What's the best non-dairy cheese?
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I have never found any that i like, but i am interested in the replys you might get here.
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we buy tofutti for my son. he likes how it tastes but i think it is gross......
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Veggie Shreds are really good- I believe the brand is actually veggie shreds. Haven't tried their sliced cheese but the shreds are great on pizza or whatever.
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dd likes the tofutti american slices. it took me awhile to get used to them. they melt pretty well. i like making grilled cheese with tomato sandwiches. tofutti is fairly easy to find. however, i think it still has hydrogenated oils. i think you can still go to tofutti.com to get a coupon for any tofutti product. (all their products are completely dairy free. they also make "ice cream" including some really good ice cream bars, fake sour cream, fake cream cheese, and cookies, but those have eggs.) this is about $3 for a package of 12 slices. i've found this at wegmans, price chopper, and a few different health food stores. the co-op usually has tofutti products.
a popular dairy free cheese is vegan gourmet, which is made by follow your heart, who also makes vegenaise. most health food stores carry this. it melts really well. it comes in mozzarella, monterrey jack (dd LOVES this), nacho (a bit spicy for me, but i think mild salsa is spicy), and cheddar. the cheddar is the newest and somewhat hard for me to find. this runs about $4-$4.50 a block. i've only found this at health food stores.
the other kind of dairy free cheese i like is veganrella. they have a mozzarella and cheddar flavors. i've found the mozzarella at a few different stores, but the cheddar at one or 2. (i go to about 5 different health food stores in 3 different cities.) i kinda prefer veganrella to vegan gourmet mozzarella when making pizza, i think because the veganrella has a rice base instead of an oil base. however, pizza is pretty good when i mix the 2 brands. i've found veganrella at wegmans and the co-ops. its about $4.50 a brick.
vegan (brand) makes some cheeses. my in laws get the american slices for my daughter. i dont like them as much as the tofutti slices, but i think its because im more used to the tofutti flavor. they also make mozzarella slices, but i never had those. a few years ago, i was able to find bricks of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, but havent seen those for at least 3 years. so i dont know if they have been discontinued or are just not popular in my area. those dont melt well, so i would just recommend them for cheese and crackers. i made a pizza with the mozzarella, and it was nasty. the cheese dried up in the oven.
however, vegan (brand) makes a really good parmesian cheese. now that im thinking about it, i think galaxy foods is the distributor. i think it actually tastes better than real parmesian. wegmans carries the american slices, but i have to get the parmesian at a health food store.
we also use some nutritional yeast, which kinda has a cheesy flavor. some say it resembles swiss cheese. i usually put it on pasta to get the B vitamins. roads end organic makes dairy free mac n "chreese" with a nutritional yeast base and a nacho cheese. you have to try a few of the mac n chreeses to find one which one you prefer. (some have more of a nutritional yeast-y taste than others.)
there are other cheeses out there that are not dairy based, but do contain caesin (a milk protein), so i guess it all depends on how dairy-free you want to be. i've never had any of these, so i dont know how they taste, how well they melt, etc. yves the good slice and rice (brand) are a couple that come to mind. there's a few others that i've seen at wegmans and the local health food store.
i think there is a cookbook by joanne stepianek called the uncheese cookbook. i dont own it, but have heard good things.
hope this helps!
a popular dairy free cheese is vegan gourmet, which is made by follow your heart, who also makes vegenaise. most health food stores carry this. it melts really well. it comes in mozzarella, monterrey jack (dd LOVES this), nacho (a bit spicy for me, but i think mild salsa is spicy), and cheddar. the cheddar is the newest and somewhat hard for me to find. this runs about $4-$4.50 a block. i've only found this at health food stores.
the other kind of dairy free cheese i like is veganrella. they have a mozzarella and cheddar flavors. i've found the mozzarella at a few different stores, but the cheddar at one or 2. (i go to about 5 different health food stores in 3 different cities.) i kinda prefer veganrella to vegan gourmet mozzarella when making pizza, i think because the veganrella has a rice base instead of an oil base. however, pizza is pretty good when i mix the 2 brands. i've found veganrella at wegmans and the co-ops. its about $4.50 a brick.
