varugger Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Don't know if anyone really read the labels but I was looking at the veg.cheese selections and soy/rice or whatever you pick up all contain casein (cow milk protein). Are there any that don't? And since it does, why do they market it as Veg. cheese? -JamesArlington, VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubby2112 Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 They market it as non-dairy cheese for people who are lactose intolerant. This is the brand I use when I make pizzas for people. http://www.imearthkind.com/Main.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyre Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 It is all about the nutritional yeast baby! If it is from a molasses source then it is true vegan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 They market it as non-dairy cheese for people who are lactose intolerant. This is the brand I use when I make pizzas for people. http://www.imearthkind.com/Main.htm I want pizza!!! That brand is the best I've tried. There are a few others that claim to be vegan and state the fact on their label, but I can't remember which ones I've tried or if they sucked. Most did, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelbct Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Being a New Yorker, what with all the awesome bagels around here, I do eat the occasional bagel with tofutti 'better than cream cheese,' which is kind of yummy, if a processed food. Other than that exception, the vegan cheese analogues I have tried are terrible, and the concept of cheese is something I no longer desire anyway. Curdled cow bodily secretions... Yum... lol... Rather not eat anything even trying to taste like that When I am craving a high fat and protein snack, I often eat cashew butter on crackers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganEssentials Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 There are actually quite a few vegan cheese options - some aren't so great, some aren't all too bad. For the most part, none except Sheese taste even remotely good out of the package - every other brand needs to be cooked or put on something to have a decent flavor, but Sheese has some good ones (like their smoked cheddar) that are great just sliced and put on crackers. For melting vegan cheeses, either the Vegan Gourmet (as mentioned above) or the Cheezly are the way to go. Other brands aren't bad, but none come as close in flavor or texture as they do. The Vegan Gourmet is pretty easy to find these days, but right now, my shop is the only one that has Cheezly in the USA, though that will likely change in the next 1-2 months as they're finally getting better distribution and eventually will be all over the place. Be warned, though - Cheezly and Sheese do not come cheap, so expect to pay between $7.50 and $9.00 per block. While Europeans can get them in their countries for around US $3.00 per block, we get killed on the cold shipping and import duties, so it get mighty costly here. Still, if you want the best, it's the only way to go There are some others out there like the Tofutti cheeses, but if you want to go remotely healthy, steer clear as they're loaded with hydrogenated oils and not-so-good-for-you stuff. Vegan Rella is lower on my list due to the flavor, but on a pizza melted it isn't half bad. Though, if you try eating a piece straight out of the package, you'll probably want to swear off vegan cheese for life, it's just that nasty when eaten cold Oh yeah, Galaxy Foods makes some vegan rice cheese slices that are pretty tasty for melting on veggie burgers and sandwiches, too. They were at one time going to come out with a vegan cheese dip that I tried a sample of at a tradeshow, and it was AWESOME. Too bad 3 years have passed and it still hasn't surfaced as anything more than a concept product Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 For a cheddarish cheese spread that's awesome on crackers: softened tofutti better than cream cheesenutritional yeastonion powdertiny bit of cayenne pepper or other seasoning (optional) Just stir it up and spread. I don't know the exact measurements, since I never really measure it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Tofuttie does taste great but it has a ton of crap in it. I say if you only eat it once a month or so...go with that if you can't get a hold of Follow Your Heart Cheese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelbct Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Tofuttie does taste great but it has a ton of crap in it. I say if you only eat it once a month or so...go with that if you can't get a hold of Follow Your Heart Cheese. Yeah, when I first went vegan, I ate tofutti and bagels every other day... Lately, I buy a tub every other month or so... I will get cholesterol-testing results back tomorrow, I will post. I am interested in the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Cool, do share. I have been eating way too much vegan cheese lately. I never really had it before. I was never interested so it's not like it's something I've been eating for years. Lately davidtarrfoster and mishe have been having a lot of bread, vegan cheese and wine. So I've been eating some too, aside from the wine. Maybe it will help me bulk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odidnetne Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Cool, do share. I have been eating way too much vegan cheese lately. I never really had it before. I was never interested so it's not like it's something I've been eating for years. Lately davidtarrfoster and mishe have been having a lot of bread, vegan cheese and wine. So I've been eating some too, aside from the wine. Maybe it will help me bulk Is there a lot of protein in soy cheese? I hated dairy cheese, and the smell of soy cheese reminds me of it enough, so I never bothered to look at the macronutrient content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DV Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I've tried almost every vegan cheese and can say that they all have horrible nutritional profiles. They are mostly fat (with too many omega 6's) with a thickening agent, salt and flavoring, and sometimes a bit of soy. Better to make a homemade cheese with a nut base. As for taste, Sheese is good for for serious cheesy flavor. I have not yet tried Cheezly. However, especially if you are looking for something with a great protein content, there is one product that definitely stands up to my memories of cheese and crackers or cheese and wine. It's Pete's Soyganic Smoked Tofu (from Canada). It doesn't melt because it's tofu, but it's great on cold sandwiches or platters. We eat a lot of this. The only chain market I've seen it at is Whole Foods or Wild Oats. There are other "smoked" tofu products but they just add liquid smoke to the marinade. Pete actually smokes the tofu. It's awesome. If you are just looking for a cheesy taste then nutritional yeast is one option. For an aged parmesan taste, a high-quality white miso works well. The only two brands that taste like aged cheese (rather than just salt) are Miso Master and Westbrae Natural, at least in this area. If you are looking for a smoked taste then miso and/or nutritional yeast with a high-quality smoked salt works quite well. You can use liquid smoke but good smoked sea salt is much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubby2112 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Another vegan cheese that actually has some decent protein content is Galaxy Nutritionals Vegan Parmesan if I remember the name correctly. It comes in shaker bottles. I stopped using it awhile ago and opted to only use nutritional yeast and nuts for cheese that I eat, but when I did use it, I enjoyed it quite well. My family can't tell the difference between it and actual parmesan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varugger Posted December 25, 2007 Author Share Posted December 25, 2007 I think something got lost in translation here. The casein I'm talking about is "cow" derrived. Says it right on the label (cow milk protein). As far as the shaker parmesean, that had it as well. I'm not addicted to any cheese and really don't need an analogue, however I was looking at it for a recipe I was preparing and opted out when I saw the casein. Then I started looking at all the other brands/flavors in the fridge section at whole foods and all of them had "cow" derrived casein in them. Just an FYI. -James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varugger Posted December 25, 2007 Author Share Posted December 25, 2007 Cubby,You're right. Galaxy Nutritionals has a vegan brand as well that is casein free. Thanks. -James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 I don't think anyone confused casien with something vegan. There has yet to be a vegan version to be made yet. As for the parmesian it tastes like dust to me. Rawmesian(?) tastes the best to me but you can can make it on your own....just mix nutritional yeast with ground walnuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varugger Posted December 25, 2007 Author Share Posted December 25, 2007 I visited a Raw vegan restaurant in Salt Lake City in October. Omar's Living Cuisine. He's Lebanese and has some great dishes. Learned a bit on making some various cheeses. One I like for wraps:WalnutsBasilGarlic Pretty simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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