Am I the only one who eats raw (and enjoys) the waxy rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano?

Nay, not enjoys, but prizes as a delicacy? And fights the Italian side of the family over during Thanksgiving?

Help me, God.

I don't eat them raw, because then I would be a strange, strange person. However, if you're baking tomatoes in preparation of turning them into sauce in the manner of alton brown, throwing the parmesan rind in to the mix makes for some really, really good sauce. It usually all melts away into the protosauce, but you can scoop out what doesn't. I just did a batch with hanover tomatoes and some bleu cheese rind from Arrowine- Mr. Rockwell, you'll find God in that sauce if you're still looking for help.

I've been wondering what to do with all the tomatoes we are being inundated with. Alton Brown's recipe looks good, but can you freeze it? Or do I have to can it, and hope we won't be killed by food poisoning?

I actually bought canning jars and a jar lifter and so forth.

As for the parmesan rinds, I assume you know you can buy them at places like Wegman's, just in case you need more. Does anybody know what the wax is made of?

It's not wax.... that's a natural rind. I have visited old fashioned Reggiano producers and here is what happens:

The cheese is palced in three successive molds (called forms) on the first three days of its life. The molds give it its shape and also are what presses the Parmiggiano Reggiano into the rind. That is the guarantee that the cheese is real. Thus ytou should only buy wedges of reggiano with the words available. After the three days in the forms, the cheese is salted for approximately 3 weeks. This is done by soaking the cheese ina brine bath. Then it is allowed to dry for three days before being put in the banco where its aging will occur. The banco has rack and rack made of wood, that each can hold up to 22 cheeses from floor to ceiling. The cheeses are turned every three days aned on every three turns they are rubbed in a special machine or by hand to rub any of the fat which has seeped out of the cheese back into it. This process is what gives makes for the rind. The cheeses are also hammered (tapped with a small hammer) to check for soundness internally. Any found lacking (ie cracked internally) are marked and removed for immediate sale. The cheese is aged for 10 months when it is tested by the Consorzio di Reggiano Parmiggiano. Cheeses that pass their test are then branded with the consorzio stamp and are thus real reggiano. Good producers continue to age their cheeses for up to 24 months. Some producers make 24 to 36 month cheeses (as opposed to cheeses that are just slow to sell and wind up 24 to 36 mponths- these are just old cheese- they really don't age in a positive fashion excpet in the banco or a cave). Some cheeses are left to age further, usually in a cave. My cheese monger in Italy lets them get up to 7 years old.

You can indeed freeze it; I think it actually tastes better after it's been frozen and thawed once. As for canning, I don't think the AB process gets the temperature up high enough for it to be safely stored.

You also mean to tell me that I've been ghoulishly lurking around after cheese parties prowling for rinds for no damn reason?

I don't eat the rinds, but have been known to stick a few pieces into the chicken I'm roasting.

I do this as well, and toss in some prosciutto for that extra baked-in Parma terroir.

So if the rind is just concentrated fat and other such things from inside the cheese, I'm really getting the most flavorful part, aren't I? Dean made me feel much better.

I save the rinds in the freezer and throw them in with soaked (formerly dried) chickpeas when I'm cooking them. It really adds a delicious flavor.

We use them to make parmesan stock for soups. Toss them into a regular stock recipe, either veggie or meat.


When you have a whole prosciutto the skin makes a wonderful addition to soups or beans. The sklin can be shredded and tossed in. It needs to be a long cooked preparation so that they emerge tender.

I am not sure about the cheese rind being the most flavorful part... it just had the driest texture. But it is a part of the entire cheese and has its uses.

Not that I haven't enjoyed the digression into tomato sauce and canning, but on a slight more topical note: can anyone speak to the quality of the vacuum-packed parmagiano (or grana, for that matter) that's available at costco for about half as much as anywhere else? It seems like a good option for grating purposes, if not for serving on a cheese board.

I've been buying it (Reggiano) there for years. You can't beat the price, and it tastes great, grated.