Cheese!!! My brain screams for it. It's been four weeks. My longing for cheese has gotten almost too strong to resist. Dairy-free cheeses to the rescue!
My adventure this afternoon took place in the depths of my local Whole Foods Market (since that's the only place remotely near me which offers animal-free products for the home kitchen). I wound my way to the dairy cabinets, picking up some more agar flakes for future experimenting as I went. In five glorious shelves were a vast variety of what I've since learned is fondly referred to as "cheeze," yes, with a "Z." One shelf was laden entirely with nut cheezes, the one above it with hard blocks of cheeze. The One below that held small, white cartons with jaunty designs containing tofu versions of cream cheese, butter, and sour cream. However, it was to the top most shelf that I set my attention: Shredded Cheddar Cheeze. There was a wide gap where the avid Saturday morning shopper had happened along before me and scooped up another week's worth of dairy-free goodness. With my research of the previous night, and some tasting experience, I selected the Daiya Shredded Cheddar and a small container of cream cheese. I had thought cream cheese forever lost from my future homemade bagels.
Giddy with excitement, I went home and made a snack of Ezekial break and a sprinkling of cheeze. With the toaster oven on 400F, I waited impatiently to see for myself how this product stood up to real, dairy cheese. When the bell chimed, I was astounded to find that not only had the Daiya melted, but it had gotten stringy and gooey just like the real thing. Upon my first bite, I became a convert. It tasted almost exactly like the cheddar cheese that has been missing in my life, but in a much healthier version. With the downfall of my nut cheeze experiment last week, I'm ecstatic to finally have something to make mock mac'n'cheeze, grilled cheeze, and pizzas.
The second purchase of the day, the cream cheese, I have yet to try but will get to it soon. There's only so much a girl can eat in one day. I chose to try Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cream Cheese. Follow your Heart is the same company that makes the well-known mayonnaise replacement, Vegenaise.
Facts:
Daiya, a newcomer in the vegan foods market, began with their revolutionary Shredded cheddar, but have more recently branched out into individual slices, pizzas, and cream cheese. I look forward to seeing what else this company will roll out in the future.
- Their products are free of dairy (including casein, whey, and lactose), soy, gluten, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts, with the exception of coconuts. These facts are proudly displayed on their website for anyone who is interested.
- I appreciated that the company also keeps their production facility clear of any cross-contamination with allergens by making their products in an allergen-free cooking environment, meaning, they don't make their foods in the same places as non-vegan producers.
- Their products do not exist on the shelves of small town Mississippi grocery stories. Believe me, I have already checked. However, completely worth a visit to the "Big City" every now and again.
- The cheezes may be frozen. The product should be eaten a week after opening, so it might serve you well to freeze some in small portions for later use. I will experiment and see how that affects how the product works, but I hope it will go well.
Websites:
http://www.daiyafoods.com/
http://followyourheart.com/
Both websites offer recipes, which I will be trying in the near future.
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