# Cheese Rinds **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677 "2005-03-09T15:52:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/1 "2005-03-09T15:52:29Z")
How do you know what cheese rinds are edible and enhamce the cheesey-eating experience and what should be removed? I had some Chaubier and was not completely sure. But I would like to know if there is any way to tell without risking eating a gross rind. Are there any general rules (other than if it looks like wax, it is wax so don’t eat it)? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/2 "2005-03-09T23:22:28Z")
One bounce for the evening crowd. Does anyone know general rules, or do you just have to look up the information cheese by cheese, to know if the rind is eddible or not? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/3 "2005-03-09T23:56:25Z")
From:[http://www.fromages.com/faq.php](http://www.fromages.com/faq.php) \*\* 16. Is the cheese’s rind edible?\*\* _The rind on most cheeses is edible. However, if you think it is not very appetizing don’t be embarrassed about removing it. For hard cheeses, the rind is usually removed before eating._ ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/4 "2005-03-10T00:00:16Z")
My younger brother used to eat not only the rind, but the wax that the cheese was coated with. He continued to do this well into adulthood, so it wasn’t just an attempt to gross me out. I enjoy the rind of gouda and edam cheeses. It’s firmer and seems more tangy than the rest of the cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/5 "2005-03-10T00:02:52Z")
What is the rind exactly? Is it simply a harder, tougher part of the cheese? If so, what makes it different from the cheese inside? Exposure to air? Or is it dunked in something? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/6 "2005-03-10T00:03:53Z")
Thanks the [www.foodsubs.com](http://www.foodsubs.com) links I had didn’t mention rind edibility. Also I had assumed that unless it was smoked, gouda and edam rinds weren’t good to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/7 "2005-03-10T02:03:33Z")
If the rind is bright red, shiny and shiny… Don’t eat it. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/8 "2005-03-10T12:22:56Z")
For what it’s worth, I saw some TV cook recently put cheese rinds in soup stock. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/9 "2005-03-10T16:03:56Z")
> [@AllShookDown](#): > > For what it’s worth, I saw some TV cook recently put cheese rinds in soup stock. Interesting, what kind of soup stock was the chef making? ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/10 "2005-03-10T17:29:28Z")
I think it was chicken stock. I just googled “cheese rinds” +stock and got quite a few hits. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/11 "2005-03-10T19:13:24Z")
Looks like parmesan rinds are popular and good in soups. But many of the other links bought up are saying add XXX cheese, rind removed. So looks like many rinds (such as blue cheese rinds) are not good in soup. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/12 "2005-03-10T19:42:18Z")
Lots of cheeses have rinds which are very strongly flavored, or have a flavor distinct from the cheese it is a rind of, so I can see why you might not want to use them in soup. Using parmesan rinds in chicken & beef stock is quite good. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/13 "2005-03-10T20:46:05Z")
Looks like parmesan rinds are popular and good in soups. But many of the other links bought up are saying add XXX cheese, rind removed. So looks like many rinds (such as blue cheese rinds) are not good in soup. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheese-rinds/293677/14 "2005-03-10T22:05:37Z")
Is there a concensus on brie? I eat the rinds, but I have relatives who refuse and leave huge hunks of cheese and rind behind in order to get a little brie. They think I’m oogie for taking the cheese-laden ‘rinds’ left on the plate.