Vegan Nut Cheese
These nut cheese
recipes are extremely easy to do, with the advantage of having the same health
benefits as dairy cheese with the added probiotics. They can be made to stay a
soft, spreading-type or shaped into hard blocks which can be sliced. The most effective
way of doing this is to use a dehydrator, but one can also leave the shapes
uncovered in the refrigerator and after a day or so a rind will development on
the outside.
Various types of nuts
can be used (and interchanged), but for the most convincing results use nuts
that will mimic the taste of dairy cheese. Use for instance peeled almonds for
making feta-style; sweeter cashew nuts or earthy tasting walnuts for making
swiss-style; a mix of pine-nuts and brazils for making parmesan or pecorino
style nut cheese and macadamia nuts with its higher oil content for making hard
cheddar types (add a pinch of curry and turmeric powders to your nut pulp).
Seeds, such as sunflower with sesame, or pumpkin seeds on their own also make
delicious nut cheeses. Dehydrate the shaped nut blocks or domes until just a
rind forms (and the mixture is still semi-soft inside), or dry out further
until almost crumbly, depending on the type you're making.
Start by soaking nuts
in water. To make things interesting, use two different types of nuts to give a
layer effect. Use ¾ cup of raw walnuts and a ¾ cup raw macadamia nuts and soak
them separately overnight in two bowls in enough water to cover them.
The next day, drain
the water off and rinse the nuts. Keeping them separate, place the nuts in a
strong blender or food processor fitted with the steel S-blade. Add ¾ cup
filtered water and ½ tsp probiotic powder (this would be for each batch of
nuts). Blend until smooth and thick.
Pour the two thick
mixtures into 2 muslin cloths or nut milk bags that sit in sieves over bowls to
catch the water (whey). Twist the muslin cloths or nut milk bags to remove
excess water.
Place a heavy object,
like a clean river stone on each of the squeezed nut mixtures. Cover the two
bowls with a tea cloth and place somewhere warm (but not in the sun) for 48
hours. In this time, good bacteria will ferment the nut cheese and at the end
of 2 days the mixtures will have a faint sour smell.
Transfer the two nut
mixtures to two mixing bowls. Add 1 - 2 tbsp of savoury yeast flakes and ½ tsp
of salt to each bowl. Stir in any other flavourings of your choice, such as:
chopped olives, fresh herbs, spices or even finely grated fresh vegetables,
onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes or dried onion and garlic granules or chili
flakes. Stir well.
Press the mixture into
a container to make a nice shape and then tip it out. This is now ready to eat
(a soft nut cheese) and can be sliced. You can also dehydrate the nut cheese
for a few hours in order for the nut cheese to form a rind; alternatively if
you don't have a dehydrator you can simply unmould the nut cheese onto a plate
and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator. After two days the nut cheese would
have formed a rind as well.
Keep for 10 days in
the refrigerator.
Laurinda Erasmus is a
vegan chef and author of a vegan recipe book, called Benessere well-being:
vegan & sugar-free eating for a healthy life-style, by Quinoa Publishing.
The book has over 520 recipes, each with a colour photograph, taken by the
author herself. The book won a gold medal at the Living Now Book Awards in New
York, USA. She is passionate about the vast possibilities of creating
plant-based meals, the increased wellness and energy through plant nutrition
and making a smaller impact on our precious ecosystem. Through her book and
vegan classes, she shows healthy and fun ways of how to bring more plant-based
meals into one's diet. She also travels extensively, always collecting new
recipes and re-writing them as vegan dishes. She shares her tips for vegan
travellers and with vegan travel recipes on her blogsite http://veganwellbeing.wordpress.com and
her book can be viewed at http://www.veganwellbeing.net
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Laurinda_Erasmus/1125505
