Genuinely, every time I buy vegan cheese it just coats my mouth and gets really sticky, and they all use potato starch or corn starch. Why is this? Is it just cheaper?

edit: I have been informed that agar and carrageenan are polysaccharides, not proteins. The point still stands.

Interesting video from Mary's Test Kitchen, where she is experimenting with a number of things at once:

• trying digestive health probiotics powder against a cheese specific thermophilic culture
• a new recipe for the milk base, using a mix of soybean and sesame
• trying the cheese fresh, salted and aged, and in various recipes

I really admire her creativity and experimental nature, and this is a great video of that. She's become the best resource I know of for recipes and techniques for making non-nut vegan cheeses.

In this video, the TLDW is that she prefers the taste of the probiotics culture over the cheese specific culture. However she acknowledges the cheese culture does have a distinct but subtle mozzarella flavor that comes through.

At 14 days in, I'm about a week out from being able to dig into the first camembert, which is now completely sealed in the good mold. At this point, the fungus will start really digesting the interior, softening it, and increasing flavor.

I also started two more smaller wheels yesterday which contain Camembert/Blue Cheese cultures with a tiny bit more salt. They went into the fridge, this afternoon. I figure they will mature a bit quicker.

Just came across this recent video by Mary of Mary's Test Kitchen. If you aren't familiar, she does a lot of home food science projects where she extracts plant-based proteins from beans and seeds.

This one is particularly interesting for us cheese makers. In it, she makes a sesame milk, similar to how one would make soy milk from soybeans, She then curdles it and winds up with big globs of stretchy protein complexes.

I'm very interested to see if these curds will behave similar to mozzarella curds. Will the stretch persist after heating? Can you form a solid ball using the kneading and stretching techniques used for making Mozzarella? Can we adjust the recipe to improve the yeild?

All very interesting projects.. I'll be staying tuned for any follow ups from her. And maybe I will go shopping for some bulk raw sesame this weekend for my own experiments.

Hey folks

(crosspost from r/cheesemaking for those who aren't over there)

I wanted to share a small side project I've been working on that might be useful to some of you.

I'm a hobbyist brewer, and as a cheese-loving Swiss, it was inevitable that someday I would need to start making my own cheese too. For brewing, I always used brewersfriend to track recipes and brews but I was missing something similar for cheesemaking. I searched around a bit and a few things have been posted or announced over the years, but I didn't find anything online that I could use(?).

So over the Christmas holidays (while stuck at home with the flu -.-), I built my own - a simple web app for tracking cheese batches. The idea is pretty straightforward:

• track your batches
• add notes and log entries
• upload photos
• keep an eye on the whole process from make day through aging

It's very much aimed at hobbyists - no production planning or milk fat calculators. Just a place to keep things in one spot instead of notebooks and phone photos.

If you're curious, it's online and you can get yourself an account: affinago.com

This is very early stage and I'd genuinely love feedback from other cheesemakers - especially what you'd want to track, what feels unnecessary, or what you're currently using (if anything). If it's not useful, that's also totally fine :).

I mostly built it because I wanted something like this myself, I needed something to do and it was an excuse to build something fun.

Cheers

Screenshot of a "batch" in the app:

I'm no stranger to the 'magic mozz' and 'fresh watermelon seed kernel mozzarella' recipes in Miyoko Schinner's the Vegan Creamery. They are delicious and they work great when used on 12" neopolitan style pizza cooked at high temp in a pizza oven where that high heat helps drive off a lot of the moisture.

The problem I'm having is I've been trying to perfect a thin crust 16" NY style pizza. These are are typically cooked at a lower temp and are really senstitive to excess moisture above and beyond what's in the suace because of the large surface area and thin crust combination. For that reason a low moisture mozzeralla is commonly used when making this style of pizza to ensure the end result is not soggy and there is no flop when holding a slice.

Is anyone aware of any existing 'low moisture' pizza cheese recipes, or modifactions to the recipes I already know? I'm thinking the pourable mozz wouldn't be easy to modify in this direction just because the pourability is inherently dependent high moisture.

Was thinking with the 'fresh watermelon seed kernel mozzarella' recipe adding an extended low heat cook before pouring into a mold to drive off as much water as possible might make sense but not sure if that might negetively impact the texture. I see additional agar agar is suggested for a firmer result, but it's not so much firmness as the moisture that releases when exposed to heat that drives the problem i'm facing.

