Make your own Vegan Cheese.. it's not too difficult!

[Katrina]

I'd love to try making vegan yogurt at home. Has any adventurous soul ever attempted this?

I made soy yogurt one time and it turned out okay. It was a bit watery, which I can probably fix by adding a thickener next time. I am not sure if the starter kit I used was vegan or not but I'm sure those must exist.

I've also tried (and failed) to make coconut milk yogurt and cashew milk yogurt. I know it can be done but I just can't get it to work.

 

[Katrina]

I've tried several vegan cheese recipes that turned out so-so. They tasted nothing like cheese but made interesting spreads. I would like to make cultured vegan cheese at some point, just out of curiosity. Right now I don't have the patience for it but it's on my "to try" list. The only "cheesy" thing I ever make is a vegan mac and cheese sauce from the book Caribbean Vegan. My boyfriend could not tell the difference. I did not tell him it was vegan until after he ate it.

I would be happy with a good vegan version of goat cheese, if such a thing exists.

 

[Andy_T]

Katrina, could you share that "Mac and Cheese" recipe?

I would be happy with a good vegan version of goat cheese, if such a thing exists.

I have experimented a bit in the meantime with cultured cheeses also - using homemade sauerkraut juice as culturing agent, and those turned out very nice, rather sour and creamy, which reminded me, taste-wise, mostly of goat cheese.

I took the recipe from the book "Artisan Vegan Cheese" (so I can not post it here) but it is very similar to this one: Basic Vegan Fermented Cashew Cheese Recipe | The Fermentation Podcast

I use sauerkraut juice in place of Rejuvelac, even if that likely leads to a more sour tasting cheese, simply as making sauerkraut is very easy, and I have not tried making Rejuvelac so far.

The longer you let it ferment, and the more sauerkraut juice you use, the more sour the cheese will be.

Best regards,
Andy

 

[Freesia]

I once tried a cashew cheese spread at a market... it was great but I dont know what was in it.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

I have that cheese book. I just have not made anything with it yet. It seems complicated.

 

[shyvas]

I have that cheese book. I just have not made anything with it yet. It seems complicated.

Having read certain recipes, I agree. Furthermore I'm not too sure about the taste as they virtually all contain
spices and garlic. Dairy cheese doesn't contain these ingredients. Having said that I would love to taste them but not go to
all the trouble and expense to make them.

 

[KLS52]

I've tried Treeline and Dr. Cow nut cheeses and they were awful, IMO. I'm afraid to try anymore. It's like taking perfectly good money and throwing it in the garbage.

Right now I am doing fine with Daiya, Chao and my Vegan Parm. Suits my needs/cravings.

 

[shyvas]

I've done some research on line and there is a website that sells products and equipment for making your own cheese. However it states that you cannot use vegan acid lactique with non dairy milk because it doesn't contain lactose.

 

[Andy_T]

Shyvas, vegan milks and dairy milk ferment differently, so the cheese making kit will not work.

There are, however, vegan cheesemaking kits available via Modernist Pantry.

 

[shyvas]

Shyvas, vegan milks and dairy milk ferment differently, so the cheese making kit will not work.

There are, however, vegan cheesemaking kits available via Modernist Pantry.

That is not what I was looking for. I wanted to buy the enzymes et lactic acid to make my own cheese. I found an interesting site that sells these ingredients but they can only be used with dairy milk.

 

[Andy_T]

I see, @shyvas . The "Cheddar" variety uses cultured plant milk.

Modernist pantry also sell lactic acid, which can be used to culture plant milks.

People who have contributed in the Vegan Cheese Lovers Club Facebook group suggest to buy a vegan acidophilus supplement, e.g.
You simply open one or two of the capsules and use the contained powder to culture your plant milk, an example for a recipe is e.g. Jay Astafa's cultured cashew mozzarella....

So a bottle of capsules will last you a long time.

 

[shyvas]

I see, @shyvas . The "Cheddar" variety uses cultured plant milk.

Modernist pantry also sell lactic acid, which can be used to culture plant milks.

