I never thought I would be swooning over vegan cheese. I remember a time when non-dairy cheese was disgusting to put it mildly. But now thankfully, we live in the era of artisanal vegan cheese.
Ever since I heard about Miyoko’s Creamery, I’ve been anxious to try their cultured nut-based cheese. I had read through Miyoko Schinner’s vegan cheese making cookbook, Artisan Vegan Cheese. But deep down I knew I’m much too lazy and impatient to make my own nut cheese.
I finally spotted the white boxes in the refrigerated section at the Whole Foods near me (Redwood City and San Mateo). There’s only a few flavors available on the store shelves, compared to the many flavors seen on their website.
Actually, it’s probably for the best that the selection was limited otherwise I would still be standing there trying to decide on a flavor. I settled on the Classic Double Cream Chive and Aged English Smoked Farmhouse. The first one I tried is the chive cheese and it’s my favorite. It’s creamy and totally spreadable on a cracker with a great chive taste (pictured at the very top).
As for the smoked farmhouse, just unwrapping it, you can smell the smokiness. It’s a harder cheese and it crumbled much more easily and wasn’t quite as spreadable compared to the chive cheese. At first, I thought I didn’t care for it but I’ve since come around and appreciate the sharp, rich taste.
Depending on the flavor, prices range from $9.99 to $11.99 for 6.5 oz, it may seem a little pricey but really it’s no different than the cost of a nice, high end dairy cheese. As an occasional treat, my wallet and taste buds have no problem leaving the nut-cheese-making to the experts.
Fun Tidbit:
Anyone else remember Now & Zen? Way back when, they made vegan meaty seitan things like UnTurkey, UnSteak and BBQ UnRibs. I never got around to trying the UnTurkey but I loved the other two (I even saved the packaging labels, I’m such a nerd). I was so sad when the company went out of business. The talent and brains behind Now & Zen was none other than Miyoko Schinner herself. So happy she’s back in business with Miyoko’s Creamery.
This post contains an Amazon link, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on the link and make a purchase of anything.
I hope to try Miyoko’s cheeses one of these days. Apparently, I heard, because it is cured, it may be okay for nut allergy sufferers. I do have to research more on this or just try out for myself. Haven’t seen them around here yet though. Maybe also because I’ve been indoors (just doing online grocery shopping) because of the snow for a month or so now. lol!
I am obsessed with vegan cheese they can be quite pricey, but it saves you the time to shop for ingredients and make them. I haven’t tried Miyoko’s Creamery yet, I hope to try them sometimes soon. The packaging looks superb, the Aged English Smoked Farmhouse looks so yummy and I have Miyoko’s cookbook, too! ;) What a fun tidbit, I love retro designs, so cool Miyoko used to be behind Now & Zen!
Lovlie – I haven’t heard that about cultured nuts, that would be cool if true. Miyoko’s cheese is available online at their website. Might be the only way I’ll get to try some of the other flavors.
Rika – I figured it’s a wash between the cost of ingredients and time to make vs just buying it in the store. Such cute labels, I’m sure that’s why I saved them way back when. :-)
Sounds delicious! In my area a local store carries Treeline tree nut cheese in several varieties. The spreadable varieties are creamy, tangy and delicious.
J – I’ve see the Treeline cheese in the store but haven’t gotten around to trying them yet. When I do, I’ll be sure to try the spreadable ones first. Thanks!
I haven’t tried Miyoko’s cheeses except for the ones I made from her cookbook. The ones I made were great, but yeah, laziness is a factor, and I’d rather buy it. So far, I haven’t tried a vegan cheese that I wanted to buy again. Maybe this will be the one!
The artisanal vegan cheese trend cannot come here fast enough! The stuff you can buy readymade is all less than great, to put it mildly. That cheese and chive does look great.