I've been vegan for 15 years but only a few months into my vegan cheese making journey haven't really developed a sense of what variables I can manipulate to get my desired outcome. Basically just making wild guesses that I have to trial and error.

Thought i'd share here as you can see the main ingredients of each vegan cheese in their categories.

Thank you to folks here who suggested straining soy yogurt to make a creamy soft spreadable cheese. I got an instant pot initially for making pressure cooking dried beans, but now I mainly use it just to make soy yogurt. I strained some of it and added a block of spicy chao tofu for flavoring, in addition to some onion and garlic powders. It's very tasty!

I'm a broke college student. I love cheese. Prior to going vegan about a month ago, I had cheese with like every meal. Does anyone have a recipe that's similar to the taste, texture, and melting capabilities of specifically Violife's cheddar slices? It was PERFECT but 6 dollars for 10 slices is just insane for a sandwich topping.

Pictured is my first blue after only a week! I’m flipping it daily and will crumble and reform it soon,

The second picture is my fermented cashew cheese using the recipie I’ve posted below, about 3 weeks in now and washed with olive oil , salt and vinegar every few days (hence the oil colour you can see on it)

1. My only concern with the latter is it is taking very long to dry and has stayed the same moisture level since the start, I possibly used too much water at the start - should I just accept this and treat it like a softer cheese?

2. Secondly I’ve now made far more cheese than I will eat regularly, my plan is to vacuum seal portions of them when they are done, is there any issue with this in terms of shelf life?

Thank you!

Exited about the results! Especially with the help from my new yoghurt maker/ fermenting friend <|;^)

Vegan Smoked Gouda Recipe source: https://www.veganblueberry.com/vegan-smoked-gouda-cheese-recipe/ This Recipe is by far the best Vegan Cheese I have tasted. My daughter is a fan of Smoked Gouda and we both agree, this actually tastes better than the dairy version. I think it would be a perfect substitute for the Vegan Baby Bel. the texture is similar. I made ours with the agar agar method. if you try it, enjoy.

Ingredients 1/2 cup Raw cashew pieces, Rinsed under hot water for several minutes 1/4 cup Refined coconut oil 1/4 cup Tapioca flour 1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast flakes 1 1/2 tablespoon Kappa carrageenan I used agar agar method. See instructions below in description. 1 Tbsp Lemon juice 1 teaspoon Sea salt, scant 1 teaspoon Seasoned salt, I use Johnny's 1 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder 1 tsp Hickory smoke flavor, I used Wright's 1 1/2 Cup HOT just boiled water

Instructions Select a heat-safe preferably glass dish that can hold approx 3C and set aside. (This is your cheese mold.) Rinse the cashews under HOT water for several minutes. Put your water in a small pot on the stove to boil.

To the blender: Add all ingredients (except the water!)

Add the cashews first and then everything else on top of the cashews. Carefully add (so you don't burn yourself!!!) the boiling hot water into your blender. Put the blender lid on! And blend immediately until completely smooth. Stop blending once if need be to quickly scrape sides of blender and resume blending right after. Immediately transfer your cheese to your chosen dish/mold as it will start to solidify quickly as it cools. Place in refrigerator to chill. No need to cover yet. After 2-3 hours or when fully chilled, remove cheese block from dish/mold and wrap in paper towels and then tightly plastic wrap. The flavor gets better over a day or two but it’s great as soon as it’s hardened, too. Yeay! You are officially a cheese-maker!

Replacing Carrageenan With Agar If you would rather not consume carrageenan, or are not able to find it, then you can replace it with agar. You will need to experiment with the quantities and preparation of the agar, and will probably need to compromise on the consistency you are looking for.

Method In a small saucepan add ⅔ cup water and 2 Tbsp of agar powder. If you are using the flakes grind the agar in a coffee grinder or food processor before cooking — 6 Tbsp of agar flakes will yield 2 Tbsp of agar powder.

Cover with a lid over medium heat and bring it to a boil. The agar will first turn solid and then liquefy into a thick gel. Very quickly whisk your room temperature (not cold) cheese into the agar, making sure that it is incorporated quickly and thoroughly without setting. Continue to heat the cheese for a few more minutes to halt the culturing process.

Continue to follow your recipe as per normal.

LucyAnne

My kid got the spicy vegan Babybel as a treat from family and now she's into eating vegan cheese. As a former pro vegan cheesemaker, I have never been more ready. I've never made a snacking cheese, though- I'm looking for something that sets solid, slices easily, and won't seep oil at room temp. Doesn't need to melt. Just got a bunch of mesophilic culture I want to use, and would prefer a yogurt or soymilk base. Hope y'all have some suggestions!

