Question Yet another cheese question…

D

David

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They say that the biggest stumbling block preventing most vegetarians from going full vegan is cheese and they’re not wrong. Vegan cheeses have come a long way but I still can’t find either a retail product or recipe than has the qualities I need.
One of my favorite dishes (made with mozzarella) takes 3-4 minutes in the microwave and leaves the mozzarella in an extremely chewy (but still slightly stringy) state. As I’m trying to replace a texture rather than a taste what kind of vegan-friendly substitution can be made here? Should I be looking for something that isn’t trying to be cheese?
 
Thanks to my admin eyes, I can add that the question appears to relate to the UK market.

I occasionally eat vegan cheeses, but I'm no addict or expert at all. I've been pleasantly surprised by a brand called Violife. See e.g. this thread for a discussion: New vegan cheese - Violife

I thought Violife was somewhat mozzarella-like, but not sure what happens to it if nuked in the micro for that long!
 
I thought Violife was somewhat mozzarella-like, but not sure what happens to it if nuked in the micro for that long!

The reviews all seem to liken Violife to Vegourmet, which is unsurprising considering the similarity of the ingredients. Ditto Green Vie, which I tried recently. Looks very much like mozzarella, and tastes good… but doesn’t react the same in the one dish where I need it. That reaction is not one that manufacturers would be trying to repicate in a vegan cheese so I’m not surprised. That’s why I wondered if there was some other plant-based concoction that might give me what I’m looking for. The closest I’ve managed has been with coconut oil and tapioca starch experiments so I wasn’t surprised that they were the main ingredients in these 3 popular cheeses.
 
Have you tried this recipe? Scroll down the page to the moxarella cheese recipe.
Individual Vegan Margherita Pizzas with Homemade Fresh Moxarella Cheese

I’ve yet to try any of the nut-based cheeses. They seemed a bit calorie-heavy for me but it does seem silly not to try one.
I had to abandon a lot of recipes because of ingredients that were either too hard to find or way too expensive (I’m looking at you, agar, kudzu and carrageenan). I’ll be consuming a lot of whatever I eventually find/make so it needs to be cost-effective and easy to find. I did attempt some subtitutions, discovering in the process how limited my cooking skills are. I’m apparently a great cook… at a very small range of dishes.
 
Unfortunately, the texture of casein-based dairy cheese is the most difficult thing to recreate vegan. There are some vegan cheeses that melt, but that stretchy consistency is nearly exclusive to dairy cheese.

So what I did was ... I just "forgot" about it when I went vegan and tried to enjoy the different vegan cheeses, well knowing that they do not totally compare to dairy cheese.
 
I will miss fresh mozzarella till the day I die...

Lol. :)
 
I wish that someone out there could duplicate Stilton and English Cheddar. :(

I wholeheartedly agree!

But I understand in the UK there are already some "Free From" or similar Cheddar varieties available. Have you tried any of these?

I am really dismayed at the number of Vegan cheese manufacturers who think that if they create a vegan cheese tasting of nothing but sporting a vivid yellow colour, they can rightfully call it "Cheddar"....
 
I wholeheartedly agree!

But I understand in the UK there are already some "Free From" or similar Cheddar varieties available. Have you tried any of these?

I am really dismayed at the number of Vegan cheese manufacturers who think that if they create a vegan cheese tasting of nothing but sporting a vivid yellow colour, they can rightfully call it "Cheddar"....

None of them taste even vaguely, like Stilton or Cheddar.
 
Ah. Sorry to hear that.
Before I went vegan, I did like English cheeses, Cheddar, Stilton, Wensleydale, Sage Derby ....
 
None of them taste even vaguely, like Stilton or Cheddar.

Yeah, I think you really just have to give up specific cheeses. The best we can do, at least from my point of view based on what's readily available, is accept that a cheese-like resemblance is the best one can do right now. Hopefully it will change, and it's certainly better than is used to be. :)
 
Yeah, I think you really just have to give up specific cheeses. The best we can do, at least from my point of view based on what's readily available, is accept that a cheese-like resemblance is the best one can do right now. Hopefully it will change, and it's certainly better than is used to be. :)

There are no plant based cheeses in supermarkets over here. The only one that the local organic stores sell is grated and costs a whopping 3.70 € for a small pack.
 
Yeah, I think you really just have to give up specific cheeses. The best we can do, at least from my point of view based on what's readily available, is accept that a cheese-like resemblance is the best one can do right now. Hopefully it will change, and it's certainly better than is used to be. :)

If someone can make a “bleeding” veggieburger, then a vegan cheese that exactly duplicates a dairy cheese can be made. It’s just a matter of time.
 
If someone can make a “bleeding” veggieburger, then a vegan cheese that exactly duplicates a dairy cheese can be made. It’s just a matter of time.
When that happens, I will be one happy girl. I confess to missing Brie and Cheddar.
 
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There are incredible cashew-based brie:camembert alternatives in Europe, e.g. those made by Cashewbert, Happy Cheeze or Serotonina. Pricey, but IMO hard to distinguish from the original.
 
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I have seen this and it looks amazing.

I don’t want to have to make it, lol. I want to be able to buy it, darn it! :D

I saw vegan mozzarella made with rice milk in the local organic store. I thought that I would pass due to the price plus I'm not keen on rice milk.