Hi, all!

Philly CC is on a massive sale at the groc this week, so I was thinking of stocking my freezer with several packages, but I wasn’t sure if it could be used in pic crust if it had been frozen.

I know you can freeze the prepared crusts & dough, etc., but I wasn’t sure if previously-frozen cream cheese would prevent it from “coming together” correctly.

Thanks for your thoughts!

—ak

Wow! That sounds like a great sale!

On the package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, which is in my refrig right now, is the warning “Do Not Freeze”.

However, you can make the dough and freeze it. In the PPB, Rose said the Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust can be frozen up to 3 months.

On the shelf life of Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese:

Kraft says the company’s Philadelphia cream cheese, stored at or slightly below 40°F, is good for 1 month past the “best when purchased by” date.

http://shelflifeadvice.com/content/how-long-does-unopened-package-cream-cheese-remain-good-eat

I hope this helps you

Many thanks, FG—I freeze cream cheese all the time, and it’s just fine.  It’s not the exact same as never frozen, which is probably why the company says not to freeze it—to maintain its “perfection as cream cheese,” but it works well in everything I use it for (frostings, mostly).  So I was really checking to see if anyone had used it from the frezer before in the FCPC.

Anyone ever use it from the freezer in the FCPC before?

Just heard from Hector on the blog—he’s done it, and it works! Woo hoo!

That is good to know. I’m glad it worked out to your liking.

Indeed!  You know how it’s probably not recommended to freeze, say, sour cream, because, once frozen, you wouldn’t want to put it in a bowl for folks to shovel onto their tostadas, becuase its texture is a little different.  However, you could bake with that sour cream with no problem.  I think that’s why Philly says not to freeze—it’s texture isn’t as “perfect” on its own as a brick.  At the same time, it works fine if you’re going to do stuff with it, but I just wasn’t sure if it could adversely affect a pie crust, so I was glad that someone had tried it!!!

Oh, and thanks for the info re the “best by” date—that’s good to know that you can go beyond it if it’s sufficiently cold!

I’ m glad to know it can be frozen if used as an ingredient.

I freeze butter all the time. Walmart always sells the brand I use for less than any other store. When I am there, I stock up.

I have 6 pounds of butter in my freezer and 3 lbs in the refrigerator.  And I can’t have any of it

Frozen cream cheese definitely works, I’ve done it loads of times!  And unlike the cheesecake, which calls for very specific cream cheese- philly- pie crust can be made with a wider variety of brands.  Marcsapone and frozen marscapone also work, but they are richer so use bleached AP.

Thanks so much, Julie!!!  Glad to know I can vary brands—and glad to know about the marcsapone, as well!  I’m going to make a note in my PPB, which is sitting beside me, right now!!!!