How Is Vegan Cheese Made, Anyway?
Most vegan cheeses are made from a base of nuts—usually cashews, which are rich in fat and fairly neutral in flavor—blended with water to make a smooth “milk.” To this base, some vegan cheese manufacturers add oils, starches, and flavorings so that the textures and flavors of the products more closely resemble those of dairy cheeses. Many artisanal vegan cheeses are then inoculated with cultures and fermented to produce more-complex flavors. Some are aged, though when they are, it's usually for a relatively short period of time when compared with some dairy cheeses. The degree to which aging seemed to affect our preferences depended on the type of cheese. Dairy Bries are usually aged for a few weeks, and when it came to the vegan Bries, we strongly preferred those that were aged for at least two or up to four weeks. Two unaged Bries landed dead last, while one Brie, which is aged for just four to five days, was polarizing. In contrast, the cultures and manufacturing processes used to make the two blue cheeses we tasted likely had a bigger impact on our preferences than the aging period. And we liked the two soft, spreadable vegan cheeses in our lineup that, similar to the fresh dairy cheeses that most likely inspired them, were unaged.
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