Some things get better with age: whiskey, wine and cheese. Parmesan cheeses age between 18 months and four years before you purchase them from a cheese shop or grocery store. This aging process dries out the cheese, concentrating the flavor, rendering Parmesan cheese one of the most flavorful options in the cheese case. The extensive aging process results in higher prices for the oldest Parmesan cheeses, and avoid throwing away your money by improperly storing your cheese and having it dry out too much. Properly storing your cheese ensures that you will have at the ready the robust flavor of Parmesan cheese for shredding or shaving as an addition to all of your favorite.

Cover a block or wedge of Parmesan cheese with wax paper.

Wrap aluminum foil around the wax paper tightly to hold the wax against the cheese.

Place the whole, wrapped Parmesan cheese in the driest portion of the refrigerator or in the freezer for up to six months.

Grate cheese just before using by rubbing the whole cheese against a cheese grater or inserting it into the hopper of a drum style cheese grater.

Store leftover grated Parmesan cheese in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week, but do not store in the freezer.