Bits of unused cheese are regular guests in the fridge, no? And because cheese is such a luxury ingredient, with a large environmental footprint, wasting it can cause some niggling guilt. But even a scraping of cheese can be put to good use, because it can impart a saltiness and umami flavour to whatever you’re cooking. We’ve chosen the most commonly purchased and wasted cheeses to discuss here. Remember, cheese is a rather flexible ingredient. You can substitute most soft cheeses for other soft cheeses and likewise with hard cheese. What’s more, you can often swap hard cheese and soft cheese. Ricotta instead of parmesan with pasta is fine; cheddar instead of brie can work too. Just be sensible about it. Blue cheese So. Much. Flavour. All at once metallic and floral with a hint of armpit, blue cheese can really divide a household. There’s a range of piquancy in blue cheeses, but rarely are they considered mild. Usually blue cheese is bought in smaller amounts, with less chance of waste, but sometimes most of the blue cheese is left on the cheese platter after a dinner party and you might find yourself a bit stuck as to what to do with it. Storage Store blue cheese well-wrapped in baking paper in the more humid part of your fridge, such as the vegetable crisper, so it doesn’t dry out. It will last three to four weeks. How to use it up Crumble it over any cauliflower dish, such as roasted cauliflower straight from the oven or cauli-salad – it’s especially delicious in cauliflower soups. Make a salad with torn radicchio, sliced pear and crumbled blue cheese. Crumble it over roasted grapes for a flavour sensation. Make a toastie with blue cheese and slices of ripe pear, and eat with a glass of wine. Blue cheese dressing Makes 200ml This classic dressing, rich and full of flavour, is the sort you’d use on bitter leaves such as radicchio, endive or rocket, and not need much else. Or drizzle it over roasted brussels sprouts, steak or baked potatoes. Normally blue cheese dressing is made with buttermilk, but we cheat and add a squeeze of lemon juice to regular milk. Start by souring a quarter-cup (60ml) of milk with a big squeeze of lemon juice and allowing it to stand for a few minutes, until you can see the milk forming lumps. Put the milk in a food processor (or use a handheld blender) with 30-50g blue cheese, a half-cup (120g) of mayonnaise, half a teaspoon of dijon mustard and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Whiz together. Brie and camembert It’s quite exciting to have some gooey, buttery brie or camembert in the house, isn’t it? Even a tiny sliver can add luxury to a meal. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Storage Soft cheeses like brie and camembert need to breathe, so don’t use plastic. Wrap in baking paper and store in the fridge for no more than three to four days. How to use it up Pop on top of halved figs or stone fruits and place under the grill for one to two minutes, or drizzle with honey and serve for dessert or breakfast. Cut off the rind and throw the creamy part into a salad of soft lettuce leaves and nuts. Add it to tonight’s omelette – you won’t be disappointed. Cut off the rind and use it in a cheese sauce, welsh rarebit, or our odd-knobs mac’n’cheese (see below for the recipe). Brie and jam fried sandwich Makes 1 Look, this might be almost too wonderful. You’re not going to eat it often (that’s an order from your doctor, by the way), but when you do it’s worth cancelling all other plans and really being in the moment. Cut two slices of sourdough bread and butter on both sides. Spread a generous layer of jam (berry jams are particularly suited to this Liberace of sandwiches) on one side of each slice. Place slices of brie or camembert on one of the jam sides and pop the other slice on top, jam side down. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and melt one tablespoon of butter. Fry the sandwich for about two to three minutes each side, until golden, crispy and melty. Cheddar Probably the most common aged cheese in fridges, cheddar is sharp, a little sweet and a little salty, with a sour finish. The more mature it is, the more pronounced these characteristics become. For the most part cheddar is a good all-rounder for sandwiches, pizzas, cheese sauces, baking and beyond. Storage Store in an airtight container on the top shelf of the fridge for up to three weeks. How to use it up If it’s dried up and forgotten in the fridge, use it like a parmesan rind and toss it into a soup or stock as it’s cooking. It will give great flavour. Grate and mix into mashed potatoes and use to top a cottage or shepherd’s pie. Make marmalade and cheddar toasties – yes, please. Cottage cheese Hello cottage cheese. You’ve been a little out of fashion since the 1980s but we suspect people are still buying you, because we know we are. As one of the most common fresh cheeses available, cottage cheese is a little tangier than most and has a lumpy texture from the large curds. It’s extremely high in protein and low in