Know Your Cheese Rinds

Understanding how and why rinds are created is the first step in demystifying cheese. Although rinds are not always consumed, that exterior defines a cheese. Experts often categorize cheeses by rind type—bloomy, washed, natural, rindless—and the rind largely determines a wheel’s flavor potential.

Rindless cheeses include fresh products like spreadable chèvres; foil-wrapped wheels such as Roquefort and Point Reyes Blue, and vacuum-packed cheeses like block Cheddars. Surface-ripened cheeses rely on microorganisms on the exterior to galvanize ripening. The active organisms can be molds, bacteria, yeasts or a combination. The goal of the microorganisms is to produce enzymes that break down the cheese’s protein and fat, thereby softening the paste and generating aroma. Mold-ripened cheeses include those with bloomy rinds, such as Camembert, Crottin di Chavignol and Sainte-Maure goat cheese.

Bacteria-ripened cheeses, often called washed-rind or smear-ripened cheeses, include varieties such as Munster, Taleggio, Comté and Appenzeller. The rind on bacteria-ripened cheese is edible and, some aficionados say, part of the cheese’s appeal. Wild-rind cheeses, sometimes called natural rinds, emerge from what nature provides, and include varieties like Tomme de Savoie, Vermont Shepherd and traditional Cheddars. A dry-rind process, which is used on Parmigiano-Reggiano and Gouda cheeses, helped cheesemakers of earlier times respond to a dry climate. Dry rinds tend to be hard to eat and they can distract from the pleasure of the cheese. –Janet Fletcher and Vanessa Facenda

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