vegan (brand) makes some cheeses. my in laws get the american slices for my daughter. i dont like them as much as the tofutti slices, but i think its because im more used to the tofutti flavor. they also make mozzarella slices, but i never had those. a few years ago, i was able to find bricks of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, but havent seen those for at least 3 years. so i dont know if they have been discontinued or are just not popular in my area. those dont melt well, so i would just recommend them for cheese and crackers. i made a pizza with the mozzarella, and it was nasty. the cheese dried up in the oven.
however, vegan (brand) makes a really good parmesian cheese. now that im thinking about it, i think galaxy foods is the distributor. i think it actually tastes better than real parmesian. wegmans carries the american slices, but i have to get the parmesian at a health food store.
we also use some nutritional yeast, which kinda has a cheesy flavor. some say it resembles swiss cheese. i usually put it on pasta to get the B vitamins. roads end organic makes dairy free mac n "chreese" with a nutritional yeast base and a nacho cheese. you have to try a few of the mac n chreeses to find one which one you prefer. (some have more of a nutritional yeast-y taste than others.)
there are other cheeses out there that are not dairy based, but do contain caesin (a milk protein), so i guess it all depends on how dairy-free you want to be. i've never had any of these, so i dont know how they taste, how well they melt, etc. yves the good slice and rice (brand) are a couple that come to mind. there's a few others that i've seen at wegmans and the local health food store.
i think there is a cookbook by joanne stepianek called the uncheese cookbook. i dont own it, but have heard good things.
hope this helps!
We use nothing but Vegan Gourmet. It's great for pizza, pasta, etc. as it melts. Give it a second under the broiler when the dish is done. We use it for Mac and Cheese by adding some Chreese powder (made by Road's end organics) but you could just add some nutritional yeast as well.
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Soya Kaas, Soya Kaas, SOYA KAAS! I'm hooked on the stuff. They sell it in slices or in bricks, which I like, since you can shred it or cut it how you like. Great for melting on pizza, nachos, etc. They don't generally sell it at regular grocery stores, so look for a Whole Foods/Wild Oats to check it out.
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I think the Vegan Gourmet brand has the best flavor and melts the best!
i've heard raves about follow your heart brand and if you're in the uk, cheezly
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stupid un vegan cheese. its the only kind i can find and it's worthless to me
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Originally Posted by lindsayjean Veggie Shreds are really good- I believe the brand is actually veggie shreds. Haven't tried their sliced cheese but the shreds are great on pizza or whatever. |
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there was a hemp one a few years back that was awesome, but was discontinued quickly. I miss that one.
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Yeah...exactly what is the point of making soy cheese and then adding dairy by-products to it?
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Originally Posted by appifanie i've heard raves about follow your heart brand and if you're in the uk, cheezly stupid un vegan cheese. its the only kind i can find and it's worthless to me |
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which whole foods were you at? someone on another board said she was at a whole foods in SC and they had the vegan gournet. (i dont have a whole foods near me and have unfortunately never been to one.) bug them to order it for you!
you might want to try someplace else besides whole foods. grocery stores or jewish specialty stores may sell the tofutti products. small health food stores may even be willing to special order some cases of certain things. actually, unless they changed it, you can order the vegan gourmet cheese through their website. its kinda expensive because you have to pay for overnight shipping.
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the good slice (by yves), rice (brand), veggie shreds/veggie singles, and i'm pretty sure soya kaas all have caesin in them, for those who want a completely dairy free/vegan cheese.
why they put caesin in the non-dairy based cheeses, the only thing i can think of is for people who are lactose intolerant or want to cut back on dairy intake who still want a cheese that melts (since caesin is what makes cheese so stringy when it melts). but ITA, it drives me nuts and i think its stupid they have to run something that's almost vegan with caesin. (OT- but it also drives me nuts when the last or 2nd last ingredient in anything in general is something dumb like whey or honey.)