fat, so it can be added as the creamy element of a dish or meal without being too heavy. Storage Keep cottage cheese in the container it comes in and close the lid properly. If stored like this, opened cottage cheese will keep for about one week. You can also freeze unopened cottage cheese for up to three months. How to use it up Use it as the base of a dip. Blend with herbs, deseeded cucumber or a ripe avocado, and plenty of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Make a less-rich version of Alex’s tartare sauce (see below for the recipe) by replacing the cream cheese with cottage cheese. Add a little milk to cottage cheese until it has a runny consistency and use in place of buttermilk in baking and pancakes. Mix with grated mozzarella to top a pizza or use in a lasagne. Use as a condiment on baked potatoes. Spread on rye crackers and top with pickled cucumber. Cream cheese We find bagels nearly unimaginable without cream cheese. It most often comes in a block or tub, and its mild flavour means it can be used in sweet or savoury cooking. Even a spoonful can add richness to sauces, and it can also be stirred through cooked grains or polenta. Storage Unopened cream cheese will last one to two days after its use-by date – take a whiff and decide. If in doubt, discard. Opened cream cheese will last about one week in the fridge if you keep the lid on tight. How to use it up Add a generous amount to pork meatballs and you’ve made a hack Swedish meatball. Stuff jalapeños and pop them on a baking tray under the grill until charred. Add two to three tablespoons to eggs before scrambling. Make a cream cheese icing. With a fork, whisk about 125g of cream cheese with two tablespoons of icing sugar, and a drop of vanilla extract or lots of lemon zest and juice, until smooth and creamy. Alex’s tartare sauce Makes about 1 cup (250ml) This is a given for homemade fish and chips and fishcakes, but it’s equally good with roast potatoes or with celery stalks for dipping. In a food processor, place a half-cup (120g) of cream cheese or cottage cheese, two tablespoons each of finely chopped dill, snipped chives, drained and chopped capers, two tablespoons of caper brine, a slug of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of pepper or cayenne pepper. Whiz until smooth. You could also do this by hand if you can’t be bothered getting the food processor out. Add a little water if it needs loosening. Feta Crumbly and as salty as an olive. Pair feta with the mildest of ingredients, like tomatoes, watermelon or cucumber, and it’s seasoning enough. Try to buy only a small amount at a time to avoid waste. If you have some extra lying around, consider yourself lucky. Storage Because of its high salt content, feta has a long shelf life. To make it last even longer, make a brine with one cup (250ml) of water and one teaspoon of salt, pour the brine into an airtight container and sit the feta in it. The feta should keep fresh for two weeks if you change the brine every three to four days. How to use it up Crumble and mix through meatballs and fritters. Using a fork, mix a little knob of feta with finely chopped olives and a slug of olive oil to make a quick spread for bread. Top with sliced tomato and pepper. Scatter a little feta and plenty of ground pepper over roast potatoes in the final 10 minutes of cooking. Crumble over grilled zucchini and top with lots of torn mint or parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. It will go beautifully in most salads, including lentil and chickpea ones. Mozzarella Mozzarella is a semi-hard cheese that’s rindless and milky. It can come in a pale yellow ball, grated in a plastic bag, or fresh and swimming in brine. It’s the stretchy cheese most of us use for homemade pizzas, but melty mozzarella has more to give. Storage Firmer-style mozzarella cheeses can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for one week. The fresh stuff in brine will be good for up to four days if you change the water, adding a pinch of salt, every day. How to use it up Grate and stuff into garlic bread. Scatter grated mozzarella over roast vegetables towards the end of cooking. Eggplant, tomato and zucchini work well. It makes a delicious molten mess in quesadillas. Scatter grated mozzarella over a tortilla. Sprinkle a pinch each of paprika and dried oregano and place another tortilla on top. Place the tortillas in a dry frying pan over medium heat and cook for one-and-a-half minutes each side, until the tortillas become crisp and the mozzarella melts. Cut into wedges and serve. Parmesan Parmesan is so sharp and flavoursome – a little goes a long way. Italian cooks add the rind or dried-out chunks to soups and stews, fish it out when the cooking is done, dry it off and keep it for another day. Take your cue from their resourcefulness and use every last bit, even if it’s a dry old piece of leather hiding in the fridge. Storage Wrap parmesan in a beeswax wrap or baking paper and keep in an airtight container in the fridge for one to