The Rind Dilemma: when to eat it, when not?

But while waiting for John, Slough Foods' proprietor, to cut my cheeses (Bill Spohn, leave that alone

Have you ever known me to take that cheap a shot.....well, OK, recently?

How do YOU decide when to eat the rind?

Trial and error. When confronted with a huge array of cheese in France I go on the basis that if it tastes good I'll eat it regardless of what it looks like (otherwise why would anyone dig into one of those fuzzy pyramids of chevre?) and it (probably) won't kill you to try it once.

Some I don't even try - some of the washed rind cheeses have a rind that smells like old feet and I can 'sense' that putting it in my mouth is counterindicated.

Generally the hard rind cheeses don't have much of an edible outside as it dries out and is too hard to enjoy even if the taste is good. Of course I've encountered some Mimoulette that you could say that about the inside too!

I do sort of laugh at people I see skinning Brie and Camembert...

If I'm unfamiliar with it and it's not obvious, I simply ask the cheese purveyor. Typically you can tell when they cut off a sample for you.

I reserve the harder rinds for throwing into soups and stews.

I reserve the harder rinds for throwing into soups and stews.

We confirm that process!