The Start of Vegan Cheese

We're starting to make our own vegan cheeses. Ian is really excited, and I have to admit that I am pretty thrilled as well. We're starting this project with the knowledge that just as it takes lots of practice to make dairy-based cheeses, it will probably takes us a few (thousand) attempts to get our vegan cheeses how we want them. Luckily for us, most of the legwork has been done already: we're working on a couple of recipes from Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner, who spent an entire year working on her recipes.

Ready for vegan cheese? We are! Here's an update about 14 hours after starting.

Basic Yogurt Cheese

The basic yogurt cheese is pretty straight-forward: Put a colander over a bowl. Line with double layer of cheesecloth, enough so there is some over-hang. Fill with vegan yogurt of choice. Cover yogurt with cheesecloth and let sit for 12-36 hours, depending on what flavor or consistency you want.

I started with 24 ounces of Whole Soy & Co. Unsweetened Plain yogurt. After the yogurt has been sitting overnight, I'm starting to wonder if I made the right choice - this yogurt is quite tart to begin with - is this going to make for a super tart, inedible cheese? I hope not. Either way, we're going to try making our own yogurt next time, one batch with soy milk, the other with almond milk, and see how they taste on their own, and as yogurt cheese.

After 12 hours of sitting (about 9:00 am this morning), the yogurt cheese was supposed to have a sour-cream like texture and taste. We're looking for something a bit thicker, to spread on bagels, or perhaps as part of a topping for broiled peaches (with some sugar added, of course), so we're going to let it sit until this evening.

UPDATE: We let the yogurt cheese sit for 36 hours total. It ended somewhat thick - thicker than sour cream, but not quite as thick as cream cheese. The cheese was tart and smooth, very tasty. We ate some spread on crackers (the baby loved it). The rest I beat with a little vanilla and some sugar to make a sweet cheese to eat with broiled peaches and to dip apple and pear slices in. It was hella good.

Rejuvelac

Before reading through Artisan Vegan Cheese, I'd never heard of rejuvelac. Rejuvelac is basically a fermenting agent made from sprouted grains. It's a necessary component in many of Schinner's cheese recipes.

This rejuvelac is Ian's baby. He measured out a cup of steel-cut oats (which we are about 95% sure will work), topped them with water, and covered them with a double layer of cheesecloth to sit for 12 hours. Our recipe states that you should keep the rejuvelac in a nice warm area, out of direct sunlight, so ours is hanging out next to the hot water pipes in the kitchen, getting cozy with a vase of dried lavender.

This morning he rinsed them off, put them back in the jar, and added just enough water to moisten them. We're supposed to do this once or twice a day for two or three days, until they've sprouted little tails. Once the tails are about 1/4-inch long, you place them in a larger container with about 4 cups of water. 12-14 hours later, you have rejuvelac. 

I'll post further updates and pictures as we move forward.

Vegan Cheese?

We've been vegans for about nine months now and have yet to have a vegan cheese that either of us have been satisfied with. Despite the buzz, Daiya is a little gross and doesn't really taste like cheese, rice-based cheese is just disgusting, and the Trader Joe's Italian Cheese blend, while melty and the closest in taste that we've found, made the baby choke when we made pizza in January and is generally unavailable. It's been a bit discouraging.

My lovely sister-in-law (Hilly Flora of Nadi Yogi) sent me a copy of Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner for Christmas. I have to admit that the cookbook has been sitting, ignored, on the cookbook shelf for several months. I really don't have a good excuse for this. Mostly I'm just lazy.  But no longer!

Ian picked up the needed ingredients to start two cheese recipes in the coming two weeks: air-dried cheddar and a quick yogurt cheese. We're starting our rejuvelac this evening with hopes of some good vegan cheese by next weekend. I also noticed that we have everything to make the cashew cream cheese on hand... so I might get that started tonight too. And who knows, perhaps a cheesecake will follow? 

I'll update to let you know the results and perhaps share a recipe or two from our experiments. Okay, I'm rolling up my sleeves. To the kitchen!

Has anyone tried any recipes from this cookbook? Or any other vegan cheese recipes that have turned out well? (or not so well?)

Book Review: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Let me first admit that I have held on to my library copy of VCTOTW for far too long. In fact, the library doesn't even seem to think that I have it, despite not accruing any fines. I feel equal amounts of shame and glee, and do plan on returning it. Soon, I swear. As soon as I try every single recipe... (of my husband buys this for me for Christmas because he is ashamed of my dishonest ways, and wants the cupcakes to keep coming).

This is a goldmine for the vegan that bakes, even if that vegan has never baked before. The ingredients aren't strange and use things out of your vegan pantry (I spent $75 purchasing crazy ingredients at Whole Foods for one recipe in Babycakes that was mediocre at best), the instructions are easy to follow, and, best of all, these cook up into amazing cupcakes - and I am freaking FUSSY about my cupcakes (and other baked goods).

My two favorite recipes are for the chocolate cupcakes (Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake), with a little extra vanilla extract, and some coconut extract for good measure, with the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (ditto with the vanilla and coconut here too), and the Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. So. Amazing.

I made both of these recipes in mini form for my daughter's first birthday party, and they were a hit with all of my non-vegan friends (I kept hearing, "And can you believe they're vegan?!" around the room).

The only thing I've made so far that I haven't cared for was the batch of Thick Chocolate Fudgey Frostin'. I suspect this has more to do with my lack of good-quality soy milk powder that the actual recipe.



View all my reviews

Weekly Menu

I'm pretty late in posting our menu for the week, but we were also late in making it. As Ian blogged a few days ago, we've been doing our best to clean out the fridge of all dairy and such. I thought it was easing the transition, until one night I made a leek and goat cheese tart, with a homemade crust. Oh well.

But... I made our first vegan weekly menu, and we took our first vegan shopping trip at the local co-op in Ann Arbor. I'm currently reading through The Complete Guide to Vegan Substitutes: 200 Foolproof Food Substitutions for Everything from Milk to Meat to Sugar and Soy, a handy and humorously-written guide to vegan cooking with lots of fun recipes, so most of our food this week is gleaned from that little book.

Weekly Menu
Ramen with Oyster Mushrooms, Carrots, and Seitan
Tofu, Snap Peas, and Mushrooms in Green Curry with Rice Noodles
Linguine with a Walnut & Parsley Pesto and Green Beans
Scrambled Tofu with Green Chiles and Spinach, served with Tortillas (we are a little obsessed with Ezekiel tortillas, so delicious and a great source of protein!)
Eggplant Stew (with Chickpeas in it!)