Cheese questions

[Cra-Cra]

At the moment I live in a hole in the map and so the only time my mum can shop is when I can't go with her so I can't search the shelves for the vegan products. So I'm wondering, in the UK, which is the most popular vegan cheese and butter so I can tell her what to look for?

Perhaps this is me being too picky but is there a cheese that is on a par with Cheddar and one for Wensleydale? Well basically one for cooking, sandwiches and one that is suited more for crackers.



Cra-Cra

[JC]

Personally, i think Cheezly by Redwood is the best hard "cheese". They have cheddar, gouda, melting mozzarella, edam, one with added "bacon" bits and my favourite, nacho style (which is good for melting too). Sheese is the other main manufacturer, but i find the taste a bit weird, although a couple of their soft "cheeses" are ok. Then again, if i wanted a cream-cheese, i don't think you can beat Tofutti, which is uncannily similar to the dairy version, better in my opinion, and without the guilt. Be aware that you're very unlikely to find these in normal supermarkets, and you'll have to go somewhere like Holland & Barrett or an independent health food store. For the butter, it's got to be Pure. I like the omega 3 one, or sunflower, but they're all good. Pure also do a cream cheese substitute which you may well find in supermarkets. Good luck on your cheeze hunt!

[Risker]

JC has got the cheeses back to front, it's sheese that's the nice one and cheezly that tastes a bit weird, the only exception being cheezly super melting mozzarella which has a very mild flavour and is good for pizzas/toasted sandwiches. Tofutti has the after-taste of a ramblers feet.

There's loads of varieties, get yourself to a vegan fayre so you can try them all out.

You should be able to find the pure spread in most supermarkets. Stork 250g marge packets (not tubs) were vegan last time I asked Unilever. I think Vitalite is also vegan now.

[Buddha Belly]

Vitalite is again. Never knew about stork in packs, useful to know.
Toffutti slices are ok if used as a cheese on toast base (add basil and onion powder) and I don't mind their cream cheeses if cooking with them.

I dislike most of the Scheese range, except Blue Style. The others taste nothing like they pertain to be. Mozzarella is like Caramel ice cream, but not as nice as caramel ice cream.
Cheezly is where it's at. Easy to get hold of and quite a few good flavours.

'Pure' marg is good, yellow for taste, green for cooking and blue for empty wallet.

[BlackCats]

I dislike most of the Scheese range, except Blue Style. The others taste nothing like they pertain to be. Mozzarella is like Caramel ice cream, but not as nice as caramel ice cream.

Too true!

I like the Tofutti cheeze slices, yum and some of the Cheezly ones.

[Cra-Cra]

. . . I'm probably going insane but I swear I wrote more than that. Oh well.

Wow. There is a lot of options. I was kind of worried that there wouldn't be. Holland and Barretts I have got access to so I guess I'll take the time to try out each one since the rest is generally each to their own. :P

Thank you very much!

[Von Starrdust]

Don't have the Toffuti mozzarella style slices whatever you do! They're are disgusting and the smell is vomit inducing!

The only other I've tried is the Cheezly red cheddar one, which isnt too bad.

[Korn]

. . . I'm probably going insane but I swear I wrote more than that.

Look here:

http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25379

[laur318]

I strongly disliked cheezly. i had the white cheddar. omg, you can taste the potato starch. it was soooo starchy and left a film in my mouth.
follow your heart seemed pretty good. it did melt. i realllly enjoyed the mozz right out of the package

[SusieDerkins]

I'm still in the process of becoming vegan, and the hardest thing for me was to give up cheese. In my part of the world (Croatia) is extremely hard to find any vegan cheese. Few weeks ago, a friend of mine brought me Sheese from Slovenia and it was terrible. I tried cheddar, mozzarella and edam style, but none of them were tasty. Cheddar and edam had some kind of weird smell (like goat cheese)! So I decided to stick to the good old tofu and smoked tofu and I'm happy. I use them for pizza, sandwiches, pies...and I do not have any cheese cravings at all...yet

[laur318]

see if you can get Follow your heart brand. it's the only kind i'll buy again (but if my health food store has another tasting i'll be glad to change my mind).

do you mean that you use tofu in place of cheese on pizza? like the silken kind and melting it? that's a pretty good idea if it works! never thought of that.

i have to say the tofutti cream cheese is unbelievable! i wake up to a bagel and guiltless cream cheese and the day ends up being a good one

[Purple]

Vegan cheese is probably one of the hardest products out there, because everyone recommends different ones

I find vegan cheese on it's own pretty bad, smells like feet most of the time.
Tofutti spreadable cheese is nice and like boursin.
Tofutti slices are nice in sandwiches, but are a bit like slices of processed cheese.


Best cheese I've ever had without a doubt was the raw cheese they have in saf restaurant. The recipe is online somewhere, made with cashew nuts and herbs, but without tasting it, it might be hard to know what you're making. I've not made it yet but plan to

[SusieDerkins]

Awwwww :droolingallovermydesk: mental note: tofutti cream cheese. One day, when my country decides to grow up, I hope that all these brands will become available
Yes, I use regular (marinated) and smoked tofu (shredded smoked tofu especially, since it combines well with anything and gives such a nice smell to food), it doesn't melt though but for me that is not such a tragedy...but then again, I can eat tofu in any given form so I'm ok.

[Bearshark]

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice? Here in NZ, I can only find Cheezly (only the type that you get in a log shape, I'm not sure which one it is) and Tofutti cheese slices. I haven't tried vegan cheese before and I'm not sure which one to try because they're both quite expensive. I mainly want it to put in sandwiches and maybe melt it on stuff, any thoughts?
Also, this may sound silly but I was told that I should avoid vegan cheese for a while because it is so different to cow milk cheese (and I used to LOVE cow milk cheese before I realised what went into making it), do you think 2 months will be long enough for me to try vegan cheese without being utterly disgusted?
Thanks for any help!!

[hullabaloo]

2 years hasn't been long enough for me to not find vegan cheese utterly disgusting! I've tried sheeze, cheezly and tofutti and I detested them all. But life without cheese is fine, the smell of cheese turns my stomach now!

[Manzana]

I cannot stand vegan cheese 4+ years on... but I wouldn't let that stop you!

Just try it, it is nothing like "real" cheese... but you might like it if you don't expect it to taste liek cow/sheep/goat cheese.

I find life as a vegan is great without vegan cheese!

[pusskins]

Cheezly - yes!
Tofutti - yes!
Sheese - peh peh peh! Where's the vomit smiley? FAR FAR too sweet. Definitely not for me. However, my partner adores it. But she doesn't adore the retching noises I make around her when she's eating the stuff.

[harpy]

I have Cheezly now and then (the kind I get is a thick disk rather than a log, though I suppose it depends what you mean by a log!).

It's true it's not much like cow's milk cheese but it can be OK in some situations. I don't think it tastes unpleasant but it doesn't have a strong flavour, so if you do try it I would have it with mustard or chutney or something else to give it a bit of character. And don't forget to let us know what you think!

I will leave someone else to tell you about Tofutti because I haven't had it for ages.

[Bearshark]

Wonderful, thank you!! I'll give it a go and get back to you all!

[VeganLOVEBox]

You could always try making your own vegan cheese at home. Here's a good resource for recipes for cheese alternatives:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=284.0