Most dairy products like cream and cheese need to be stored in the refrigerator because they develop molds on them due to bacterial growth.
Such molds can make you extremely sick and can make you suffer from conditions like food poisoning.
You can ask yourself a simple question about cheesecakes, a popular Cheese dish.
Can you leave a cheesecake out all night, without having to worry about getting food poisoning?
Of course not!
In the same way, most baking items containing a high fat count have a greater tendency to go bad.
However, on the upside, this also allows them to freeze quickly as well.
Cheese Pastries are great make-ahead items, you can freeze them unbaked or you can freeze them after baking, and then, later on, reheat them again to serve readily.
Wondering if you could do the same with Cheese Danishes?
Yes, you can freeze Cheese Danishes. When you made Cheese Danishes, let it cool down completely. Then wrap it with wax paper tightly and now you can freeze it for up to 2 weeks.
Here in this article, we will explore more about Cheese Danishes, let’s find it out.
What is Cheese Danishes? What is it made of?
A wide variety of baked goods come under Danish Pastries, these are not only well known in Denmark but also in the US and the western side.
Western people think of Danish Pastries as round shaped filled with fruit jam or custard, topped by icing.
Cheese Danish is one of the best desserts that everyone wants to get their hands on.
This mouth-watering dessert is made from various ingredients. Cream cheese filling the puff pastry along with vanilla, sugar, eggs, and lemon zest.
Cheese Danishes are very easy to make, perfect for special occasions like Christmas and Easter.
Here’s a list of things or ingredients that a typical Cheese Danish is made of:
- One sheet of frozen puff pastry
- Baking sheet flour
- Cream Cheese, taken out into room temperature for at least 30 minutes
- One separated Egg
- A quarter Cup of granulated sugar, for sprinkling over the Danishes
- Dash salt
- Vanilla Extracts
- Finely grated zest of Lemon. Organic is more preferred
How Do You Store Cheese Danishes?
Pastries are most enjoyable when eaten fresh, but if you need to store them and consume them later you can do that too.
Most pastries stay fresh at room temperature. You can keep them under a lid on the counter and they are good to go.
But do consume them within 2 to 3 days before they get stale.
Many people think cakes and pies stay fresher in the fridge but that is not true, they will stay fresh on the counter more than in the fridge.
The cold temperature slows down bacteria growth but also comes with a disadvantage; the taste and texture of your food will not be the same.
The cold temperature makes the cakes dry. If you want to preserve them for the long term, then you can opt for a freezer.
How Long Do Cheese Danishes Last?
On the counter, Danishes are good to go for a day or two, they will stay fresh under a lid.
If you want to preserve them for a bit longer you need to keep in mind a few things.
First, you need to wrap the pastries in a paper bag and then place them inside a plastic bag, this prevents pastries from becoming soggy as no condensation will take place, hence keeps pastries crisp.
If you want to preserve them for a longer period, you need to place them in a freezer using air-tight freezer bags.
Don’t forget to place them in a fridge overnight before thawing and using them.
Do Cheese Danishes Need to be Refrigerated? & Steps to Refrigerate it
Bacteria grow very quickly in food that contains a lot of cheese and cream.
Similarly, cheese danishes and cream cheese are high moisture foods, this provides perfect conditions for bacteria to grow.
Certain proteins are also present in cream cheese helping bacteria in multiplying excessively.
Your cheese cream can go bad if left uncovered for long.
A high amount of fat is also present in cheese danishes, approximately 5 grams in each spoonful according to USDA Food Data Central.
If you live in a relatively warm area, the fat can go rancid and the food will no longer be eatable and will release a pungent smell.
It is always good to store baked food and not let them stay in the open.
The same goes for cream cheese baking it won’t change the things discussed above.
If you want to store them, like cheesecake sand other danish delicacies place them in a refrigerator.
If you have used a little amount of cream or cheese in your recipe, refrigeration may not be necessary, you can keep them on the counter under a lid.
Here are steps you should follow to refrigerate them:
- Pastries and other baked items that contain not much cream or cheese can be left on the counter, but use something to cover them. You can use foils or butter paper; you can even place a lid over them to prevent drying. In this case, the food will stay preserved for a day or two.
- If you want to keep the cheese creams and cheese danishes preserved for longer, keep them in a refrigerator wrapped in foil or paper. Now they will stay preserved for a week.
- Wrap your food in aluminum foils or paper before placing it in the freezer.
- The temperature should be set at 0° F or lower to stay on the safe side and keep them crispy.
How Long Can You Leave Cheese Unrefrigerated?
The safety and freshness of cheese depend on many factors, the most significant one is the moisture content on the cheese.
Content depends on the age of the cheese, whether it is old or freshly made, and some other factors.
Before serving it to people, bring cheese to room temperature to bring out the best taste and texture. This will take around half an hour.
The better texture and flavor of the cheese at room temperature is due to the fat in it loosening up.
But you should also keep in mind, the time cheese should stay out in the open.
Don’t keep it out for more than 2 hours to be on the safe side, this increases the chances of bacteria growth and spoilage.
The maximum you should keep it out from the fridge is 4 hours, after that bacteria starts to grow on cheese.
Can You Freeze Cheese Danishes? Steps to freeze it
After you have made your pastries and cheese danishes, keep them idle to cool them down completely.
Take wax paper and wrap it around the pastries completely tight so minimum air is in there.
Now place them in the freezer and you are good to go for about 2 weeks.
Before serving them don’t forget to thaw them overnight.
You can do this by shifting them from the freezer to the fridge and keep them there overnight.
Heat them before serving at around 340°F and they will be crispy and tasty as fresh.
Baked items when heated for the second time tend to become soggy and dryer.
When you are defrosting only take out the amount you can finish, freezing them again will make them tasteless and stale next time.
You can follow the below tip to store the food
It’s important to keep in mind that baked and frozen pastry tends to stale quicker once heated a second time, so try to avoid defrosting more than you can eat immediately.
Here’s a recipe to stock your freezer with:
After you have made the pastries, select the ones you want to bake.
Take the rest and place them in a wax paper layer by layer. After that place the unbaked ones in the freezer.
If you want to use them take them out and after using a few, place the pastries in an air-tight container and then into the freezer.
This will prevent them from sticking together.
Final Thoughts
Everybody likes to eat freshly baked pastries, because of their sweet smell and amazing taste.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to bake fresh pastries at all times, sometimes you come from a tiring day and crave pastries, in this case, you would want to have a few stored ones.
If you keep them stored and preserved as mentioned, you might satisfy your cravings for more than a day.
Cheese Danishes are always a delight to eat and great for serving to guests.
Preserve it good and it will not disappoint you in the taste and the crispiness.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_pastry
https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Does-all-cheese-need-to-be-refrigerated
http://www.apt2bbakingco.com/home/mini-cheese-danish
https://www.instructables.com/Easy-Cheese-Danish/
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