Vegan MoFo VIII, Day 24: Walnut and Currant Vaganzola

Walnut and Currant Veganzola Balls from 500 Vegan Recipes (page 90)

Before there was Daiya or Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese many of us were busy in the kitchen creating our own cheese-like concoctions to spread on crackers.  This recipe is one of those concoctions.  Unlike many home made cheeses that require agar powder, fermentation time, or lots of specialty ingredients...this one is ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes!

FOUND: A Mo Betta Chedda!

After much investigation, some tasty (and some quite disgusting) I am finally ready to post my results for the best tasting vegan cheddar alternative.

Here are the contestants.


I tested each cheddar in 3 categories.

Cold, as is, right out of the package, on a cracker.
(I was lucky enough to have a helper test this one.  Dominic, my 10 year old nephew helped with this taste test)


Meltability and stretch, on pizza.


Mixability and creaminess, in macaroni and cheese.


Each cheese was scored on taste compared to "real" cheddar, creaminess, and overall taste and texture, and I also gave info on availability and cost.  Scores were based on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best.

The results: (Click on the image to take you to Flickr wher you can make it larger and easier to read!)

In addition to the results above, I will add that I most commonly buy Daiya, Wayfare, and Sheese.  Once testing was over, I threw away the Vegan Rella, Rice Vegan and Soy Vegan.  I would never, ever, ever buy those again.  I'd rather just go without, or make my own from scratch. 

And to be fair, the best mac and cheese (using fake cheese) was made last night using the leftover Daiya, Teese, Sheese, Vegan Gourmet, plus Tofutti Sour Cream, Tofutti Cream Cheese, Silk Creamer, and Earth Balance.  I know, ridiculous.  I did it in the name of research.

I would also like to add, as I did before, that I was only testing CHEDDAR flavors, and, in my opinion, the best imitation cheeses out there are not cheddar replacers...Dr. Cow (any flavor), Sheese Blue Cheese, Wayfare Hickory Smoked Spread, and any of the nut based home made cheeses out there blow all of these out of the water!

Mo Betta Chedda

I am now on a quest to find the best vegan cheddar available on the market.

Here's what I picked up today (all at one market!):


Clockwise from the top:
Galaxy Rice Vegan Cheddar, Daiya Shredded Cheddar (I may also add in a review of the block Daiya Cheddar as well), Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cheddar, Vegan Rella Cheddar, Teese Cheddar, Wayfare Cheddar, Galaxy Vegan Soy Cheddar

Still needed:

Sheese

Cheezly



Dr. Cow doesn't have a "cheddar" per se, so they won't be tested in this round, although I have had the Aged Cashew and Crystal Manna Algae Cheese and it is so good, so I thought I'd mention it here.


I am going to judge the different cheeses according to the following criteria:
Taste: Cold, alone, right out of the package on a cracker.
Taste: Cold sandwich with Tofurkey or Yves Slices and Vegenaise
Taste: Hot on a simple grilled cheese with Earth Balance
Meltability: On pizza of course!
Stretch: On same pizza
Mixability: In mac and cheese
Availability and Cost: Is it easy to find and is it a good value for your hard earned buck?
Overall Performance and Taste

So, with all of these cheeses to taste and test, it may be a week or 2 before I post the final results, but until then, save your money and make your own cheese!  Home made tastes better than ANY of the store bought ones anyhow, right?

Nutty Cheese
Appears in 500 Vegan Recipes:




*Soy Free
*Gluten Free
Nonstick cooking spray
1 ounce (28 g) agar flakes or powder
3 cups (705 ml) water
2 cups (275 g) raw cashews, finely ground into a powder
3 tablespoons (45 ml) fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 ml) sesame oil (olive oil will work too)
1/4 cup (30 g) nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Prepare a loaf pan (or other deep rectangular container) by lightly oiling or spraying with cooking spray.
Place agar in water and bring to a full boil, boil for 5 minutes. Whisk regularly.
Place all other ingredients into a food processor and blend smooth.
Pour into the water-agar mixture and mix until creamy and smooth, remove from heat. Quickly pour into an oiled loaf pan and refrigerate until hardened.

Yield: 1 loaf

Variations: Add fresh herbs and spices to the mix. If you want a Mediterranean flavored cheese, add about 8 chopped sun dried tomatoes and 5 or 6 chopped leaves of fresh basil. If you want a Mexican flavored cheese, add one teaspoon of cumin and 6 or 7 chopped up pieces of nacho sliced, jarred jalapenos. If you want a smoky cheese, add a little bit, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, of liquid smoke flavoring. It’s limitless!

The Double-Take

Inspired by the ultra artery clogging new sandwich from the ultra disgusting KFC, the Double Down. Made with my own blend of seven herbs and spices, I served these up to the folks over at the Jason Ellis show and even the producer, Stretch, who is a really big meat eating man's man, said it tasted like real chicken...so, there. Thanks to Gardein, the realistic chicken part was easy.

Daiya Vegan Shredded Cheese!

Okay, Okay. I took all of your advice and decided to give Tofurkey Deli Style Slices a try. This grilled sammy features the "Hickory Smoked" flavor (pretty good!), some Vegenaise, and...

...DAIYA Shredded Cheese!

Maybe you've heard of the stuff? Southern California Whole Foods Markets have rolled this out as an ingredient on their vegan pizzas. The product was so successful that the Specialty department (cheese and wine) decided to start selling it by the pound. My little Whole Foods in Laguna Beach doesn't have a pizza kitchen, so I was excited to get to buy it to try out on my own. It retails for $9.99 per pound around here, and I got a pretty decent amount for about $5. I bought both the white (Italian Style) and the yellow (Cheddar Style) and honestly, I couldn't really tell the difference between the two taste wise, but, guess what? IT MELTS AND STRETCHES!!! And it tastes pretty good to boot.

If you are wondering, on the side there, is a pasta salad, thrown together with some Vegenaise, Sri Racha hot sauce, green onions, pimiento, some of the white Daiya, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.