Vegan cheese...........?!
I've heard of vegan cheese products..
What are they like?
Do they taste like the real thing?
How well do they melt?
Do they come pre-grated or just in blocks?
Are they more expensive?
So many questions! :P
Answers:
Vegan cheese doesn't taste the same as regular cheese and I missed it for a while when I gave up dairy but you forget about it soon enough just like you forgot about eating meat. I use Redwood′s Cheezly Mozzerella to make Pizza's and it tastes REALLY good like that...I wouldn't nibble on chunks of it cold like I used to do with Edam cheese though :o)
What are they like?
I found one that made a damn good grilled cheese, but I can't remember the brand name. It was really processed and bad for me anyway though.
Do they taste like the real thing?
No. The only really good vegan cheese that I've found was on a frozen pizza from Amy's. You can make your own, but I haven't tried this yet. I'd imagine those would taste good, but probably not like real cheese.
How well do they melt?
For the most part, the ones I've tried only melt in the microwave. If it melts really well, you probably want to check it for casein.
Do they come pre-grated or just in blocks?
I've seen grated vegan cheese and sliced vegan cheese and vegan cheese sprinkles, but I haven't seen any vegan cheese blocks. Like I said, you can make your own, and that will be in a block, but I haven't seen any that you can just buy.
Are they more expensive?
Yes, unfortunately they are. I don't think they'd be too much more to make, but I haven't tried that yet.
Please don't base your entire opinion on me though. I haven't been searching too hard for a vegan cheese. I really, really love cheese. In fact, probably the only reason I was finally able to go vegan is because cheese gives me absolutely debilitating migraines. So I'm trying to resist vegan cheese until I know it won't tempt me to eat the real stuff. All of this experience with vegan cheese is from the last time i tried to go vegan four years ago. :)
Soy milk, Rice milk, and Almond milk are good alternatives for cow milk.
Ener-g is a company that makes an egg replacer. If you like to cook, the egg replacer is great for making cakes, cookies, and muffins.
I do not know of any good vegan cheeses.
HOWEVER, Amy's Kitchen is a company that sells VEGAN macaroni & "Cheez."
It's delicious. It tastes just like cheddar cheese. I'm not even a vegan, and it's my favorite macaroni and cheese.
You can find the vegan macaroni & "cheez" at a whole food store or health food store. You can also find it online, but it's more expensive if you get it on the internet.
Vegetarian
Tees and Daiya are the closest in taste to real cheese and are the only that melt well. Tofutti is disgusting unless it's melted and even then its nothing special. Follow Your Heart and the Brand Vegan are alright. The brand vegan makes pretty good parmesean though.
Vegan for 9 years and tried most vegan cheeses available.
Some vegan cheeses are better than others. I like Soy Kaas brand, which comes in a block and tastes like real mozzarella. Plus, it actually melts like cheese. Other brands are more hit and miss for me. You'd need to try a few and see which you like.
All vegan cheeses are going to be more expensive than real cheese, since there's a comparatively small market. One smallish block of cheese is around $8.
there are a lot of vegan cheeses out there, some are pretty gross. but there are some good ones: teese, sheese, and dr. cow are all really good. teese probably melts the best.
they come just like real cheese, you can either get them pre-grated or in the package.
price difference isn't much, and it's worth it.
vegan yum yum recipe book
&myself (:
Pure make a nice soft cheese but I haven't found a hard cheese yet that I've liked.
I think there are more choices in the USA but you have to be careful and read the ingredients - make sure they are not made with natural flavouring - it could be from animals.
I'd say that you would need to go out and just buy some. Like most real cheeses, they probably have many different types of vegan cheeses. To be able to know what they taste like, I'd rely on myself to go get it and try it, ya know?
In my opinion, most brands don't taste very good and I wouldn't ever put a slice on a sandwich. Also, it is more difficult to melt - Forget about nachos but pizza isn't too bad if done right.
Most are made from palm oil, which is generally an unethical product, as its production involves deforestation.
Most vegan cheese's I've tried taste like creamy white American cheese when melted. Never had a cold slice.
Daiya, Teese
My family likes Tofutti Slices for sandwiches.
http://www.google.com/#q=tofutti+cheese+…
We like Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet brand for everything else. It comes in a block and an be grated. Great on salads or in tacos! To put on pizza or to make mac and vegan cheese it's best to melt on the stove. It does melt, but doesn't stay smooth for a long time.
We have served both to non-vegan friends and family and all like it. We've even known some who like it better and buy it for themselves instead of dairy cheese.
http://www.amazon.com/Follow-Vegan-Gourm…
(this isn't the best place to purchase, I just am showing you what it looks like)
I haven't tried it, but have heard good things about this vegan cheese that comes shredded:
http://www.cosmosveganshoppe.com/Merchan…
Tofutti makes a great vegan pepperoni and soy cheese pizza. You should look at their site and products.
Prices vary greatly according to store. Oddly enough the place I have found the best price for the Follow Your Heart is the usually very expensive Whole Foods Store.
Do they taste like "the real thing?" Soy cheese is just as real as dairy cheese. None will taste just like dairy cheese so don't expect that. But they taste really good and you can be happy knowing you hurt no cows with your food choice of vegan cheese.
Make sure what you buy says vegan. Rennent is enzymes from a cows stomach and can be in dairy cheese, too.
Hello
I do not like vegan cheese at all, its disgusting and is something you can learn to live without anyway.