It’s one of the most popular foods in the UK and goes great with almost everything, but cheese – whether Cheddar, Brie or Red Leicester – can go off really quickly once you’ve broken open the packaging. With how expensive cheese is now, coming in at double digits per kilogram even in supermarkets, it’s especially galling to find that your beloved cheddar has gone hard and stale, or worse, mouldy (well unless it’s Stilton of course).

But there is a way to stop cheese from going off using one kitchen staple – sugar cubes. According to fromage experts, cheese will last longer and stay fresher without going off for longer if you store it with sugar cubes. Apparently, the sugar helps to regulate the temperature inside the container you store your cheese in.

This in turn will extend the cheese’s life expectancy ‘significantly’.

Cheese connoisseur Patricia Michelson says, as reported by TheKitchn.com: “Start by double-wrapping your cheese in wax or baking parchment paper. Then, line a plastic storage container with a damp kitchen towel or disposable dish cloth before placing your cheese in the container along with two standard sugar cubes. 

“According to Michelson, the sugar somehow helps to regulate the temperature inside of the container (when closed tightly), thereby extending your cheese’s shelf life significantly.”

While she adds that the sugar cubes will eventually disintegrate, your cheese will have already been eaten long before that happens. 

Otherwise, make sure your cheese is stored on the top shelf of the fridge, as this is where the temperature will be most consistent.

When you do come to replace the sugar cubes, you need to clean the box fully to avoid any mould developing on leftover grains in future.