Vegan Cheese

Vegan cheese provides you with a a dairy free alternative to hard and soft cheeses. They are made from a range of ingredients in ways that are quite different to cows cheese.

What is vegan cheese like?

Vegan cheese is not the same as dairy cheese in several ways. One is that its doesn't melt the same way... Dairy cheese is full of a milk protein called casein that forms the stringy long molecules that you can see when they lift off a slice of pizza in adverts... its casein that also makes cheese go golden and crisy the way it does when baked. So while vegan cheeses do melt and can be used in many recipes they will behave differently to dairy cheese.

What can you make with vegan cheese?

Well, based on my many years of experimenting... cheese straws, cheese sauce, macaroni cheese, toasted cheese sandwiches, vegan pizzas, cheese on toast... With some experimentation most reipies that use cheese can be adapted to use a vegan cheese instead. As the different brands make their products in different ways they all have diffferent characteristics.

Sheese

Sheese is a great range of vegan cheese made in Scotland. They make many varieties, including cheddar, cheshire, edam and gouda varieties. The cheddar versions are available in medium and strong flavours and also with chives or smoked. They also make a 'Blue style' cheese which although it is a hard cheese has the flavour of blue cheeses.

Sheese is very firm so slices and grates well. Thin slices on crackers are tasty.

Creamy Sheese

A new variety of Sheese in the style of a vegan cream cheese. This range is spreadable from the fridge and is delicious on toast, bagels or crusty rolls.

Redwood Cheezly

Redwood have been making vegan alternatives for years and now have a superb selection of dairy free cheeses. They have a range of flavours including Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Mozzarella.

Cheezly is quite soft and crumbly and they also have a couple of versions that are 'Super Melty' which have been formulated to melt in a nicer way than the rest of the range which would mainly be eaten cold.

Tofutti

Tofutti have ben making vegan alternatives to ice cream and soft cheese for ages and so we decided to include their range of tasty 'Creamy Smooth' range. Tofutti's vegan cream cheese has

Parmazano

Parmesan, like many hard cheeses is normally made with rennet, derived from calves stomachs. For obvious reasons vegetarians and vegan would prefer to avoid this ingredient, but there are also of people ho have to avoid dairy products who miss the taste of Parmesan. For them the answer is Parmazano.

Parmazano is a vegan alternative to grated hard cheeses like Parmesan, which comes in a convenient shaker. Just shake over pasta dishes, mashed potato or use in other dishes to add extra flavour.

See the Vegan Cheese range >>