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What Is Vegan Cheese?
Vegan cheese is an umbrella term for any cheese made dairy-free, and as plant-based recipes developed, people realized that non-dairy cheese could be made from a wide variety of ingredients. Nearly any plant milk can be made into vegan cheese, meaning there are vegan cheeses made of soy, rice, almond, nuts, and more. This versatility of ingredients is super useful to food scientists because of how many kinds of cheese exist. Vegan cheese producers have recreated rich and creamy cheeses like ricotta and hard, pungent cheeses like parmesan. Vegan cheese is also available in just as many preparations: you can find vegan cheese pre-shredded, in a block, sliced, as dips, or as cream cheese.What Is Vegan Cheese Made Of?
Soy might be the most-used ingredient in plant-based substitutes for animal products, and for a good reason! Soy can be used in several ways to produce vegan cheese, as tofu or as soy protein. Soy has been used as a cheese analog as far back as 16th century China, as fermented tofu. Nuts like almonds, walnuts, and cashews have been a great addition to the vegan cheesemaker’s toolbox.
- Konjac gum
- Agar-agar
- Arrowroot
- Xanthan gum