i like the rind, but wouldn't notice it if you didn't eat yours (and wouldn't care if I did notice)

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.

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.

Only on DCUM can you be judged by what foods you like and how you eat them.

OP--do what you like. I also don't care for the bitter rind. I'll cut the wedge, put the piece on my plate and take off the rind and eat it however I want. Anyone who cares to turn their nose up when you do this is just a pretentious fool.

Just don't do it at the counter at the sushi bar.

I'm not a fan of the rind. I don't cut it off altogether, but I do cut the outermost edge off. I can't imagine too many hosts are that interested in how I eat the cheese that they offer. If they are, that's odd.

Anonymous wrote:Can I eat my mashed potatoes acceptably with a spork? It's not a spoon, but then again it's not a fork.

Only if the mashed potatoes come from KFC and don't contain any actual potatoes.

Can I eat my mashed potatoes acceptably with a spork? It's not a spoon, but then again it's not a fork.

Anonymous wrote:Fortunately for me, my husband hates the rind and I love it. I get to wolf down on his discarded Brie rinds.

That being said, I'm 17 weeks pregnant and I've never wanted soft, gooey, stinky, unpasteurized French cheeses so badly. Another 23 weeks without amazing cheese is killing me!

If you're in the US, go ahead and eat it. Pretty much everything here is pasteurized. Unless you're buying some fancy unpasteurized cheese from Whole Foods or a fromagerie, it's fine to eat when you're pregnant.

When I was younger, I didn't like the rind. Now, I don't care.

If you don't OP, no big deal. Cut some off, put it on your plate, then cut off the rind. Hacking out cheese from the wheel from a buffet table is tacky.

If you love the insides, cut the wheel in half--microwave or put in the oven until warm and gooey. Enjoy with crackers. (Serving size--mine, all mine.)

Fortunately for me, my husband hates the rind and I love it. I get to wolf down on his discarded Brie rinds.

That being said, I'm 17 weeks pregnant and I've never wanted soft, gooey, stinky, unpasteurized French cheeses so badly. Another 23 weeks without amazing cheese is killing me!

I don't think it's about cheese eating etiquette, at least not to me. I think that if you are at someone's house, to take expensive food, eat a small portion, and throw the rest away is rude. I think it's wasteful, and if you want to waste your own food at home that's fine.

I want to hear more about this not eating mashed potatoes with a spoon. WTF

Anonymous wrote:In France, you often don't see folks eating the rind, but it's for hygienic reasons--when you buy Brie, you open the wrapping a little and feel its firmness. By the time you eat it, you know the rind has been poked and prodded by several fingers.

We don't do that in the US so much.

+1 lived overseas and I don't eat the rinds of most cheeses for this reason. But in America where your over processed cheese comes in plastic wrap, I'm sure it's fine to do what your Internet encyclopedia tells you is proper cheese eating rules

The rind is nasty.

Brie rind = gross.

If I saw you digging the soft stuff out of the middle in public, I'd like you more.