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I´ve got a client here in Caracas that makes Vegan cheese. She uses nuts, mostly. I don´t know whether she speaks English, or is prepared to share her recipes, but I´d be happy to put you in touch if you like.
( She´s an omnivore, but started her company to address the problems for those folks who are lacteo-intolerant)
Thanks, but I'm an ominvore too.
 
I was just thinking that something simple like paneer or cottage cheese might be able to be made from vegetable based milk. You can make yogourt with various vegetable milks, so why not.
 
taxlady, tofu is soy milk coagulated, just like fresh curd cheese.

I was just going to say that. The process of making tofu is similar to making paneer. Boil the soy milk, add something to coagulate it ( with paneer its something acidic like lemon juice, vinegar ...). with tofu there are other ones which I have but forget what it is. Which coagulate the milk into curds, which are strained out then pressed into a block.

Not sure if you can get any other plant based milks too curdle

Although looks like cheese, doesn't taste like cheese at all.

I actually bought a vegan cheese making book after taking a vegan cheese tasting class ( and the book was recommended).

Some of them taste pretty good like the brie and blue cheese.

A lot of the other cheese are masked with lemon or vinegar to give it that tanginess. Often nutritional yeast is added. Agar agar is used to kind of give its a cheese like texture, but in all cases, the cooked physical properties are nothing like its dairy counterpart.

I ran out and bought everything I needed to make a variety of cheeses ( Cheddar, mozzarella, brie....). Brie was the only one that smelled and tasted 'real' but the consistency wasn't creamy like brie.

On the other hand, the vegan ricotta made out of almonds is actually pretty good. Still no dairy-ness smell or feel to it, but the texture is right on and the flavor can definitely be used for ravioli, stuffed shells, lasagna .... It is a little looser than typical ricotta but can be adjusted. Only ingredients are raw blanched almonds ( s soaked over night), water, salt and a Tbs of dairy free yogurt. Blend until ricotta consistency.
 
So, it is possible to have ravioli with a vegan ricotta to go with the spinach or chard. That was all I was getting at.
 
Larry, so true, you can't make a creamy melty rich smooth plant milk cheese without adding fat, and most likely a saturated fat like coconut oil. I have a dear friend that was with me through my cheese making journey. She thought since I had used all kinds of cultures, all kinds of cheese making equipment and skill sets, I could turn plant milk into cheese because people do this. Sure I could go through the motions and get it to culture correctly, but without a higher fat content, and lots of salt, it wasn't going to taste like real cheese.


Thank you for the ricotta made from soaked almonds recipe. We're going to have a white mushroom ww lasagna, this one uses walnuts. We've had it once before and it is delicious.



I did purchase organic soybeans, have learned to make soy milk, have used okara in baking. Now I have some food grade gypsum to coagulate tofu. I'm stuck right there until the weather gets cooler. Then I'll make tofu. I can re-use the cheese molds and cheese cloth to form it.
 
I end up dehydrating the last of the crop after canning etc. I turn it into tomato powder.
I have a jar every year to use in the winter. I use it for example. When you want to boost a flavor up a little, Like in chili where it isn't quite enough tomato flavor but you don't want to add another jar/can of tomatoes. Or you want a small amount of tomato sauce, mix it with some water to the thickness you want. I sprinkle it on chicken before baking. Add it to stuffed pepper filling, vegetable soup, cabbage rolls or fried cabbage. Mix some into meatloaf or even your hamburger before making patties. The best part is I mixed cherry, yellow, romas, beefsteaks, or any other mixture of what is left which creates a great flavor. I also do the same with my hot peppers, My middle grandson puts that on everything. Word of caution mask up and a well vented area when doing the hot peppers. Sorry this doesn't help if you out if don't have a dehydrator, but just want to offer an option.
 
letscook I agree - just last night I was thinking about the tomatoes, and that I have enough in the freezer, and canned, so the rest, that I don't use now, go into the dehydrator! Same with some other things, as well.
 
So, it is possible to have ravioli with a vegan ricotta to go with the spinach or chard. That was all I was getting at.

Definitely %100

The only potential issue is the almond ricotta is slightly thinner than regular. I dont remember what I did to compensate for that but it worked out well. With the chard, I blanched and squeezed out as much moistures I could as not to make it any runnier.

If you have a real good blender could probably either increase the almond content or decrease the water . But If not enough liquid added the bottom blends while the top sits there.

Below is where I got the initial recipe if anyone is interested.
I can tell you what I did to tweak it and why.
I followed it exactly, as I normally do with recipes. The consistency was good, but way too tangy and too much of a yogurt flavor.

I eliminated the vinegar and lemon juice completely, as I didnt think they were necessary.
I cut the yogurt down to 1 Tbs. ( doesn't have to be exact, I just eyeball it).
**I found the 'Forager Cashew Milk Plain Yogurt' to work the best. ***
These changes worked for me. With the slightly less liquid, I sometimes have to add a little bit more water to get it to blend properly. But this is the tricky part, cause too little and only the bottom blends and too much and you got yourself fake ricotta soup.

Again, its not perfect but has its uses , and especially if vegan ( my wife). Ive tried some commercial vegan ricotta which were expensive and got thrown out ( never even made it into the dish. Glad I tasted it first.

So far Ive used it in ravioli, a layer of lasagna, white pizza and even stuffed shells ( this is what I did the first time when it was too acidy and yogurty. Everyone said they loved it. I didnt . granted I am my worst critic, but I think they were being polite. But I went back to the drawing board and now Im pleased.

I also had some leftover and mixed it in with my Spanikopita mix.

But once again, key is your blender and its ability to break down soaked almonds so they resemble ricotta. If it cant, then it will be very grainy.

https://healthymidwesterngirl.com/almond-ricotta/
 
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