You have by now heard of my trials and tribulations of getting vegan cheese to really melt. I’ve carried on and on about how it never really does, no matter what I do. That is, until now.
I found the new Daiya Cheese Wedges at my local Whole Foods. On sale no less. Packaged as a block shape, it comes in 3 flavors: Cheddar Style Wedge, Jack Style Wedge and Jalapeño Garlic Havarti Style Wedge. As only the first two were on the store shelf, I went with Cheddar.
First order of business is a grilled cheese sandwich, like the kind I had as a kid where it’s plain – no butter, spreads or anything fancy, just bread and melted cheese. Since I’m in the Bay Area, my choice of bread is a locally-made, crusty-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside loaf of rustic sourdough.
Patiently heated on a cast iron skillet until it’s all toasted and melted, it’s got the same salty, Cheddar-cheesy tangy flavor, and Velveeta-like texture as I remembered. I’ve been eating them all week, an indulgent blast to the past.
The taste and texture is also very good straight out of the package, virtually unthinkable with some other brands. I can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on the other two flavors. I see a veggie cheeseburger happening in my near future.
I was so excited about the Daiya wedges, since I don’t mind the shreds from time to time, but I was surprisingly disappointed. Everyone else seems to love them, but they struck me as plastic-tasting. :(
What I really want is the sourdough bread — with or without the cheese. Since going gluten-free that’s the only thing I miss.
The Jalapeño Garlic Havarti Style Wedge is amazing!
I use it for pizza a lot.
love grilled cheese(& yes, with great cheese!) but never really ate Velveeta so it’s the bread, being gluten-free like Andrea, that I miss most–good, ole’ chewy sourdough bread that I’ve yet to create or find on my G-F adventure~
Does this tastes better than the Daiya shreds? Vegan sites rave about Daiya, but I just don’t get it. I like Galaxy shreds a little better, but not much. I was a huge cheese fan before going vegan, so I’d love to find something that works. Thanks for sharing, enjoy reading here.
I also tried the cheddar wedge since Daiya seems to be what everyone’s raving about. I thought I’d try a piece by itself to get a better feel for the flavor. It seemed so salty to me that I really don’t think I can eat it. And I guess I’m not really sure what the flavor is under all that salt.
never tried that brand but from the pics it looks amazing! thanks for sharing! yum!
I’ve tried melting some over a bagel for breakfast and it just tastes perfect. Do you have a recipe of tomato soup to pair it with the grilled cheese sandwich?
Holy crap, that Daiya is so melty and perfect! No wedges available here, but I’m craving that grilled cheese fo sho.
Man, I love a grilled cheese sandwich. Yours looks perfect!
Hannah – I actually prefer the wedges to the shreds.
Andrea – Is there such a thing as GF sourdough?
in2insight – Just tried that flavor, it is so good. I can’t decide which flavor I like better.
Brenda – Someone needs to make a GF sourdough! :-)
Pat – I do like the wedges over the shreds. Vegan cheese is definitely getting better and better all the time. Have you tried any of the nut cheeses?
Louise – Yes, the cheddar is salty. But I thought cheddar is suppose to be salty tasting. The Jalapeño Garlic Havarti Style doesn’t seem salty to me. Have you tried that flavor?
Caralyn – It’s super yummy!
Vegan – I’ll have to try it on a bagel sometime. I haven’t made tomato soup before so I don’t have a recipe.
Jes – So happy with how melty it really is. :-)
trina – Me too. Thanks!
Grilled cheese sammies are my comfort food… I have yet to try daiya cheese and it’s been FOREVER since I have had a grilled cheese.
Ooo, that grilled cheese looks awesome. When I found the wedges at Whole Foods, I bought 2 in every flavor, haha. I had already tried the cheddar and I have to agree it is salty, but I also agree that I remember cheddar being equally as salty, so I love it. The cheddar is my fav, but the others are great too. Can’t wait to make all kinds of grilled cheese (like this one) and nachos! :)
What a perfect looking grilled cheese, I love that kind of bread too.