Blinky the Shark said:Some cheese rinds seem edible, some not, some seem questionable.
Indeed, whether it is edible at all really depends on the cheese in
question. If the rind *is* edible, it entirely depends on your personal
preference whether to eat it or not. That said, here is what Patricia
Wells writes in _The Food Lover's Guide to Paris_.
Victor
The Rind
The million dollar question: Should you eat the rind or shouldn't you?
Even the experts don't agree. According to _Larousse des Fromages_, the
French Cheese bible, it is all a question of personal taste. Larousse
advises, however, not to leave a messy plate full of little bits of
crust. Pierre Androuët, the former dean of Paris cheese merchants, is
more definite. Never eat the rind, he says, because it harbors all the
cheese's developing molds and yeasts and can emit an alkaline odor. The
truth? It is really up to you, though let logic rule. The rinds of
soft-ripened cheese such as Brie and Camembert are definitely edible,
and when the cheese is perfectly ripe, the thin, bloomy _croûte_ adds
both flavor and texture. However, with another soft cheese, Vacherin,
the rind is always removed, and the creamy cheese is scooped out with a
spoon. The rinds of semi-soft cheese, such as Reblochon, can have a
very nutty flavor. The crust is always discarded when eating hard
mountain cheese, such as Emmental, Gruyère, and _tête-de-moine_.