People who have contributed in the Vegan Cheese Lovers Club Facebook group suggest to buy a vegan acidophilus supplement, e.g.
You simply open one or two of the capsules and use the contained powder to culture your plant milk, an example for a recipe is e.g. Jay Astafa's cultured cashew mozzarella....

So a bottle of capsules will last you a long time.

I will have to investigate this. It's what I'm looking for and will try to experiment. Thank you.

 

[shyvas]

I see, @shyvas . The "Cheddar" variety uses cultured plant milk.

Modernist pantry also sell lactic acid, which can be used to culture plant milks.

People who have contributed in the Vegan Cheese Lovers Club Facebook group suggest to buy a vegan acidophilus supplement, e.g.
You simply open one or two of the capsules and use the contained powder to culture your plant milk, an example for a recipe is e.g. Jay Astafa's cultured cashew mozzarella....

So a bottle of capsules will last you a long time.

Ooops, I'm not of FB.

 

[Andy_T]

NP, @shyvas , you are not missing too much.

I try to share the outcome here where possible... the general tenor is that Chef Skye Conroy's book "Non-Dairy Evolution" is one of the best ressources on making your own vegan cheese, and that he has advanced the scene much (along with Miyoko Schinner, although her book is older and supposed to be more basic). This is the more up to date version:

Best regards,
Andy

 

[PTree15]

I still haven't tried making my own vegan cheese yet. I still want to, though.

 

[Andy_T]

@PTree15 , give it a try!

It's not that difficult! Especially the non-cultured versions (see at the top of this thread)

I hope I find the time today to get the ingredients for a new batch of cultured cashew cheese, and the time for some serious cheese-making in the evening.

Will try to make one part with my newly-fermented sauerkraut and/or kimchi juice, and the other with acidophilus powder from supplement caps. Want to know whether they turn out differently. The one I made earlier with sauerkraut juice was quite sour, but very nice.

Will look into the Rejuvelac one also at one point in time, now that I have had initial successes with fermenting sauerkraut and kimchi and am more relaxed about the whole fermentation thingy.

Best regards,
Andy

 

[PTree15]

I am just lazy sometimes, Andy. But I will definitely try out the non-cultured variety. Perhaps next week!

 

[Andy_T]

Hah, I understand being lazy sometimes

I made a new batch of cultured cashes cheese yesterday. First I soaked the cashews, and blended them in my Vitamix with water and a bit of sunflower oil, then I made 4 different mixes, one with Sauerkraut juice, one with sliced kimchi and kimchi juice, and two with a probiotic.

Want to see whether they turn out much differently. After 12 hours I can already say that the ones with Sauerkraut juice and Kimchi are already nicely fermenting, while that with the probiotic are still very similar to the original mixture.

This is the recipe I used (Basic Cashew cheese), with adding a little sunflower oil, but the others also look quite nice:
http://www.openthecages.org/vlp/materials/2015/VLP 2015 Cheese Recipes.pdf

 

[Andy_T]

So, this time my cheesemaking did not yield a complete success.

2 of the batches, the one cultured with Sauerkraut juice, and the one with Kimchi juice (both made by me earlier the week, so quite active) fermented very quickly and turned out nicely, so that I had to move them to the fridge after 36 hours of starting the fermentation process. They have since been devoured by me.

The other two batches, however, that I made with the probiotic powder, were much slower to start their fermentation. They were starting to ferment sometime around the 24 hour mark (the other cheese had already been quite tangy after 12 hours), and developing a nice tangy taste by then that was not as sour as the other two.

However, when I rechecked them at 48 hours, I had to find out that they had both grown moldy patches, so I had to discard them .

Possibly I might have to look into boiling the cashew mix in the future before adding the culturing agent, and keeping them in closed containers so that no mold spores can get to them. The Sauerkraut and Kimchi, however, seem to have done a good job at protecting the other two batches, as those did not develop the mold afterwards.

 

[Mark Mywordz]

Have only made vegan parmesan. 3 ingredients, takes 3 minutes. And it's OK. I already can't remember what Italian parmigiano reggiano tastes like.
Vegan cashew Parmesan