The rinds on all of our cheese are food-safe and can be eaten. Some rinds are more strongly flavored and the texture varies, so your level of enjoyment will depend on your taste buds. Brie – many people especially enjoy the flavor of the edible white rind on Brie. It's often described as "mushroomy", or "woodsy." (Please see the note below about the bark wrapping that’s used on some of our Brie cheeses.) Cheddar and Gouda - try a little of the rind and see if you like it. These rinds on these cheeses tend to have a strong flavor, which some people enjoy more than others. Parmesan - the natural rind on Parmesan cheese is flavorful, but it tends to be hard because Parmesan is aged for a long time. Our suggestion is to slice off the rind and use it when making soup or broth. This is one of the times when it's okay to freeze cheese. Store the rinds from several wedges of Parmesan in a plastic bag in your freezer. Then when you've collected enough, add them to your soup. If you notice any mold, slice that off before use. Van Sormon - the rind has an interesting and unique flavor from having been brushed repeatedly with vanilla, sorghum syrup and cinnamon. Try it and see what you think. Wrappings on Certain Cheeses It's important to distinguish between the rind and the wrapping. Some of our Brie cheeses, such as Mountain Maple Brie, have a wrapping on the outside. In this case, a thin piece of bark and a grape leaf are used to wrap the cheese. Although the wrappings are food-safe, they aren't intended to be eaten. On our hard cheeses, when you purchase them by the wedge, the wrapping has already been removed. If you are sampling cheese from other sources, one thing to keep in mind is that you should remove and discard any type of man-made wrapping from the cheese. These wrappings may be made of cloth, wax and/or plastic. When you buy cheese from us by the wedge, any wrappings that were used during the cheese-making process have already been removed.