10 Uses for Parmesan Cheese Rinds (2024)

FAQs

10 Uses for Parmesan Cheese Rinds? ›

Throw them in with a sauce, a soup, a stew, or stock and they'll melt (not disintegrate!) releasing just a little extra cheesy, salty flavor into your dish. After the rinds are soft and gooey, their work is done and you can simply toss in the trash knowing that you made the most of them!

Throw them in with a sauce, a soup, a stew, or stock and they'll melt (not disintegrate!) releasing just a little extra cheesy, salty flavor into your dish. After the rinds are soft and gooey, their work is done and you can simply toss in the trash knowing that you made the most of them!

Why settle for ordinary pasta when you can take it to flavor paradise? Add a few cheese rinds to a pot of boiling water, then toss in your pasta and salt.

Parmesan rinds will last for a few months in a zipper-lock bag in the fridge, but my preference is to keep them in the freezer (in a zipper-lock freezer bag) where they will last practically indefinitely. Don't worry about thawing them before use, just toss them right into the pot!

Parmesan rind is a protective layer that forms on the cheese as it ages. While it's safe to eat, its commonly discarded because it's hard and difficult to chew. That doesn't mean it isn't full of flavor though! The rinds can be simmered in sauces, soups, and broths, imparting its flavor as it slowly breaks down.

You can keep a stash of Parmesan rinds in a ziplock bag in your freezer for up to 1 year. The rinds can be used straight from the freezer, no need to thaw before dropping in a pot of simmering soup or tomato sauce.

For starters, when I get down to the rind of my wedge of Parm, I take the time to dip a paper towel in a mild white vinegar solution and give it a good wipe down on the exterior. It's been manhandled by this point, and I want it to be clean. Then I dry it well and stash it in a ziptop bag in the freezer.

Before you toss it, use it to enhance another recipe. The texture of a cheese rind is too hard to eat on its own, but it makes for a great flavoring in soups and pasta sauces. Upcycling rinds is a great way to create something new with excess food waste, leading to a more sustainable way to cook with cheese.

When should you not eat cheese rind? ›

In fact, the question here shouldn't be “can” I eat the rind, more like “should” I eat the rind, because (unless the cheese is coated with an inedible substance like wax or cloth), rinds are totally safe to eat. At the end of the day, it really comes down to your personal preference.

Secret #2 is adding a parmesan rind to the pot. This is an old Italian trick I learned for creating rich soups, stocks, tomato sauce, or... chili! Remember it next time you finish off an expensive wedge of parmigiano.

Other rinds made of wax or cloth can generally be removed and discarded—these rinds are there to protect the cheese along its aging journey. Finally, natural rinds on cheeses like parmesan are ideal for use in cooking or broths—just not eating on their own. (They're just a bit too hard.)

No need to worry - these tiny white specks are actually a good thing. They're most likely calcium lactate crystals, also known as “cheese crystals.” They are completely safe to eat, and usually signify that a cheese is flavorful and well-aged.

Some people use a micro planer and grate the rind itself and use it like grated parmesan, but I save the rinds for other dishes. If you've been throwing away your rinds, you've been missing out on putting them to a delicious second use. Here are 10 ways to use the rinds: Throw them into tomato sauce when cooking.

The rind is completely safe to be consumed raw or cooked, though its texture is unappealing compared to that of the cheese.