two months. If it dries out, wrap it in a clean damp muslin cloth or clean Chux, then pop in an airtight container in the fridge. Leave overnight and the next day it should be looking alive again. How to use it up Treat a hardened bit of parmesan as you would the rind and add to slow-cooked dishes for extra flavour, particularly tomatoey soups, lentil stews or ragu. Grate and add to breadcrumbs to crumb meat or vegetables. Cheesy breadcrumbs freeze well. If you have a tiny bit left over, make a very quick cheesy garlic bread to serve with soup. Cut one or two slices of bread and rub a cut garlic clove all over the surface. Grate over the parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and toast under the grill. Thinly slice and add to salads for bite. Shave over hot vegetables and let the flavour seep in. Grate into soups for added umami. Parmesan rind stock Makes about 4 cups (1 litre) If you’ve saved a few parmesan rinds, then make this super-flavoured stock. Use it for risotto, minestrone or to braise vegetables. Preheat the oven to 200C. In a small roasting tin, place two halved unpeeled brown onions, a few unpeeled garlic cloves and two halved tomatoes, then sprinkle with salt and add a good slug of olive oil. Roast for 30–40 minutes, until everything is collapsing. (Make sure the garlic doesn’t burn – if it does you’ll have to discard it.) Transfer vegetables to a medium-large saucepan and add three to four parmesan rinds, some bay leaves and peppercorns. Cover with four cups (1 litre) of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and add one teaspoon of salt. Use the stock straight away, or store in the fridge for one week or the freezer for up to three months. Ricotta Fresh and creamy ricotta brings richness without being heavy. It’s easy to buy too much, as it has a short lifespan. We sneak it into everything. Storage Store ricotta in an airtight container in the fridge for two-to-four days. If it’s just starting to turn, cook it. Some ideas for using up ricotta Add to cakes and muffins, or any baking. A few tablespoons won’t disrupt the recipe. Add a little to your meatball mixture – it’ll help your meatballs stay moist. Make an elegant salad of steamed asparagus with dollops of ricotta, a drizzle of your best olive oil, and plenty of salt and pepper. Thin with a little water, whisk in a pinch of sugar and use it like cream for pouring over fruit or crepes. Fold olives, herbs, salt and finely chopped garlic through one to two cups (230-460g) of ricotta. Pour into a small ovenproof dish or ramekin and bake at 200C until golden. The cooking will make it last for a few more days in the fridge. Serve on toast with tomatoes, add to a cheese board, or put dollops through a salad or on top of homemade pizza. All the odd knobs So you’ve got a bit of this cheese and a bit of that cheese and it’s all quite annoying. Gather them together and make a cheese medley. Odd-knobs mac’n’cheese Serves 4 This recipe is very forgiving. Make the sauce using whatever cheese is around, and use up all the nearly finished packets of pasta and even replace some of it with cauliflower or broccoli. You’ll need about 1½ cups of cheese for the cheese sauce, plus more for grating on top. Preheat the oven to 180C. Boil 250g of any short pasta in salted water and drain. In a small saucepan, heat two cups (500ml) of milk to just below boiling point. In another saucepan, melt 60g of butter over low heat and stir in two tablespoons of plain flour until combined and bubbling. This is a roux. When it’s bubbling, slowly add the warmed milk, a half-cup (125ml) at a time, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk until you have a thick sauce. Add your odds and ends of cheese, salt and pepper, and stir until melted and smooth. Place pasta in a mixing bowl (optional: add one cup of cooked cauliflower, broccoli or peas, and pieces of bacon). Pour the sauce over and stir to coat. Transfer to an ovenproof dish, grate more cheese on top and bake for 15–20 minutes. Odd-knobs potted cheese Makes 300g A very British recipe to use up the odd knobs of cheese. Serve with crackers or crusty bread, or with raisin toast for breakfast. In a food processor, combine 250g of grated or chopped cheese with 90g of butter, and blitz to a paste. Add two tablespoons of sherry, port, marsala or even whisky, one teaspoon of hot English or dijon mustard and a quarter-teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Blitz again until well combined and smooth. Press the mixture into a ramekin or wide-mouthed jar. Over very low heat, melt two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Allow the butter to separate. With a spoon, carefully remove and discard the little white clumps that float to the surface. Pour the golden clarified butter on top of the potted cheese, leaving the milk solids in the bottom of the pan. Cover the ramekin with a beeswax wrap or baking paper and refrigerate for two days before eating the potted cheese. It will then last for two weeks in the fridge.