this is REALLY GOOD. maybe the best raw vegan cheese i've ever had. it's so easy (allbeit a bit time consuming) to make yourself and really affordable. please try this! it is incomparable to cheese. who wants the drug-filled mucus of another species when you can eat the delicious probiotics of cashews and grains?
i adapted this recipe from one i saw in vegnews (an all vegan magazine). although the actual hands on time for this is minimal, there's a lot of fermenting - so look at the recipe before you roll up your organic hemp sleeves. wanna get sexy while ya make it? look no further.
aged chevre with herbes de provence: serves a party
2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 3-4 hours
1/4 cup rejuvelac (see recipe below)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons herbes de provence
to make 4 cups of rejuvelac: soak 1 cup whole grains (i used rye) in 2 cups of water for 8-12 hours. drain and repeat, continue to soak until the grains begin sprouting, then drain again. put the grains and 4 cups of new water in a mason jar and cover with a towel. let it sit for 2 days or so, until the liquid turns white. the white liquid is your rejuvelac! strain it.
to make the cheese: blend cashews, rejuvelac and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt until very smooth. put it in a bowl, covered, and let it sit for 1-2 days until it's thick. then add in the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the herbes de provence. form the cheese into a roll using parchment paper. on another sheet of parchment paper, sprinkle the remaining salt and herbes de provence. transfer the roll onto that and roll it in the herbes and salt so it's covered. let THAT sit for 1-4 days until it's firm. it took one day for me.
serve with raw or whole grain crackers. this pairs nicely with apples or olives. YUM.
mmmm this looks super delicious.
ReplyDeletehehe thanks, lysa. just realized i haven't checked out your blog in awhile... heading over now!
Deleteyeah I tried the cream cheese but it tastes too much like cheese to me, I could not eat it :( (yes I'm complicated lol). I have been craving pizza so bad these days, I just wish there was some melty cheese that would taste like cheese on pizza. I tried Daia and I don't really like it, I feel that it tastes like fat.
ReplyDeleteLOL! that's actually hilarious, sophie. i guess that's not all bad? i sort of agree with you on daiya, it mostly tastes like oil. i do still use it though 'cause my mom bought like 12 bags of it -.-)
Deletei guess we just need to get creative in our own kitchens or wait for the vegan cheese companies to improve on their recipes! they're definitely getting better.
Lol Sophie I hear you! I got some almond milk (alpro brand) recently and it reminded me so much of cows milk I couldn't drink it. Maybe my memory played a trick on me, but I simply can't have it, even with a picture of almonds and all... it tasted so wrong. :|
Deleteahah you guys that's hysterical! that happened to me the other day with some chocolate "milk" i made... it sent me right back to elementary school dairy chocolate milk. very strange.
Deleteis the 1/4 rejuvelac 1/4 cup? Sounds like a stellar recipe!
ReplyDeletewoops! yes i mean 1/4 cup. i will fix that now. thank you!
DeleteWow, this looks fantastic! Thank you for the recipe. My stomach no longer agrees with regular cheese, since becoming vegetarian 2 years ago. This will be a great alternative
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to know - how long will this 'cheese' keep in the fridge?
PS - I've been following your blog for a while, but never commented :) Your recipes are wonderful!
Jane
Thank you very much, Jane :) I agree! Vegan cheese all the way.
DeleteThis will keep for some time, probably 1 or 2 weeks, just make sure you store it properly - air tight in the fridge.
cheers! em
Hello :)
ReplyDeleteI will say first - I really love your blog! I read several and find yours consistently wonderful and inspirational! :) Thank you for your recipes, photos, words, and effort it is really a lot appreciated! It is also really helping to me try to get on the raw-track, which I keep wanting to and not successful really yet (though I've been happily vegan for many years).
Anyway, I have a question for you! I want to try substituting something other than cashews into this recipe (or maybe other vegan cheese recipes if you think this one will not work) because my s.o. is allergic to cashews (and nothing else). Any ideas??
