You’ve grated your Parmigiano-Reggiano down to its rind and reflexively pop the trash can lid to toss it. But wait! That Parmesan cheese rind, unassuming as the beige nub may appear, has much more life to give. It’s packed with concentrated umami, ready to be diffused into your next sauce, stew, or broth like one of those absurdly potent bath bombs circa 2012.
How to store parm rinds
Stash stray rinds in an airtight container in the fridge if you know that you’ll use them soon. If you want to have them on hand indefinitely, toss the rinds into a sealable bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and stow them in the freezer.
How to cook with parm rinds
I asked the Bon Appétit staff their favorite ways to use parm rinds in their home cooking. Senior service editor Kelsey Jane Youngman responded concisely yet comprehensively: “Beans! Broth for tortellini! Cheesy rice!” And the ideas didn’t stop there.
Parmesan Broth
You can (and should) make a broth anew out of spare Parmesan rinds. In this recipe for Parmesan broth, you’ll cook onion, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, and peppercorns in olive oil, simmer with wine, then add the hardened rinds and cold water. After a long, leisurely simmer, you can use the versatile broth right away or cool and freeze it for later. Stir it into risottos of all stripes, make capellini en brodo, or put it to work in a pot of brothy beans. Perhaps all of the above.
Soup
Pot of tomato soup (this one boasts crispy grilled-cheese-like toasties atop), minestrone, or vegetable soup bubbling on the stove? Toss a rind in it. As it softens in the simmering broth, it’ll release its deeply savory, cheesy flavor and infuse your soup in turn. Simply pluck it out of the pot before serving as you would a bay leaf.
Sauce
Another great candidate for your loose rinds: pasta sauce. Those sauces that already benefit from a shower of parm mixed in and grated on top, like a simple tomato sauce or a Bolognese, would also welcome a rind at the cooking stage. As with the soup method, remove the parm rinds before serving.
Senior SEO and cooking editor Joe Sevier once witnessed a chef in Parma use parm rinds to found rather than flavor a sauce. He “boiled the parm rinds to soften them, then chopped them and used them like meat in a ragù,” Joe told me.
“Meatballs”
Commerce writer Wilder Davies enlightened me to another cooking method that uses the rind as a main ingredient rather than a seasoning: an Italian dish called polpette di crosta di Parmigiano (translating to “Parmesan crust meatballs” in English.) “You boil them until soft and then blend them with breadcrumbs, egg, etc., and it’s like a cheese gnocchi/meatball.”
Whether it’s a soup, a sauce, or a polpette you choose, don’t overlook that secret weapon hiding in plain sight: the rind of your Parmesan wedge. It’s a no-waste no-brainer.
Here’s how to use up the rest of that cheese:
