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Cheese (Vegan)
Ah, Cheese. Or rather, a (reasonable?) facsimile thereof. I
have oft been told by other vegans (online) that cheese is that holy
grail of mock foods. Hard to replicate, and whenever there's a
rumor that there's a better vegan cheese out there, all the veganites
come out a-salivatin', and raring to try it (ESPECIALLY if they say it
actually melts...) Honestly, I was never a *huge* cheese-o-holic,
but I like my occasional pizza slice, grilled cheese or mac n' cheese
as much as the next gal. So...I'm curious as to how the various
vegan cheesse size up. Here's a list of the top contenders, most
yet untried. But hey, give me time...
PS: Newbie or aspiring vegans should really note - not ALL soy cheese
is vegan! For some (*&(*&)( reason, alot of companies
make their faux-cheese with casein (milk) and/or rennet (calf stomach
lining.) If you're making your cheese non-animal based why the
heck add such things? (Okay, maybe it's a health thing.)
But still...
Newsflash: Yes, I have found struck gold, locating the source retailer
of many vegan cheeses. (Surprisingly, despite it's size and
multiethnicity, NYC is *not* an easy place to find a number of vegan
cheeses. Sure, a few places have Follow Your Heart and Galazy,
but that's about it. Anyway, the online site is Pangea...and
they've got TONS. Highly recommended.)
Cheezly -
Folks, this just might be *the one*. Made by Redwood Foods,
Cheezley comes in a number of flavors, from Mozerella to Smokey Style
with Faux Bacon Bits. Solid, it still has a slightly artificial
mouth feel, but you adapt to the flavor pretty quickly. Melted,
it really works. I've used it for two grilled cheese sandwiches
(really hit the spot) and even melted over veggies (decent, though not
as great as the grilled cheese.) I'm sure it'll work great on
pizza. Melted nice and easy, just the way you'd want it to.
(Granted, I only recently learned that you should shred vegan cheese prior to
melting, and I didn't for Follow Your Heart...so this is not a purely fair
comparison. But still. Cheezly really worked, and I'm happy that
it exists. Now, if only I could find it directly in NYC.
(My sample was purchased at Pangea..)
Chreeze -
Pending.
Nutritional yeast based - haven't heard
much about it, but it is in Wikipedia...so that must make it
worthwhile. Right? Um, right? Okay, well, I'll try it
when I have the opportunity, anyway. Besides...they actually make
Mac n' cheese! Um mac and chreeze... Aw, never mind...I'll
just report back once it's been taste tested....
Note: I *have* had the Mac
and Chreeze, which was fantastic - and a great trip down childhood food
memory lane! Just waiting to see the Chreeze stand-alone version
before publishing my final review.
Dr. Cow
Cheese - Not only raw, but raw (made from nut cultures.)
Practially brand-new (as of this writing), I actually found a sample of
it at Westerly
Natural Market (alot of the other places listed were out
of stock.) Don't know how or it it melts, but you know
what? This stuff actually tastes good, and alot like real aged
cheese, with a slightly tangy, fermented flavor (I tried the cashew
cheese variety...there are a few.) Given the price ($6.00 for a
medium sample), I'll probably never have this ever again. But
it's still a winner, at least in taste!
Follow Your Heart
(FYH) Gourmet Cheese - Considered one of the best (and most
meltable) vegan cheeses out there, FYH comes in cheddar, monterey jack,
nacho and mozzerella. Admittedly, the stuff is not *perfect* -
I've tried the mozerella variety, and found it had a semi-weird
texture, and liquifies to a thin goo when nuked directly in a
microwave. But I've been told that it works extremely well on
pizza. AND, I've personally found a quick n' easy pizza
replacement using FYH. IE: stuff a whole wheat pita with some
FYH, and eat plain, dipped into a side bowl of spaghetti sauce.
Okay, I TOLD you I wasn't a chef. But dag blammit, it
works. And really satisfies the occasional pizza craving.
And on top of that? It's even low carb! Yay, FYH...!
PS: I might try melting it one more time, shredded (since the first
experiment, I've found that vegan cheese generally responds best to
melting in this form...)
Galaxy
Nutritional Foods - Rubbery slices with a somewhat weird
texture and flavor. Not horrible, though...(how's that for a
recommendation?) (Their parmesan cheese is way better - see
below) As for melting? Well, at least during the one
experiment I tried, it doesn't. Not at all. Note: the block
version of their mozarella is still pending....
Sheese
- Well, I'm currently planning a trip to Scotland, so for
indirect (and illogical) reasons, I was hoping to like Sheese (since
that's where it is made.) Sadly, it was not to be. Like
some of it's vegan cheese brethren, Sheese has a playdough consistency
when solid. When melted? Well....it's extremely hard to
melt, so it's hard to compare. I tried sheese in the microwave,
on a frying pan and in a toaster oven, all of which resulted in only
slightly softening it. The overall effect? Just not
impressive. But then, there's always Cheezley and (maybe) FYH....
