Which Cheese Rinds Are Edible? A Cheese Expert Weighs In

We’ve all seen it. A cheese board ravaged beyond recognition by cheese-rind haters who scoop out the creamy center of the Camembert and leave the ivory shell behind. But was that rind actually edible? 

We spoke with Bryan Bland, specialty foods category manager for Kroger & Murray’s Cheese, to learn how he decides which rinds are edible and which are not. He says, “I think it comes down to experimentation, and giving yourself the opportunity to say yes or no. There’s no right answer. There’s no wrong answer. It’s more that you have your own answer.” This answer is based on personal preference, and you can inform this preference by knowing a bit more about cheese rinds in general. 

Wax-Dipped Cheese

Let’s start with the outlier. Wax, a pliable paraffin blend specifically formulated for use on wheels of cheese (as opposed to making candles or sealing letters with your family crest) is FDA-approved as food-safe, and keeps out damaging light, air and stray microorganisms as the cheese moves about the world. It can add an attractive, colorful aesthetic to the wheel. But even if it’s food-safe, that doesn’t mean you should eat it. Peel or cut it off before you enjoy the cheese, please! 

Bloomy-Rind Cheese

On to the softies. “For all those white, round, Brie-style cheeses, known as bloomy-rind cheeses, the rind is what makes that cheese. It’s helping ripen from the outside in, it’s contributing to the texture, so take a bite of that and decide from there,” Bland says. These rinds form from a particular type of mold that he refers to as “controlled and expected mold.” If they are white or ivory, yum; if there are black or red spots, consider that a warning. 

Some bloomy-rind cheeses are wrapped around the middle with a piece of spruce bark, which adds a slightly resinous flavor to the cheese. These beg to have their top rind completely removed so that folks can dip their bread into the unctuous middle. And that is the right way to eat these types of cheese, though Bland thinks that training us cheese-lovers to remove a huge hunk of perfectly edible bloomy rind may be doing a disservice to rind lovers. That said, he has been known to indulge in a dip nonetheless. 

Washed-Rind Cheese

Washed-rind cheeses, like Taleggio and Époisses, have an orange-colored rind that the cheesemaker worked very hard (by salting and brining, for example) to coax to pungent perfection. “Our job as cheesemongers,” explains Bland, “is to get the cheese to the customer the way that the cheesemaker intended.” Once you get that stinky wedge home, if you find the rind a bit strong for your taste, you may certainly remove it—but it is edible. 

Natural-Rind Cheese

Then there’s the category called natural rinds, which includes varieties like Parmigiano Reggiano and Tomme de Savoie. Often the cheesemaker helps maintain these cheeses as they age by brushing, wiping and turning the wheels. “These rinds range in texture from velvety to more brittle and hard,” says Bland, and while technically edible, they may not be palatable, as they are there to protect the inside of the cheese. Some of them are quite soft and thus may be enjoyable, but others are quite hard. “People that make Gruyère and Comté don’t eat the rinds, and they don’t think anyone is a savage for not eating them.” Bland likes to compare these rinds to other culinary delights, like shellfish and bone-in ribeyes. “You don’t eat the shell of a lobster—it’s there to protect the meat. And a steak bone, you’re going to gnaw off as much meat as you can!” He suggests you enjoy natural-rinded cheeses in a similar fashion.

Blue Cheese

Blue cheeses, while aging in a cave, develop a heavy internal ribboning and coating of blue mold, known as Penicillium roqueforti, that creates the flavorful, spicy taste that Gorgonzola and Stilton lovers adore. After aging, the outsides of these wheels get cleaned up and wrapped in foil, which keeps them moist, but allows exposure to air to let the cheese completely develop, and you can eat every bit. 

Flavored Rinds

The rules become both more simple and more complicated when it comes to cheese wheels that boast flavored rinds, studded with cracked peppercorns, herbs or even flower petals. We’ve seen everything from South Asian spices and coffee beans to bee pollen and vegetable ash packed onto cheeses to complement the flavor of the paste (that’s cheese-geek language for the inside of the cheese). These rinds are clearly meant to be edible, but remember, there is no right answer, and if you find the intense flavors to detract from the integrity of the rest of the bite, you may politely leave the rind to the side of your plate. 

Bottom Line

Aside from wax coatings and spruce bark, most cheese rinds are likely edible. But that doesn’t mean you have to eat them if you don’t like them. Think about the cheesemaker back in their creamery. Was their intention when they chose the rind to protect the cheese from harm as it aged, or to enhance the flavor and texture of the experience? If it’s the former, the rind may not be worth eating. If there’s a chance that tasting the rind may add a new dimension to your favorite cheese, why not give it a try?