Vegan cheese - what's your go-to recipe? Which tools/gadgets do you recommend using?
I'm a baby vegan and the one thing I miss is cheese. My attempt to make it a few days ago did not go as planned. I think my little food processor just isn't the right tool for the job. Does a blender work better?
Low-Fat Vegan Cheeze Sauce (Yield: 2/3 cup)
Ingredients:
Earth Balance or other non-dairy buttery spread ............... 1 Tbsp
Flour all purpose (or other flour) ........................................ 1 Tbsp
Almond milk unsweetened, unflavoured ............................ 3/4 cup
Nutritional yeast .................................................................. 6 Tbsp
Dijon mustard ...................................................................... 2 tsp
Garlic powder ...................................................................... 1/4 tsp
Onion powder ..................................................................... 1/4 tsp
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste ........... 1/2 tsp
Nacho “Cheese”
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp coconut sugar (or agave, or maple syrup, or 1 date)
1 tsp sea salt pinch chipotle pepper powder (or smaller pinch of cayenne)
2-3 tbsp water to blend (less is more!)
Blend all sauce ingredients in blender or food processor; add water last, beginning with 1 tbsp and increasing only if required to make sauce blend smoothly.
If you can afford it I highly recommend you invest in a Vitamix blender. For smaller things a Nutri-bullet is also good and about 1/4 the cost.
Some follow your heart cheeses are pretty damn good... But you can use nutritional yeast in a number of ways to get that cheesy taste. One of my favorites is to mix a shit ton of it into some hummus... Another thing you can do is mix it into salsa and there's plenty of recipes out there. But definitely try Nutritional Yeast which can be found at Whole Foods or just get it on Amazon.
I am in the same boat - i don't want to eat cheese but I have hard time not eating it. I have heard that you can substitute nutritional yeast for Parmesan and I did mix my grated parm with the yeast flakes and it tastes fine. If I do get cheese, I try to get grass-fed, organic and/ or goat cheese rather than standard.
Many of the cheeses are soy based which I have a slight problem with. The best brand is "Chao". They have various types. I get the sliced kind. It is coconut based.
I have never tried to make it myself.
Jack... just curious,,, what's your soy problem?
@Lysistrata There is an easy test one can take called the "FoodStats Antibody Assessment" [usbiotek.com] A long list of food items is evaluated and if there is a reaction. A graph is shown from 0 to 6. Dairy is a V for me, eggs are 3 (yolks) and 4 (whites), soy is 3, sesame is 4 and sunflower seeds are 5. Everything else is good. Gluten is the wild card because there may not be a measurable reaction but one feels it. A lot of foods we eat are asymptomatic (like soy for me). However, an endoscopy once revealed there was a hidden reaction. Information about food is very important.
You'll never find a cheese you like at this point because your body is addicted to the chemicals in real dairy cheese. [forbes.com]
If you want to stop eating cheese, watch a ton of videos on the dairy industry and you'll be done with it. I had to do that for a while.
The only cheese I use regularly is Daiya mozzarella to make pizza.
I think mostly true but not completely. We have 2 big cheese producers on the island. One has a herd of goats (21) and makes cheese from their milk. It is a small operation and no chemicals. The other uses cow and sheep milk. Again, small operation with no additives. I know these kind of practices exist all over the world. It's just a matter of finding them and their prices are higher.
@JackPedigo The problem isn't additives. The problem is casein. It mimics opiates and naturally occurs in all dairy products. Cheese has it. That's what your body is craving.
@Lysistrata There is a vegetarian version of casein. I don't remember what it is but read about it. I will look into this.
@JackPedigo I don't understand the point of your link. I know what casein is.
@JackPedigo all casein is vegetarian.
@Lysistrata Then I am confused about this. A lot of cheese making involves stomach lining. A time ago there was a story about how vegetarians could get around that with the vegetarian casein. I will have to ask my cheese making friends about some of the details you mention.
@JackPedigo Well, there's an also an article from Forbes I posted with the original comment. Casein is just dairy protein.
@Lysistrata Now we are running in circles. I have a problem with all dairy so only do non-dairy cheese.
@JackPedigo Lysistrata might be mixing up casein with rennet. Rennet is an enzyme used in cheese production and is an animal product. I believe whoever said it is from the stomach lining of calves is correct, but have not researched this in decades myself.
@Susan4birds Thank you. This has happened before. Two people talking about 2 different things and neither understanding what the other person is getting at. Communication is not an exact science and is often full of pitfalls. Often, it is even more difficult between men and women.
Posted by jjbelleAt the Demver airport. The Grilled Cheese option is the slightest of nods to the obligation to provide an option. The Caprese is a nod and a point.
Posted by jjbelleAt the Demver airport. The Grilled Cheese option is the slightest of nods to the obligation to provide an option. The Caprese is a nod and a point.
Posted by jjbelleAt the Demver airport. The Grilled Cheese option is the slightest of nods to the obligation to provide an option. The Caprese is a nod and a point.
Posted by devayogaMy vegetable garden
Posted by WildgreensBeing A Vegan
Posted by WildgreensBottled water 💦
Posted by WildgreensReal Medicine
Posted by JackPedigoA new company (seafood) in the plant based ‘meat’ options, which includes types of fish.
Posted by BDairWhy was there never a word about healthy diets and essential vitamins and nutrients? Liquor stores and 'big box' stores never closed. This was never about public health.
Posted by WildgreensMy new group is called covid cult. The information MSM doesn’t want you to know.
Posted by BDairBrilliant tip.
Posted by WildgreensFDA Safety Surveillance
Posted by WildgreensI knew this was going to happen.
Posted by WildgreensIf the pandemic is ONLY happening to the unvaccinated, then what are you worried about?
Posted by WildgreensIf the pandemic is ONLY happening to the unvaccinated, then what are you worried about?
Posted by WildgreensIf the pandemic is ONLY happening to the unvaccinated, then what are you worried about?