Looking for a good vegan cheese!

[k_lyn]

I've been a vegetarian for a number of years now and have always eaten about a 50% vegan diet. I find myself wanting more and more to move away from dairy cheese's but haven't found any good alternatives. I've tried soy based cheese alternatives and they just don't cut it for me. Anybody out there have any suggestions?:help:

[cornsail]

Yes, "Follow Your Heart" Vegan Cheddar is the only one I like. Everything else I've tried has been the stuff of nightmares and a lot of them also contain casein (derived from milk).

[MrFalafel]

I'm not kidding but the best way to enjoy non-dairy cheeses is to give up dairy cheeses for a year or so and then try a vegan cheese as a slight addition to a regular dish that you like. Almost like using cheese as a flavouring as opposed to a food item.

I do enjoy a few vegan cheeses but they will not compare with a dairy cheese in a side by side taste test. By not eating cheese for a year your body will start to adjust to the joys of a dairy free lifestyle and you'll soon not miss cheese at all. Then, you can start adding a bit of vegan cheese into your favourite foods and really enjoy the best of both worlds.

[DgyJff]

I agree with MrFalafel. For one thing, I've gotten over the desire for the taste of cheese, so I don't really need to search for an alternative. I do however, love vegan mac and cheese. It doesn't really taste like the real thing (is Kraft real?) but I love it. I don't think I'd like it if I still ate real cheese though.

[SobeVegChick]

In which aisle is the Follow Your Heart typically found?

[PlaybackGuru]

Teese...google it..you'll love it.

[karenlovessnow]

Vegan Gourmet mozzerella is my favorite. I freeze it first then thaw, press out the moisture...it changes the texture a bit (just like with frozen tofu). I can eat it plain, just like that and actually enjoy it. :)

[MZCsmpsns]

I usually get rice slices. They're made by Galaxy Nutritional Foods. I've only had the american flavor, though. I don't like them cold, but I think they're yummy for grilled cheese sandwiches and on veg burgers. My bro got me a block of vegan cheese one time, I think it was Vegan Gourmet Cheddar, but it was kind of stubborn to cut up and everything, when melted it was pretty good though.

[RockabillyVegan]

I've had teese and I thought it was absolutely the most disgusting thing that I have ever eaten. Did it taste like cheese? Well, maybe cheese that expired and then was left out in the sun.

I do like the "cheese" that tofutti puts on it's pizza, although I'm not sure if they sell just the "cheese".

In January I was at a restaurant that served me fried tofu, which tasted EXACTLY like mozzarella cheese....it was the weirdest thing. I have yet to be able to replicate the taste, but I've come close!

[PlaybackGuru]

I've had teese and I thought it was absolutely the most disgusting thing that I have ever eaten. Did it taste like cheese? Well, maybe cheese that expired and then was left out in the sun.

I do like the "cheese" that tofutti puts on it's pizza, although I'm not sure if they sell just the "cheese".

In January I was at a restaurant that served me fried tofu, which tasted EXACTLY like mozzarella cheese....it was the weirdest thing. I have yet to be able to replicate the taste, but I've come close!

I feel bad for you, Teese has been nothing but good to me!

[DgyJff]

It seems like vegan cheese is so personal. One person loves a brand that another person is repulsed by. I guess you have to just try it until you find one you like.

[SobeVegChick]

Picked up some Follow Your Heart last night. Can't wait to try it!

[Mr. Sun]

It seems like vegan cheese is so personal. One person loves a brand that another person is repulsed by. I guess you have to just try it until you find one you like.

:yes:



Vegan Gourmet mozzerella is my favorite.

Me too. :)

[cornsail]

It seems like vegan cheese is so personal. One person loves a brand that another person is repulsed by. I guess you have to just try it until you find one you like.

hah, yeah I had to go through some borderline traumatic experiences before finding mine.

[fadeaway1289]

Vegan Gourmet mozzerella is my favorite. I freeze it first then thaw, press out the moisture...it changes the texture a bit (just like with frozen tofu). I can eat it plain, just like that and actually enjoy it. :)

I never realized the texture would change like that once frozen. I eat it plain without freezing it but I'm going to try freezing it first.

[cstadt]

the only vegan cheese I've been impressed with is the mock nacho cheese sauce adapted from "Punkmommy's cheese sauce" or something like that.

Google that and you'll be sure to get the recipe. I add lemon juice to taste and it definitely gets the mixture away from 'cardboard' and up and over to 'movie theater nacho sauce'-- which some think is nasty but I love(d) it :)

Follow Your Heart was alright when I tried it. I had some spicy flavor and put it on enchiladas and it wasn't that bad. Might have been that way because there was so much else going on in those enchiladas though.

[karenlovessnow]

I never realized the texture would change like that once frozen. I eat it plain without freezing it but I'm going to try freezing it first.

It was quite by accident...I had some that I wasn't using up so I tried freezing it because I didn't want to waste it. When I thawed it out I saw that it was very watery, which is when I decided to press out the moisture and voila'! I liked it so much better that way that I freeze it all the time now.

[SobeVegChick]

What should I try the Follow Your Heart cheddar on first?

[Earthly Delight]

i actually liked soy feta (http://www.sunergiasoyfoods.com/html/soy_feta.html) quite a bit, though this was after quite a while of not having the real thing.. i agree with others when they say that's key. (I may be l/o now but I still dont eat dairy cheese..)

[vintagecandy]

Pizza Fusion has a good one that they use on their pizzas, but I haven't been able to replicate that at home with any store-bought brands. Nothing I've tried seems to melt right...it either dries up and toasts like coconut or else it just gets oily and limp.

[Fyvel]

What should I try the Follow Your Heart cheddar on first?

I like it in mac n cheese. Cut it up in pieces and throw it in a saucepan with a little bit of water (start with a small amount and keep adding until you get the consistency you want). Heat it until it melts. Pour over cooked pasta in a baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and nutritional yeast. (I also mix some nut yeast in with the melted cheese). Bake at 350 until the top is crispy.

It's also ok when it's premelted (with as little water as possible) and poured over a pizza before cooking.

Other than that I'm not so crazy about the stuff. :think:

[SobeVegChick]

So I tried the mac n'cheese. It was okay. Is there another brand you prefer?

[Fyvel]

It really depends on what you're looking for. I could never see another vegan 'cheese' again and be quite happy :p

Tofutti is decent melted on grilled cheese. Sheese is ok to eat straight out of the package in small amounts (I tried it on a veggie burger too and it was ok). My hubby likes the feta kind, I forget the brand now.

How long has it been since you've had dairy cheese? I'd recommend waiting at least 6 months before trying vegan cheeses seriously. Cheese releases opiates and yes they're physically addicting. It makes you feel good to eat it. Do you know anybody who doesn't like cheese? (You can say the same for chocolate, it also has a chemical effect but I forget the specifics right now). No vegan cheese can give you that same effect, that's why a lot of people recently off cheese don't like the vegan cheeses.

I find them more tolerable now than I did a month after giving up dairy. I still could live without them quite easily and just use them mostly cause hubby likes them.

[SobeVegChick]

Evil cheese. :devil:

[Fyvel]

:lol: Indeed. I used to eat sooo much cheese I couldn't imagine a life without it. But it's been several years since I've had it and I can't imagine eating it now! It's kinda weird how that happens :)