A 4-part question, if I may:

a. How long could I store hard cheese, for example, aged gouda & likes ... in the cellar?

b. How long could I store soft cheese, for example, brie & likes ... in the cellar?

c. Is the cellar/basement a good place to store cheese? <Temps vary in the 52-58 range>

d. When you store your cheese (hard, soft), what do you store it in, meaning any special bins, containers, packaging, etc...

& e. OR, is it best to buy in very small quantity & consume in a week or 2. And, storage @ home for a month or so (plus) not recommended.

Thank You very much (in advance)!

Cheese can go bad from mold (easy to see) or from turning sour (easy to smell). I keep my cheeses in the fridge in 2 layers of saran wrap. I think it is best to use fresh wrap each time you handle the cheese. Aged cheeses (cheddar, parma.-reg., gouda) have months and months of shelf life if properly stored. Semisoft cheeses might last a few weeks, but should be given a good visual inspection and a good sniff every few days. Fresh cheeses (like chevre) should be used within a few days of opening.

I think the gospel on cheese is to keep it somewhat warmer than fridge temp and not to wrap it in plastic, but until I get my own cheese cave, I think that wrapping in plastic and keeping cold is the best way to preserve the cheese and keep the flavors and aromas as distinct as possible.

For artisinal cheese I just buy what will be consumed that evening. I don't store the cheese for any significant length of time.

Same here. I examine and buy for that or the next day only. If I had limited access to cheese and had to buy a bit in advance, I don't know what I'd do.

OK, I read the message loud & clear: only buy as much as you intend to eat in the short term.

I import a lot of cheese. Every package is vacumn sealed. Still advised only to storge about 3 weeks.

Come on! You people only keep Parmigiano Reggiano for a few days? I am not suggesting that its flavors moight not deteriorate slightly, but you could keep it wrapped in the fridge for the better part of a year.

I couldn't even comprehend buying cheese for use on a daily basis - it isn't like its raw fish. If a cheese is aged for a few years, then packaged, then shipped, then put on a shelf, then sits for a few days before you buy it, what difference could a few days in your refrigerator make

For a hard cheese like parmegiano reggiano that can keep for awhile sure but I just don't buy so much that I need to store it for very long.

For parmesean reggiano, I buy the block from Costco that takes me about 3-4 months to go through (we use it solely for cooking purposes).

Other cheeses, I usually consume within a week after purchase and it tastes fine as long as it is kept airtight in a plastic baggie. After a week, it gets moldy and has to be thrown out.