People say that one of the hardest things to give up when they change to a vegan or plantbased diet, or when they learn they have an intolerance to dairy, is CHEESE! Even if you don’t find it hard to give up the dairy version, you may still want a replacement for mozzarella to top that pizza, feta for that Mediterranean salad, halloumi for the grill or maybe just some creamed cheese for lunch on those oatcakes?
Well, I have some good news for you; it’s really easy to make a delicious tasting replacement right at home in your own kitchen! Making your own cheese can seem like an overwhelming task. There are several ways you can create dairy-free cheese, books all give you long lists of ingredients and lots of different stages to follow and it can make you think it’s just not worth bothering and, maybe it’s just easier to live a life without cheese after all (sob). But it doesn’t need to be that way! The lovely people at www.madmillie.com have created a Vegan Cheese Kit. I’ve given the kit a thorough workout in my kitchen and I am excited to share the results with you! If you’re interested in knowing more, read on….
The Vegan Cheese Kit comes in a box which is really handy for storing all your cheese making condiments inside. It includes;
• Thermometer
• Cheese Cloth
• Citric Acid
• Agar
• Tapioca Flour
• Yeast Flakes
• Cheese Salt
• Instructions and Recipe Booklet
The Recipe Booklet has 7 different cheese recipes from Feta to Halloumi to Mozzarella! Each contained within 1 page with only a few, simple, easy steps to follow. None of the recipes are complicated and I found them straightforward and easy to do.
You will need a few extra ingredients for each cheese and nuts is the main addition. 80-150g of nuts per recipe to make a 200g amount of cheese. Olive oil and plant-based milk is also called for in just 1 of the recipes.
You will need a food processor to blitz the cheese mixture until smooth, a small pan, bowl and measuring jug.
The process;
The images below demonstrate the small number of stages required for creating the Vegan Firm Mozzarella Cheese.
Stage 1: Soaking the nuts
Stage 2: Draining
Stage 3: Blending the ingredients
Stage 4: Heating the mixture as per the booklet instructions using the thermometer provided in the box.
Stage 5: Cooling the Mozzarella balls in an ice bath before serving
Mad Millie make the process really easy to follow and understand for each of the cheese recipes which varies with instruction depending on the end result achieved.
I chose 4 recipes to try and you can see the results below!
You can buy the kit here
1. Vegan Cream Cheese
This was the most straightforward and easy of the cheeses I made. No heating required and only 2 stages of soaking the nuts and blending to a thick, lovely, creamy texture which was then ready for eating straight away! Which I did, of course, 😉 I wanted to taste the cheese properly, so I had it with some plain oatcakes. I was really impressed with the flavour; a definite salty, cheese-like taste with similar creamy texture. This is ideal for making for lots of different occasions such as a dip for a buffet table, Saturday night around the tv or just to have in the fridge ready for a simple lunch or snack food on some crusty French baguette…..
2. Vegan Halloumi
Halloumi is one of those cheeses which can take centre stage in a dish, usually grilled on a griddle pan to give it those chargrilled lines and added to a bed of green leaves or eaten in a sandwich! Well this halloumi has the texture which will stand up to that grilling, so you can go ahead and use it in just the same way you would the normal halloumi. I used a small, enamel pie dish while allowing it to set as it gives it the nice shape, easy for cutting. You do not need any greaseproof paper to line the tin as the cheese comes out very easily with a little prompting with a knife to ease it out.
3. Vegan Firm Mozzarella (Balls)
These look really cool! After heating, the cheese mixture starts to solidify and enables you to easily create these really great looking Mozzarella Balls! The texture is very similar to the normal mozzarella but of course with the added benefit of being completely dairy free. The obvious choice for using these is on top of a pizza! I haven’t tried it yet but the recipe book says they will be gooey and stretchy when heated: now ‘that’ I am excited for!
4. Vegan Marinated Feta
I’ve saved my favourite until last! For me, this one wins on flavour and texture (even though the other 3 were amazing, this one just about pips them to the post!) It crumbles just like feta (can you see in the picture) and you can use it as it is straight into a salad or warm dish but Mad Millie had also provided an amazing marinade recipe you can use which enables you to store the feta for 2 weeks as it acts as a preservative (marinade ingredients not provided).
The Mad Millie Kit provides an excellent and easily accessible introduction into vegan cheese making. The kit provides instructions for 7 different cheese recipes and enough ingredients to make approximately 3.6kg of cheese (excluding the nuts which must be bought separately).
I thoroughly enjoyed using this kit and look forward to testing out the other 3 recipes in the booklet. Once I am more confident at the cheese making, I’m going to try adding my own touches like extra herbs or spices like you could too!
If you want to give vegan cheese making a go, this kit would be a good place to start. It would make a great gift too and considering Christmas is around the corner, maybe you can think of someone who might like one or you could get one for yourself and offer to do the cheese platter for the Christmas table?!
The kit is much cheaper than paying for a course in vegan cheese making and you can do it in your own time in the comfort of your own home.
Give the Mad Millie Vegan Cheese Kit a go and enjoy eating the results!
Happy cheese making!
Joanne x
This is a paid advertorial for www.madmillie.com
