Q: How long will cottage cheese keep in the refrigerator? Shall I discard after the expiration date? Can I freeze it?

A: The date on your container of cottage cheese is probably a sell-by date. It’s so the store will know how long something has been on the shelf (and for you to use when you rummage around to try to get one from the back of the shelf).

It’s hard to give an exact amount of time cottage cheese would last in a home refrigerator because there are so many variables, such as how cold you keep your refrigerator and how often you open and close the door, which affects temperature. If the cottage cheese has no sign of mold and it smells OK, it’s probably fine.

While harder cheeses, like Parmesan and cheddar, can be frozen, softer ones like cottage cheese and cream cheese don’t freeze well. They get gummy or watery after thawing them.