Soy Joy - Pending
Teese - New
to the market--and made by the same people who make Soy Temptation Ice
Cream--Teese has received alot of press as of late. Having
finally ordered some online, I tried it out. Nice mouthfeel,
velvety soft and smooth (better, I think, than FYH's out of the package
taste.) And is it meltable? Perhaps TOO much. Just
like Follow Your Heart, it melts into a gooey mess given minimal
provocation. Tasty, yes. Manageable, not so much. (At
least, if you're making grilled cheese sandwiches.). I'm sure
that it's great on pizza...but for my uses, I think I'm preferring
Cheezly over everything else I've tried. Teese included...
Tofutti - So far, one of the best
sliced cheeses I've tried. Tastes pretty much like cheese (the
sliced, American variety), with a decent texture (unlike, say, Galaxy
Nutritional. Like FYH, it doesn't seem to really melt as much as
liquify. But I didn't perform extensive
tests on it, so maybe I was just heating it too far.
But so far, Tofutti would be my choice, if I was in the mood for a
cheese and crackers sort of meal.
Vegan
Rella - WOW, this stuff is nasty. A hint of grainy, and a
WHOLE full mouthful of plastic texture and flavor. When
microwaved, it congealed into a hard crust, and three--count 'em,
three--people in the office commented on the funky smell. I
actually threw this stuff out rather than finish the block. (And
coming from me, the queen of cheap, that's really amazing.) Blech.
Vegi-Kaas
- Pending
Other cheese *stuffs*:
Sour Cream
(Follow Your Heart) - Pending
Tofutti Better Than Cream
Cheese - This stuff really, seriously works. If you're a
cream cheese afficiando, go for it...on a bagel, or in decadent
recipes. BTW...it's an essential ingredient in a particular
recipe of vegan
truffles (Found in the Compassion Over Killing's website) that have
won praise absolutely ever time I made it...even with omnis. And
I can't even cook...!
Vegan Grated Topping (Galaxy
Nutritional Foods) - A really good substitute for parmesan
cheese. Tasty, and really fits the bill.
Mac and Chreeze
(Road's End Organics) - This stuff was really good - tasty, and just
right...bringing back all those all warm n' fuzzy memories of childhood
mac and cheese. Mac N' Chreeze is definitely a winner.
(Hopefully, their other products will be equally wonderful...but that's
still to be determined!) (Found at the 4th Street Coop and Whole
Foods at Bowery and Houston.)
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Protein Bars
Used to be, the only protein bars an iron lifting veggie could find
were non-vegan - stuffed with things like whey and eggs. But
these days, there are plenty of vegan meal-replacement bars on the
market. Following are a few of the brands I've tried...pretty
much all tasty (and convenient) alternatives, at least as far as
protein bars go. (Okay, so they're not fine dining. I still
like 'em):
Gary
Null Everybody Bar - Yummy goodness. Tastewise, one
of the best of the lot.
Organic
Fiber Bar - Not bad. Chocolatey.
Orgran -
Nummy. The Blueberry Bar was similar in effect to a Fig Newton.
Lara Bar -
Another raw bar. The flavor I tried was the ginger snap - nice,
with a distinctive gingery taste. Not amazing, but good for a
quick bite.
Luna - By the maker's of Cliff
Bars. Tried the Chocolate Pecan Pie, which proved tasty - though a
*little* dry, (the base had a texture similar to a rice krispy
bar. Supposedly nutritional formulated for women (with vitamin C
and stuff!)
Odwalla
Bars - Well, tried the superfood bar. Loved the taste,
thought the green color was funky , and *didn't* love the food
poisoning I came down with a few hours later. (Neither did the
subway travelers who had to deal with me, er, blowing chunks.)
Can't swear it was the bar...so please don't sue me, Odwalla. But
honestly, given the timeframe, I'm scared to try this sucker
again. For what it's worth, it *was* vegan...
Pure - Raw as well as
vegan. I tried the chocolate brownie - good for a chocolate fix,
though not awe-inspiring.
Smart Monkey -
Pending
Think Organic - Another raw
bar....in this case, the sample was the cherry flavor. The
verdict? Not bad, with a strong cherry taste.
Vega Bar -
A raw food bar made by Triathelete Brendan Brazier. Real hard to
find in NYC. The chocolate flavor I tried was quite palatable,
with a hint overlying lemon flavor. Quite nice. (Found at Westerly
Natural Market.)
Where I found 'em: Mostly
at Health Nuts,
in mid-town east. But they're probably available in most health
food stores.
Would I try again?
Yes. At first thought, I think I'm going to like the Lara
Bar best. Not necessarily because of the overall taste, but
because they're available in most areas, have a good nutritional
profile, and are reasonably priced. But I gotta admit - the Null
Bar is pretty tasty.
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