# Eating mould rind of cheese, sausage **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2020, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913 "2020-06-02T10:34:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/1 "2020-06-02T10:34:41Z")
Some foods, in particular cheese (brie, camembert, taleggio, livarot, epoisses) and certain hard sausages (fuet, cacciatore) are sold with white or red moold on the outer rind. I know you can eat the rind of brie and camembert, but for cheeses with red mould i’m not sure. When eating said sausages i would prefer to remove the casing but this is not always easy to do, and I prefer to simply cut the sausage in thin slices and eat the remaines of the mould if need be. Does anyone know whether this is customary in the couontries of origin, or whether I’m risking my health? In particular the sausage issue bothers me for quite a while now. Tried to find whether this had already been answered but only found [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=761198](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=761198) which doesn’t quite answer my question. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/2 "2020-06-02T12:04:05Z")
Couple of decades ago when I worked in a deli/sandwich shop, I ate a piece of dry salami with the rind on. Very bitter, not tasty in the least. I don’t remember now if we removed the rind or not as the salami was just one ingredient in any sandwich it went in. That being said, I can’t imagine any cheese or salami being allowed to be sold in the US with the rind on unless the rind was “safe” to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/3 "2020-06-02T12:09:25Z")
Isn’t the red “mould” on cheese wax? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/4 "2020-06-02T12:13:33Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Isn’t the red “mould” on cheese wax? The red [bacteria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevibacterium_linens), at least, is ubiquitously present on human skin, so I can’t imagine eating a bit of it would cause any harm. Nothing ever happened to me, anyway… ETA that doesn’t mean you could not have a red wax rind, but it’s not like you would not know whether or not those bacteria were used to ferment a given cheese ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/5 "2020-06-02T12:19:06Z")
The orange wax is also edible, but does not taste particularly nice. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/6 "2020-06-02T12:30:08Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > The orange wax is also edible, but does not taste particularly nice. [Apparently you can get it in pretty much any color](https://www.homesteadersupply.com/blog/2015/12/qa-why-does-cheese-wax-come-in-different-colors.html). ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/7 "2020-06-02T17:58:44Z")
I believe the fuet mold is meant to be eaten. This [website](https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausages-by-country/spanish-sausages) quotes; “The fungus is always good, it is the perfume of the fuet” (Siempre que el hongo sea bueno, es el perfume del fuet) ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/8 "2020-06-03T00:56:28Z")
> [@Tusculan](#): > > I know you can eat the rind of brie and camembert, but for cheeses with red mould i’m not sure. When you say “red mould” (sic), are you talking about washed rind cheeses? Those rinds are similar to the rinds on white mold cheeses and are meant to be eaten. The white mold on dry cured sausages is the same mold you find on soft-ripened cheeses and can be eaten as is. So no, you are not risking your health at all by eating them. However, many people don’t like the chewy texture of the casing, especially if the sausage has been dried for a long time because it becomes harder, and tend to peel it off. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/9 "2020-06-03T05:53:12Z")
Thanks for the answers. I didn’t mean the wax (as with some kinds of gouda/edam cheeses) but indeed the washed rind (which possibly is a bacterium and not a mould, but in Dutch they are called ‘red mould’ cheeses, _roodschimmelkaas_, wasn’t sure about the proper English name). Good to hear that those are simply edible. I suspected as much, but I’ve also seen quite a few people remove the rind of those kind of cheeses and sausages. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/10 "2020-06-06T18:23:37Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > I believe the fuet mold is meant to be eaten. This [website](https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausages-by-country/spanish-sausages) quotes; > > “The fungus is always good, it is the perfume of the fuet”… …even if it smells like the feet. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/11 "2020-06-07T14:15:08Z")
> [@Tusculan](#): > > Some foods, in particular cheese (brie, camembert, taleggio, livarot, epoisses) and certain hard sausages (fuet, cacciatore) are sold with white or red **moold** on the outer rind. \ I’d say that moold is appropriate for cheese, while mold is for sausage. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/12 "2020-06-07T14:23:01Z")
> [@Tusculan](#): > > Thanks for the answers. I didn’t mean the wax (as with some kinds of gouda/edam cheeses) but indeed the washed rind (which possibly is a bacterium and not a mould, but in Dutch they are called ‘red mould’ cheeses, _roodschimmelkaas_, wasn’t sure about the proper English name). > Good to hear that those are simply edible. I suspected as much, but I’ve also seen quite a few people remove the rind of those kind of cheeses and sausages. I always remove them as I don’t especially care for them. It never occurred to me they might be toxic, though. I mean, you can’t have [kinder surprise eggs](https://www.npr.org/2017/05/26/530257536/after-being-banned-kinder-eggs-are-coming-to-america#:~:text=Kinder%20Eggs%20are%20coming%20to%20the%20U.S.%20%E2%80%94%20legally.,have%20previously%20smuggled%20them%20in.) in the US because they might be dangerous if a kid eats the toy along with the chocolate. I can’t imagine it would be legal to sell sausage with a toxic rind directly attached. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-mould-rind-of-cheese-sausage/854913/13 "2020-06-07T14:24:13Z")
> [@Tusculan](#): > > Thanks for the answers. I didn’t mean the wax (as with some kinds of gouda/edam cheeses) but indeed the washed rind (which possibly is a bacterium and not a mould, but in Dutch they are called ‘red mould’ cheeses, _roodschimmelkaas_, wasn’t sure about the proper English name). > Good to hear that those are simply edible. I suspected as much, but I’ve also seen quite a few people remove the rind of those kind of cheeses and sausages. Yeah, I typically do not peel my salamis. It depends on how chewy the casing is, but, typically, I just eat it whole. Depends on your tastes. Thicker cuts of salami I may peel, but thin cuts? I usually leave the mold on, unless the skin is particularly rubber/hard to chew.