Vegan Cheese?

You know how you hear about something and you can't stop thinking about it? It was that way when I was listening to the Alton Browncast. He was interviewing Bob Taylor, a guy that makes guitars (really look at this marble cake ebony) and has recently become a vegan. That lead to talking about finding a substitute for cheese and he started talking about how he made "cheese" with cashews. Now I LOVE my cheese and have recently been thinking that due to this love, I have been eating way too much of it lately. So if this was any good, it might be a good substitute.

After some internet research, I found that to make the "cheese" you first need to start with making something called rejuvelac. This is a fermented liquid that comes from sprouted grains. You can use quinoa, rye or wheat. Apparently the quinoa version takes the least amount of time because the grain itsself is smaller. You first wash the grain until it starts to sprout then you let it sit and ferment for a day or so until it's cloudy. You drain off the liquid and can make a second batch.

Soaking the grain.

Look, it sprouted!

Finished product.

Once you have this fermented liquid, then you make the "cheese". I found this recipe for roasted garlic and sundried tomato vegan cheese. It sounded great and even if there were off flavors, that would be covered up by the deliciousness.

First cover raw cashews with water and soak for 12ish hours.

Drain and rinse nuts, see how they have softened and plumped?

Put in a blender or food processor and add your fermented liquid. The recipe called for a measily 1/2 cup, but I found that I needed a full cup for the nuts to blend smoothly.

Then put puree in a cheesecloth lined sieve and let sit overnight.

In the morning, squeeze roasted garlic into a bowl (get recipe here).

Add chopped sundried tomatoes.

Here's what the "cheese" looks like after it has drained overnight.

Now, all mixed together with added yumminess. Then put in fridge for 12-24 hours.

 After being in the fridge, the "cheese" has firmed up.

But it's still pretty spreadable. Overall pretty tasty - doesn't taste like cashews but doesn't taste like cheese either. It would be nice for the holidays as part of an appetizer plate, but I don't know if I would continue to call it cheese. Looks like there a lot of recipes out there to make different "cheeses", including more aged cheese that is firmer. I might keep experimenting, more to come...