You can freeze cheese, but not every cheese turns out the same. Moisture content is the deciding factor: hard, aged cheeses with little water freeze well, while fresh cheeses with high water content crumble and release liquid when thawed. Frozen cheese is used melted or cooked, not served uncooked. Freezing it grated both preserves its texture and makes it easy to use.
The texture of cheese comes from a network formed by casein, a milk protein, with water and fat held inside that network. During freezing, water turns into ice crystals and expands, tearing the network from within. As thawing begins, the water is released and drains away, leaving a drier, more crumbly cheese. In other words, freezing affects cheese directly through its water content. That is why two different cheeses can turn out very differently in the same freezer. So the decision to freeze should depend on the type of cheese, not on how much room there is in the freezer.
A simple rule follows: the less water a cheese contains, the better it withstands freezing. Kashar, aged kashar, Parmesan, and similar hard cheeses can stay in the freezer for several months and remain usable after thawing. Lor cheese (Turkish whey cheese), curd cheese, cream cheese, fresh mozzarella, and brined white cheese all deteriorate noticeably: they crumble, release liquid, and lose their creaminess. Semi-hard cheeses fall in between; their texture deteriorates somewhat, but they remain usable.
The second rule concerns how the cheese will be used. Frozen and thawed cheese is not served on a cheese board or on its own; its texture does not hold up. It works well anywhere it will be cooked or melted: in toast, pasta, gratins, borek fillings, and baked dishes. The texture will already change with heat, so the effect of freezing disappears. That is why, when someone buys a large piece of cheese, part is eaten fresh and the rest is frozen.
Packaging directly affects the result. Divide the cheese into portions, wrap it tightly to remove air, and place it in a sealed bag; any exposed surface will dry out and develop ice in the freezer. The most practical method is to grate and freeze it: grated cheese is less affected and can be added directly to a pot or baking dish without thawing. Write the date on the bag. You can also remove the air from the bag with a straw or by submerging it in water. Write the cheese name on the bag, too, because it is difficult to tell frozen cheeses apart.
Thaw cheese slowly. Thaw a block in the refrigerator overnight; cheese thawed quickly on the counter releases more liquid. Do not refreeze thawed cheese. It stays in good quality in the freezer for about 3 months. Mold-ripened and blue-veined cheeses can also be frozen, but their texture falls apart, so use them only in sauces. Blot liquid that collects on the surface of thawed cheese with a paper towel before using it. Once thawed, frozen cheese should be eaten within a few days.