No, I haven’t gone mad! If you’re spending money on an expensive cheese like Parmesan (though hopefully you’re now buying Grana Padano for the most part following my recent post on this cheaper equivalent), don’t you want to make sure you’ve had value for money?!

Enjoy your cheese, especially the tastiest bit closest to the rind which will have ripened slightly more than the rest, then keep your rind for another meal. It can be wrapped and frozen for when you want it.

But, Sarah, what am I going to do with a freezer full of rinds?

A cheese rind will impart an intensely savoury, umami flavour to a dish and may mean you need to use less salt than normal. Fish it out the now soft and floppy rind and discard before serving.

1. When making a tomato sauce, drop a rind in.

2. Add a rind to soups, especially tomato or bean based soups. A minestrone is begging for a rind!

3. Add to stocks, especially a stock you might use for a risotto.

4. Make a Parmesan rind broth using the rind and some veg. Serve with some fresh seasonal veg or stuffed pasta.

5. Use, perhaps with some garlic and woody herbs like rosemary, to infuse some oil.

6. Drop into a stew or ragu such as a Bolognese.

7. When your risotto is cooking, give it some extra flavour with a rind if you haven’t already used one in the stock.

8. Put it in the steamer when steaming vegetables or chicken.