est Vegan Cheese.
Making a vegan cheese using the traditional fermentation process, is not that easy, nor is it a fast process! But using agar, or sometimes called agar-agar, will make this a complete different story. By activating the agar in some hot to boiling water, it only takes you a few hours to get this cheese onto your table. The majority of this time is used for soaking the cashews and just waiting for the cheese mixture to cool down.
Agar or agar-agar is a vegan substitute for gelatin. It is derived from marine red algae and can be used in many different food applications. From thickening soups to jellies to making this vegan cheese!
Mini Springforms
These mini springforms are the ones that I use to make the cheese. They are easy to open after the cheese has hardened and will make for a nice small cheese wheel.
Agar agar
Agar is a great substitute for gelatin but there are some processes/steps you will need to follow to get the best results. I use the following steps and they always work:
- Dissolve the agar in room temperature water and mix well before heating.
- Turn the heat up to just below the boiling point.
- Let it simmer for about 5 minutes to activate the agar. Make sure to stir and continue to stir throughout the entire process.
You will know when you are done activating the agar when you get a syrupy consistency (see picture above). At that point you can add all the ingredients together in the high speed blender and bend until you have a creamy consistency. Make sure to not let the agar mixture cool down while mixing everything in the blender and pouring it into the mini springforms. If the mixture gets to thick, just add some hot water and keep blending.
Final Results
Plant Based Cranberry Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 3 cups cashews raw and soaked
- 9 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 lemon squeezed
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chilli flakes adjust if needed (I used a local brand that isn't that spicy)
- 1 tsp black pepper Freshly ground
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds Mille Old Style Mustard Seeds
Additional Ingredients:
- ½ cup cranberries dried and finely chopped
- 4 tsp agar agar
- 2 cups water (use some extra water, not too much! to blend the ingredients)
Instructions
- Soak the cashews for at least 2 hours, this will make for a more creamier amd smooth consistency.
- Gather all your ingredients and chop the dried cranberries into small pieces so they will mix evenly into the final cheese mixture.
- Drain the cashews and add the cashews and all other base ingredients into a high speed blender. Add a little water to blend these ingredients. It doesn't have to be completely smooth but adding this step will make it easier to get everything smooth when you add the agar agar mixture.
- Add 2 cups of water into a small sauce pan and add the agar agar. Mix well before heating.
- Bring the agar agar mixture to a boil while stiring the entire time. When the mixture turns into a paste, it is time to add it to the high speed bender and mix all the ingredients untill you reach a smooth consistency. The last step is to mix in the cranberries by hand.
- Add some fresh ground pepper at the bottom of the spingforms and poor the cheese mixture on top of it, into the 3 mini springforms.
- Let it cool down for about 1 to 2 hours in the fridge.
- Serve with some crackers, bread or just by itself.
Hooray… I already have all the ingrediets on hand, including mini springform pans. I have been working on adding to my vegan cheese recipes, and this looks perfect. Thank you!!
Have fun making it 👍