Brie cheese - eat the rind or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a cheese head, a francophile, and a firm believer in letting folks eat cheese how they want to eat it. I have seen folks in France eat the rind and not eat the rind. Same here.

Yes, live and let live, but it's annoying when people hack out the innards of a brie that's on the buffet table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The French often eat cheese by itself, not spread on bread or even stacked. Just a chunk o' cheese on its own. Brie especially.

Particularly at breakfast. At least at the hotel we stayed at. The breakfast buffet every morning looked like a lunchtime deli spread -- breads, cold cuts, cheese, and (very good) butter.

A couple of salami 'n' brie sandwiches and a couple of cups of good French coffee will get you going in the morning. They don't make sandwiches, of course, but I didn't mind being the obvious tourist.

Other Europeans eat cheese for breakfast but not the French, in their homes, though it's possible your hotel did this to appease foreign tastes. Cheese is eaten as dessert or just before. Breakfast in France is typcially bread or a pastry with coffee.

[Anonymous]

^^^
Thanks for explaining. It didn't feel French. It felt--I don't know, German.
But there it was, every morning. Along with a few croissants and pain au chocolat that always got picked over first. And juice and coffee.

[Anonymous]

No, people judge your manners in realy life, not on DCUM. Pretentious means attemptig to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, etc. It's not pretentious to follow common rules of ettiquette, which is what the OP was really asking: Is she breaking ettiquette rules by doing that. Yes, she is. Just like you don't fish in a drink with your hand to take to take out an ice cube. Why? Ettiquette. You don't eat mashed potatoes with a spoon. Why? Ettiquette.

People are noticing that you are not following that particular social convention, and are possibly judging you for it in some way. It's your choice to do that, but it sounds like OP would prefer to follow that one, hence the question

Oh, please, link us up to a reliable source of "ettiquette" rules pertaining to how to eat brie. Wikipedia doesn't count.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No, people judge your manners in realy life, not on DCUM. Pretentious means attemptig to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, etc. It's not pretentious to follow common rules of ettiquette, which is what the OP was really asking: Is she breaking ettiquette rules by doing that. Yes, she is. Just like you don't fish in a drink with your hand to take to take out an ice cube. Why? Ettiquette. You don't eat mashed potatoes with a spoon. Why? Ettiquette.

People are noticing that you are not following that particular social convention, and are possibly judging you for it in some way. It's your choice to do that, but it sounds like OP would prefer to follow that one, hence the question

Oh, please, link us up to a reliable source of "ettiquette" rules pertaining to how to eat brie. Wikipedia doesn't count.

http://www.realcaliforniamilk.com/products/cheese-etiquette/
http://johneatscheese.com/2011/09/27/brie/#.UdCzcMu9KSM
http://thelmadomenici.com/wordpress/dining/its-your-choice-whether-to-eat-brie-rind

Consensus: no obligation to eat the rind. But you cannot scoop out the soft cheese and leave the empty rind for others. Cut the piece you want (but not from the tip of the wedge) and put it on your plate. Leave the rind there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not a spreading cheese. It's tacky to dig it out, or slice off the rind. In your own home you can, but don't do it elsewhere. You eat it sliced or in wedges. From Wiki:

Brie is usually purchased either in a full wheel or as a wheel segment.[3] Further sub-division in most homes is subject to social conventions that have arisen to ensure that each person partaking in the cheese receives a roughly equal amount of skin. Slices are taken along the radius of the cheese rather than across the point. Removing the more desirable tip from a wedge of brie is known as "pointing the Brie" and is regarded as a faux pas. The white outside of the cheese is completely edible, and many eat Brie whole.[4] The cheese is sometimes served slightly melted or baked, in a round lidded ceramic dish, and topped with nuts or fruit.

How about you take the stick out of your ass and use it to spread some Brie on a cracker? It'll feel really good. Promise.

[Anonymous]

Do you eat an orange rind, no...so no need to feel weird if you don't want to eat it.

[Anonymous]

If I saw someone digging out the center of the brie at a party I would think they were very unsophisticated. That would be like eating the rice in sushi and leaving the rest on the plate. And wasteful. If you take the brie, eat the rind. Or select another cheese. What you do at home is of course your own business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not a spreading cheese. It's tacky to dig it out, or slice off the rind. In your own home you can, but don't do it elsewhere. You eat it sliced or in wedges. From Wiki:

Brie is usually purchased either in a full wheel or as a wheel segment.[3] Further sub-division in most homes is subject to social conventions that have arisen to ensure that each person partaking in the cheese receives a roughly equal amount of skin. Slices are taken along the radius of the cheese rather than across the point. Removing the more desirable tip from a wedge of brie is known as "pointing the Brie" and is regarded as a faux pas. The white outside of the cheese is completely edible, and many eat Brie whole.[4] The cheese is sometimes served slightly melted or baked, in a round lidded ceramic dish, and topped with nuts or fruit.


How about you take the stick out of your ass and use it to spread some Brie on a cracker? It'll feel really good. Promise.

I'll skip the brie if that's where the spreader's been.

[Anonymous]

Once I put my cheese out for consumption at a party, it no longer belongs to me. People can do with it what they want. If I was SO WORRIED about what people might do with the rind, then I wouldn't serve it.

[Anonymous]

I have never eaten the rind and don't intend to start now. I've never seen anyone eat the rind and I've spent some time in Paris...no one ate the rinds there either. Is this some Polish trend perhaps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I saw someone digging out the center of the brie at a party I would think they were very unsophisticated. That would be like eating the rice in sushi and leaving the rest on the plate. And wasteful. If you take the brie, eat the rind. Or select another cheese. What you do at home is of course your own business.

And who do you think cares what you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I saw someone digging out the center of the brie at a party I would think they were very unsophisticated. That would be like eating the rice in sushi and leaving the rest on the plate. And wasteful. If you take the brie, eat the rind. Or select another cheese. What you do at home is of course your own business.

And who do you think cares what you think?

Go ahead and dig. Especially if you have something bothering you up in your nose.

[Anonymous]

Digging out the "good part" of anything on a buffet shows a lack of manners. But if you are a "digger" go right ahead!

[Anonymous]

Clear difference between digging it out while still on the serving plate vs cutting a piece off and only eating the inner gooey part. Take you guess as to which is more socially acceptable. Who the heck cares if you leave a little rind on your plate. So much crap gets uneaten at parties anyway, no one's going to notice.