Thank you again and best regards :)
Hi! Thanks a lot, Eglu :) Great hearing that from you.
DeleteYou could use macadamia nuts or pine nuts and it will turn out the same or better because they are so creamy. Or you could use blanched almonds and that would be fine too, but not QUITE as smooth. Still delish though.
Em
This looks amazing - I am def going to have some on hand for Thanksgiving this year! When you let all of this sit, do you put it in the fridge or just let it sit on the counter? And then about how long do you soak your grains before they sprout? Just want to get a sense of the time needed so I can plan to have this ready in time! Thanks for the recipe - can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteooh yes excellent idea, tess. thanks!
Deletelet it "sit" at room temperature or slightly warmer. when it is done though, be sure to keep it in the fridge.
it does take awhile to prep for this recipe. the grains take about 3 days to start sprouting.
I need to get on the nut cheese band wagon....how long does the rejuvelac last for if I made a big batch?
ReplyDeleteya sure do! probably quite a while. a few weeks? but there's so many cheese recipes to try, you'll have no trouble using it all up :)
DeleteI had the same question! Thank you for responding. I also wanted to check in: should I keep the leftover rejuvelac in the fridge for later use?
DeleteThank you!!
Jane
"put it in a bowl, covered, and let it sit for 1-2 days until it's thick."
ReplyDeletedo you let it sit on the bench, or in the fridge?
First time visitor, loving the recipes :)
Krysten
I let it sit on a shelf under a window in the kitchen. You could put it in the fridge but it would slow down the fermenting process (which is why room temperature is preferred).
DeleteThanks, Krysten!
xox
When you say "put it in a bowl, covered, and let it sit for 1-2 days until it's thick. then add in the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the herbes de provence. form the cheese into a roll using parchment paper." Do you mix the nutritional yeast etc into the mix or are you just pouring it over the mixture? Sorry if it seems like a dumb question. =)
ReplyDeleteNo such thing as dumb questions! I mean mix it in so it's all smooth. :) Sorry for not being clear.
DeleteI just found your blog and LOVE it.
ReplyDeleteI don't eat wheat, so what other grains would you suggest instead of rye???
Thanks, Nicky! :)
DeleteYou can try millet or amaranth, maybe even buckwheat. Let me know how it goes. I don't see why that wouldn't work...
I would love to try a vegan cheese like yours, but I am a bit concerned about the fermentation process. How do I make sure that the food doesn't get contaminated with harmful bacteria like salmonella? I know that those aren't just limited to animal products, and I wouldn't want to get sick.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I would not worry about that, as long as you follow the directions in the recipe the cheese should be fine because it is just nuts and rejuvelac. Yes, certian bacteria grows but that's what you WANT - it's what makes cheese cheese, ya know?
DeleteIf there's mold or something on your cheese then obviously don't eat it but I've never heard of that happening unless you let it ferment for weeks outside a fridge.
Did you make the crackers you show or are they from the store...they look delish! If you made them, is there a recipe? ;)
ReplyDeleteWill be making this amazing recipe this week!! Thank you!
Have you tried this recipe with any other grains besides rye? Just wondering if I could try the rejuvelac with buckwheat or a gluten-free grain.
ReplyDeleteI haven't, but you can use any grain so no problem there - have fun =D
DeleteWhat is rejuvelac for? It sounds kind of gross... :)
ReplyDeleteI just made my first rejuvelac this week after thinking about it for a year. I thought it sounded kind of gross too. However, raw food enthusiasts say it's very energy-giving and cleansing to drink, and living food pioneer Ann Wigmore says you should drink it instead of water - put it in smoothies, soups, etc. It's so wonderfully healthy, but the idea of it was kind of stomach-turning. I finally got brave, made it, and tasted a tiny tiny sip of it. It was actually pretty good. It tastes like very light lemony beer. So I made another batch that was ready yesterday, and I have another batch in my cupboard doing its fermenting thing.
ReplyDeleteThis was suppose to be a reply to karina, not a new post. Sorry - not used to commenting.
Delete