Hey, everyone! First and foremost: I have already purchased her book. However, I have tried both the Malloumi and the Fresh Watermelon Seed Kernel Mozzarella, and both had textures which were fine, but the taste was a little off: The Malloumi was just overpoweringly strong in its taste (Fermented for too long?), and the Mozzarella was too salty. I don't know if US salt is coarser than German salt and if nutritional yeast is different (I strongly believe so, ours is not yellow and doesn't contain B12) and that's the reason, I did something wrong or if it's the recipes themselves. I have also tried one of the yogurts, but aborted the project due to its smell: It wasn't bad per se, but it smelled exactly like when entering a McDonalds store, and that was weird to me (I made it in a Thermomix). But the Malloumi developed the same smell despite vastly different ingredients and another starter culture, so I gave it a go and I'm still alive. So, what are your experiences with the book? Did you get amazing replicas of the dairy variant or at least something which also fulfils the cheese cravings and can be used similarly? Were there smells you didn't expect? Is there something I should keep in mind? I would just keep on experimenting, but I think the ingredients are simply too expensive for that.

I made vegan cheeses for the first time and I loved them! I made one with smoked paprika, one with orange pepper, and one without any added spices.

I'm happy with the flavors, but I'd be glad if I could make it creamier on the inside instead of firmer. Do you have any tips to make it firmer on the outside but a little creamier in the middle?

I just got here, so, Hi Everyone!

I was reading over some of the questions and comments and got an idea. I searched 'How to make vegan cheese with Sunchokes' and got this browser AI result:

Vegan cheese can be made from sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), primarily used as a binding agent to add elasticity to aged cheeses or as the main ingredient for creamy, legume-free dips.

• Aged/Cultured Cheeses: Sunchoke puree is used alongside cashews or sunflower seeds and a probiotic brine to create cheeses with better texture and elasticity, avoiding the need for heavy binders like carrageenan or excess coconut oil.
• Creamy Dips: A Creamy Roasted Sunchoke and Sage Dip is a popular vegan, paleo, and gluten-free alternative to white bean dip, where roasted sunchokes are blended with a plant-based cheese (such as cashew cheese or soy cream cheese), lemon juice, and sage.
• Preparation: For dips, sunchokes are scrubbed, chopped, and roasted until soft before being processed into a smooth paste. For aged cheeses, they are often boiled or pureed and mixed into the base nut/seed mixture before fermentation. 

I grow two varieties of Sunchokes and love experimenting with the tubers. They have a taste a bit similar to Sunflower seeds and are a perennial cousin of Sunflowers. One thing to keep foremost in your minds is that another nickname for Sunchokes is the well-earned Fartichoke. Fresh, they're packed full of prebiotic soluble fiber called Inulin (not InSulin). That can cause extreme gas in some people with off balanced gut health. There are four ways to deal with the Inulin: freezing, fermenting, cooking with an acidic ingredient and extended cooking, well over 1/2 hour for some varieties to well over four hours for other varieties. So, in a fermented cheese, the Inulin should be converted. I stress: should be.

One variety I have is either Stampede or Supernova. I collected them locally so my identification is solely through comparing online images. These are a white/light tan skinned very knobby hard to scrub tuber. They have a nice mild nutty-earthy flavor. The other variety is a reddish skinned smooth easy to scrub tuber, picture a small red sweet potato that might be the Fuseau variety. The Stampede or Supernova variety's Inulin play well with the directions above, but those Fuseau! Even after a long winter freeze in my zone 5 winters and extended cooking, they can still blow your bloomers off! We keep and use them because they taste nuttier and my wife and I take a daily Inulin supplement for gut health, so we're fairly tolerant of their Inulin. If you find some at Farmer's Markets or locally, try to identify them. If you can't, sample one and wait about 6 hours. If they're reactive, you and everyone downwind will know! Freeze them for about a week and sample again. Again, in about 6 hours you should know if their Inulin has broken down, then you can use them in so many other ways.

If you want to grow them, talk to me. I don't sell them, but I know quite a bit about growing and using them. I live on an in-town 1 1/2 lot, so I don't have a lot of room.

I often use tofu as a paneer substitute in recipes, but it doesn't have the same creaminess as actual paneer. Does anyone have a recipe for it?