Use the cheese rind: It is a good substitute for bacon
Created: 06/20/2022, 11:30 am
By: Ines Alms
Not every cheese rind is edible, but the remains of Parmesan can be used like bacon, for example, and give vegetables and sauces that certain something.
Munich – The Parmesan rind in the vegetable minestrone is a classic of Italian leftovers, and with Swiss raclette cheese it is considered a sin not to eat the rind.
Cheese rind gives flavor and with its spiciness is also a good bacon substitute - not only for vegetarians.
Use the cheese rind: It is a good substitute for bacon
As an underestimated ingredient, the Parmesan rind has many uses in the kitchen.
(Iconic image) © Panthermedia/Imago
Bacon and cheese rind have one thing in common: Like many protein-rich foods, they taste umami, i.e. very spicy, and act as a natural flavor enhancer.
They give vegetables or sauces that certain something.
Just not everyone wants to eat bacon.
The good news: as long as there is no indication to the contrary on the packaging of a type of cheese, you can usually use the rinds as you would when cooking with cheese.
Above all, naturally ripened cheese rinds are edible: until the finished product they are only washed regularly and rubbed with brine - this makes the rind particularly hard.
These include varieties such as mountain cheese, Parmesan or Allgäu Emmental.
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Edible rinds also have cheeses with mold cultures, such as Camembert, Brie or blue-veined cheese.
The cheese rinds can also be frozen very well for recycling, to be used as a substitute for salt or bouillon cubes if necessary.
This is how you can use edible cheese rinds, depending on the dish, in one piece or grated:
In soups and stews, for example in a vegetable minestrone
Melt in sauces or risotto - in larger quantities as an ingredient, in smaller quantities as a salt substitute (soft cheeses are particularly suitable)
As gratin cheese for gratinating (diced as small as possible)
A cheese cream to spread on bread, mixed with cream cheese or butter as you like
As a crispy cheese cracker, for example as a soup side dish
As Parmesan chips or Parmesan popcorn: Briefly heat thin slices or cubes of rind (about 1.5 x 1.5 centimeters) in the microwave at high power until they become crispy or pop
Pregnant women and immunocompromised must be careful
To protect the cheese from mould, some rinds are treated with the antifungal agent natamycin (E 235) and must also be labeled accordingly.
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) sees no problem in consuming cheese treated with natamycin.
If you want to be on the safe side: organic cheese does not contain natamycin.
In any case, you should not eat the rind of plastic-coated cheeses, as is often the case with Gouda.
However, these must be marked accordingly.
Pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system must also be careful, because untreated cheese rinds can colonize pathogenic bacteria such as listeria.
In this case, it is best not to eat the bark at all.
