally, if you like having large bags of cheese on hand, then the ATK testers agree the Cuisinart Custom 14 Cup Food Processor is the best all-around choice. It’s not just perfect for cheese, but it’s perfect for everything. They gush over it: “With a powerful, quiet motor; responsive pulsing action; sharp blades; and a simple, pared-down-to-basics design, our old favorite aced every test, surprising us time and again by outshining pricier, more feature-filled competitors.

“It was one of the few models that didn’t leak at its maximum stated liquid capacity. It’s also easy to clean and store, because it comes with just a chopping blade and two disks for shredding and slicing (additional blade options are available à la carte).”

I’ve been using this very model for over 8 years and I agree with the ATK folks—this appliance is a dream. I use it for dozens of food prep chores, but I especially love how quickly and easily it processes a 2-pound block of Cheddar.

So there you have it, how to avoid mold and tools for quick and easier prepping. May we never again be found slicing off chunks of moldy cheese!

    Alice Osborne
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
    Email the author! alice@dvo.com