Originally Posted by BeanyMama That's my problem! I looked at a bunch of them at Whole Foods today- EVERYONE had caisen (sp?) in it. Oh well, I'll have to try the yeast! Thanks Mamas! |
you might want to try someplace else besides whole foods. grocery stores or jewish specialty stores may sell the tofutti products. small health food stores may even be willing to special order some cases of certain things. actually, unless they changed it, you can order the vegan gourmet cheese through their website. its kinda expensive because you have to pay for overnight shipping.
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Originally Posted by Medusa Yeah...exactly what is the point of making soy cheese and then adding dairy by-products to it?
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why they put caesin in the non-dairy based cheeses, the only thing i can think of is for people who are lactose intolerant or want to cut back on dairy intake who still want a cheese that melts (since caesin is what makes cheese so stringy when it melts). but ITA, it drives me nuts and i think its stupid they have to run something that's almost vegan with caesin. (OT- but it also drives me nuts when the last or 2nd last ingredient in anything in general is something dumb like whey or honey.)
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I like follow your heart and soymage. Soymage has been around for ages and it is vegan. I used to get the slices at HFS in Chicago.
Not crazy about veganrella, I guess I just don't need cheese enough to settle for that stuff.
For pizza, I wouldn't use any product I know of, but definitely get the Uncheese cookbook. It is really great. Everything I've tried in it works. Most are really easy.
Not crazy about veganrella, I guess I just don't need cheese enough to settle for that stuff.
For pizza, I wouldn't use any product I know of, but definitely get the Uncheese cookbook. It is really great. Everything I've tried in it works. Most are really easy.
Sigh, I've tried quite a few of those listed and I've still to find one that I like. Some are ok when smothered by the taste of whatever they are accompanying but I've never tasted one I thought wasn't funky when eaten alone.
I have to say that's the one thing I do miss being vegan...good cheese.
I couldn't care less about milk, butter, sour cream, eggs, etc. but I long for the day I find a vegan cheese that actually tastes good to me.
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the nutritional yeast is really great with bragg's aminos. you can mix the two for popcorn, GREAT tofu (imho nutritional yeast is the most important ingredient when cooking tofu)
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agreed. also, i've heard that casein is addictive (which is part of the reason why so many vegetarians say they could never give up cheese)
Originally Posted by xmysticprincessx . why they put caesin in the non-dairy based cheeses, the only thing i can think of is for people who are lactose intolerant or want to cut back on dairy intake who still want a cheese that melts (since caesin is what makes cheese so stringy when it melts). but ITA, it drives me nuts and i think its stupid they have to run something that's almost vegan with caesin. (OT- but it also drives me nuts when the last or 2nd last ingredient in anything in general is something dumb like whey or honey.) |
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interesting and a bit OT, but when i was doing some research on autism and changes in diet, two of the things that are elimiated are dairy (because of the caesin) and wheat (because of the gluten). according to that article, caesin and gluten are chemically similar, so they have similar reactions in the brain of a person with autism. both actually act like a drug (i think morphine), so thats why many children with autism practically live on dairy. (a family friend has a 6 year old son with mild autism, and she said he eats about a dozen servings of dairy a day.)
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you may want to try veganrella again if you havent had it in the past 6 months or so. they recently changed their recipe, and its *much* better. i prefer it to vegan gourmet on pizzas.
Originally Posted by appifanie agreed. also, i've heard that casein is addictive (which is part of the reason why so many vegetarians say they could never give up cheese) |
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Originally Posted by richella Not crazy about veganrella, I guess I just don't need cheese enough to settle for that stuff. |
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I make my own chreese sauce for pastas and grilled sandwiches. I don't mind the Tofutti slices or the Soymage american slices. But the Vegan Gourmet Monterey Jack flavor reminds me soooo much of that fresh mozzarella that comes in balls (even though I haven't had it in 13 years!) that it's my new favourite for sandwiches, lasagnas, and just plain eating. I don't care for their other flavors much though.
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