For a food that's best served at room temperature, the popularity of cheese has never been hotter. New research indicates that cheese is leading the dairy category in the U.S.; while milk consumption is down, annual cheese consumption is at an all-time high of nearly 42 pounds per person. That’s up around 10 pounds since 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retailers are certainly listening.
All rinds that aren’t made of cloth, wax, or other inedible materials are safe to eat, according to Werlin. If you must cut off the rind, do it in your own cocktail napkin. Stop cutting the hard cheese Just because you can slice it, doesn’t mean you should. “Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the oldest cheeses in the world,” Italian chef Michele Casadei Massari, Parmigiano Reggiano’s USA ambassador, tells TODAY.com via email.