My journey of making my own vegan cheese
Many of the recipes I found were from plant-based cheese cookbooks from the library. I wanted to make some of my favourites: gouda, parmesan, feta, mozzarella. Next, I ventured out into some more complicated varieties: camembert, gorgonzola and havarti!
Below are my adventures over the past month…
A super delicious melty havarti!
Dill Havarti, pre-melted
Crunch Parmesan Crisps
Gorgonzola, made blue with spirulina
Camembert
Feta Crumbles
Smoked Gouda
Melty Mozzarella
My favourite vegan cheese resources
I found inspiration from the following books (please note I am an amazon affiliate):
Once I had the cookbooks I wanted I also ventured out for specialty ingredients. The ones I found that were staple for making most of the cheeses were:
- Nuts (mostly cashews, but some used almonds, macadamia or brazil nuts)
- Cheesecloth and saran wrap
- Small spring form pans
- Kappa Carrageenan (rest assured this is the healthy variety)
- Agar Agar
- Tapioca or Arrowroot Starch
- Probiotic pills
- Chickpea miso (I found this hard to find so I used regular miso)
- Nutritional Yeast
- Wheat berries or quinoa
To ferment or not to ferment?
There are two ways to make vegan cheese: quick forming or fermentation. I learned quite quickly that fermentation took it to a whole new flavour profile. There are several ways to ferment, many which are described in detail in my favourite book: Vegan Cheese. These were the ways I discovered:
- lactic acid (ie. vinegar or lemon juice)
- Chickpea miso
- kefir or yogurt
- probiotic capsules
- Rejuvelac (made from fermented quinoa)
What’s the purpose of binding vegan cheese?
Some of the softer cheeses do not need to bind. If you blend cashews with a lactic acid, it becomes more creamy but still delicious. However, if you want it firmer or sliceable, especially meltable, you need a binder. Some of the most effective binders I used are:
- Kappa Carrageenan (rest assured this is the healthy variety)
- Agar Agar
- Tapioca or Arrowroot Starch
What I would make again
I made quite a few cheeses, all which I found delicious. I think my top choice was the camembert, I have made it twice since. The feta was the perfect texture and was so easy to make so that is another top winner in my books. Finally, the havarti gets third place as it melted phenomenally. It just needed a few tweaks to get the flavour just right. I think I will be making many more cheeses! Next up is a good goat cheese.
The contest
I have been so inspired by making these cheeses that I want to share some of my favourite items with you! I am doing a contest, running until Friday, June 22, 9:00am PST. All you have to do is comment below, or comment on my Instagram post on this picture below. Tag a friend!
You will be entered for a draw to win this cookbook, along with a springform pan and some binders! Good luck!
