We go through a healthy amount of Parmesan and Pecorino cheese in our house, and we used to just throw the rind away. This was until we discovered this trick used by chefs and Italian grandmothers for centuries!
When your soup or sauce is ready to simmer, throw in an old cheese rind. The rind will soften and the flavors of the cheese will infuse throughout the dish. If the rind hasn't completely dissolved by the time you're ready to serve, you can either remove the remaining rind altogether or use your spoon to break it into small, chewy pieces.
If you're not ready to use a rind right away, it can be stored indefinitely in the freezer. As we do with shiitake mushroom stems, we keep a bag in the freezer that we add to or take from as needed.
Give this a try in these recipes!
Hearty Kale and Sausage Soup
Mushroom Soup
Zucchini Garlic Soup
Ratatouille
Basic Tomato Sauce
Related: Cheesemonger: To Rind or Not to Rind
(Image: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
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I just threw my first rind in the freezer last night based on tips I've found here on AT.
A million thanks :)
I've just started saving cheese rinds after years of just throwing them out... next time I make a soup I will definitely toss one into it...
Along the same lines what else should be saved that perhaps people normally don't think of...
Not too long ago I made beets for the first time and just tossed out the greens >_< only to later find out i should have kept them... I have been storing all my mushroom stems for stocks along with chicken bones and such...
if i'm juicing a lemon, should i keep the peel? for lemon confit perhaps?
anything else that i should be keeping during these hard times?
I second saving the cheese rinds.
A nice, hearty minestrone or a brothy bean soup...
Mikeyv,
On saving lemon peels, I'd say to save them in the fridge if you're planning on making something that needs lemon zest in the next week or so. I find they can get hard to zest after a while.
On America's Test Kitchen, they recommend freezing juiced lemon halves and adding them to bowls of water to keep apple slices from going brown. I suppose they could also serve as slightly ghetto ice cubes too.
what about using cheese rinds to add flavor to chicken broth? OR would that be too overwhelming?
I've been doing this for years. During the 3 or 4 times a year that my husband would decide to do a big freezer clean-out, he would threaten with throwing them out until he noticed how much Whole Foods was charging for them.
I save the dark green tops of leeks and use them (and cheese rinds, mushroom stalks, ginger, orange zest whatever else I have on hand) in wiht the chicken when I make both.
I saw this tip a few years ago and have vowed to the same. Unfortunately, I have had no rinds to save since then! It's like bones for stock: when you need some, you don't have them, and nobody sells them.
Using the rind for stock makes me feel better about paying top dollar for parmesan!
i remember seeing rinds for sale at whole foods.
You guys don't eat mushroom stems?
Great tip!
MikeyV - how about saving butter wrappers to grease pans?
I made soup tonight and while unwrapping the last of my parm I remembered this post! Turned out great.
Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! We're finishing a wedge of Romano soon and this is a PERFECT suggestion. I'm imagining it in a Broccoli Cheddar soup... adding extra dimension to the cheesy flavors!
So smart! I can't wait to try this.
Emily