Plant-based cheese may be getting more appetizing

Can we skip the dairy and still get a cheese that doesn't taste like plants?

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[DovePig]

You will only take my Venezuelan Beaver Cheese from my cold, dead hands!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1JWzyvv8A

 

[fzwo]

I would welcome this. Cheese has a surprisingly high CO2 cost, not to mention the ethical issues with keeping high-output milk cows.

I would love to be much more vegetarian than I am now. Alas, it just tastes so damn good, and we are only just seeing the other side of the uncanny valley of meat replacement taste and mouthfeel. Let's just hope that the food industry manages to not make the stuff incredibly unhealthy or bad for the environment.

 

[anondson]

I guess when quality can only go in one direction.

Reminds me of gluten-free beer. So, so bad (and some of the funniest reviews I ever read on some beer tasting sites). The only palatable variants became the IPAs, which just overwhelmed your taste buds with hops. But I digress…

 

[panton41]

I guess when quality can only go in one direction.

Reminds me of gluten-free beer. So, so bad (and some of the funniest reviews I ever read on some beer tasting sites). The only palatable variants became the IPAs, which just overwhelmed your taste buds with hops. But I digress…

Ah, IPAs the "turpentine flavored beer" style. Invented so you wouldn't taste that the beer had turned on long, hot sea voyages.

I've had some IPAs that genuinely tasted like tropical fruit and were very drinkable, but most of them taste like pine cone party liquor from Early Cuyler's still.

 

[ZenBeam]

Making plant-based cheese the same way dairy cheese is made, instead of assembling it from a bunch of separate ingredients? Crazy talk! ... OK, this actually sounds promising, I'm in.

 

[noogie600]

I guess when quality can only go in one direction.

Reminds me of gluten-free beer. So, so bad (and some of the funniest reviews I ever read on some beer tasting sites). The only palatable variants became the IPAs, which just overwhelmed your taste buds with hops. But I digress…

What would you use in lieu of barley? Rice beers are the first thing that comes to mind that is gluten free but they are fairly well regrarded (tastes different but not bad). I’d also guess they would be labeled as rice beers rather than simply ”gluten free”

 

[ZenBeam]

Ah, IPAs the "turpentine flavored beer" style.

I've had some IPAs that genuinely tasted like tropical fruit and were very drinkable, but most of them taste like pine cone party liquor from Early Cuyler's still.

IPAs are delicious. The hoppier and pinier, the better.

But for you, New England IPA or Hazy IPA is what you need to look for.

 

[Findecanor]

I am currently a ovo-lacto-vegetarian who loves cheese. Real cheese, aged cheese, blue cheese on gingerbread, pan-fried camembert, real mozzarella on pizza etc.
Are these luxury products: sure. And I think that they should continue to be treated that way: with their high fat content, they are best treated as "sometimes-foods".

At the low rate we are eating those, I don't think we have to give them up.
Instead, I think we can go a long way to reduce CO₂ emissions from farmed ruminants just by reducing our intake of cheaper dairy: dairy that don't have as much of a taste, where it does not matter whether the source is actual dairy or plant-based to begin with.

It is easy for an individual to stop consuming superfluous dairy. I believe people could also do the same with beef. A lot of beef in pre-cooked/processed foods does not actually have to be actual beef — when the taste has been masked by other ingredients. That is superfluous beef.
Instead, save the dairy and beef for dishes in which the taste can be savoured.

 

[ScifiGeek]

As as Semi-Vegetarian that has gone weeks without animal products, it's really only cheese that I keep craving. A decent minimally processed Vegan Cheese would be a major breakthrough. None that I have tried have come close to hitting the mark. None, I even really want to eat at all.

 

[Danathar]

Ah, IPAs the "turpentine flavored beer" style. Invented so you wouldn't taste that the beer had turned on long, hot sea voyages.

I've had some IPAs that genuinely tasted like tropical fruit and were very drinkable, but most of them taste like pine cone party liquor from Early Cuyler's still.

My problem with IPAs are how bitter they are (at least the ones I’ve tasted), they go overboard on the hops and it overpowers everything else.

I tend to like a balance. To each their own of course!

 

[Deleted member 545801]

I've been trying some plant based cheeses recently, specifically the imitation shredded mozzarella and cheddar from Aldi. The mozzarella is surprisingly close to the real thing, close enough for my tastes. And at only 20 cents more per bag that the real thing in my market, it's easy enough to switch to and do some harm reduction.

On the other hand, the plant based cheddar tastes like a can of Cheez Whiz. Not bad, but not quite close enough for me yet. I'll give that another try in a year to see if it's improved in that time.

 

[SnoopCatt]

Going back to the fundamentals of food chemistry sounds quite promising - who'd have thunk it? And the product on the shelf likely won't have a list of "stabilisers" and "flavour enhancers" longer than your arm. I look forward to trying it

 

[Derecho Imminent]

Theyre experimenting with growing beef from dna; maybe they could try growing real milk instead of substitutes.

 

[Tallawk]

Cheese, Grommet...

 

[NotEntirelySirius]

My problem with IPAs are how bitter they are (at least the ones I’ve tasted), they go overboard on the hops and it overpowers everything else.

I tend to like a balance. To each their own of course!

I used to like an IPA but that was 10 years ago before this push to pile on the hops. It's turned them into the French roast of beers. The extreme has overwhelmed all other notes of flavor.

 

[SplatMan_DK]

My problem with IPAs are how bitter they are (at least the ones I’ve tasted), they go overboard on the hops and it overpowers everything else.

I tend to like a balance. To each their own of course!

IPAs are wildly different.

See if you can find this one in a local store, just for testing:

https://www.brooklynbrewery.world/en-dk/the-stonewall-inn-ipa/

 

[Tritiumosu]

Theyre experimenting with growing beef from dna; maybe they could try growing real milk instead of substitutes.

There are products on the market that use "not from animals" proteins and ingredients that are traditionally animal sourced, but they're not cost competitive due to the bacterial or yeast-sourced alternative production required. Having a process like that in TFA that applies more traditional methods to a simple plant protein would be a step up in efficiency.

 

[CapnBFG]

What would you use in lieu of barley? Rice beers are the first thing that comes to mind that is gluten free but they are fairly well regrarded (tastes different but not bad). I’d also guess they would be labeled as rice beers rather than simply ”gluten free”

Sorghum is one option. I've had Redbridge Lager before and it was pretty good.

 

[Sulne]

The only cheese I've ever thrown away in my entire life was vegan cheese I bought to try and...it was awful. Really, really nasty stuff.

Unless you nail the texture, melty-ness, flavour and mouth-feel these products will never replace the real thing.

 

[Merciful]

What would you use in lieu of barley? Rice beers are the first thing that comes to mind that is gluten free but they are fairly well regrarded (tastes different but not bad). I’d also guess they would be labeled as rice beers rather than simply ”gluten free”

My brewery (you can count me as an expert in IPA) uses an enzyme to reduce the gluten to less than 20 PPM. This can’t be labelled as “gluten-free” because it’s not, but neither our west-coast IPA (made week-after-week for years) nor our occasional gluten-reduced sour has sickened anyone—and a number of customers are severe celiac sufferers.

 

[suntruth]

There’s a few companies already making casein from non-animal sources like New Culture

 

[Sulla]

I, for one, welcome our new fake cheese overlords.

 

[NameRedacted]

I'll stick with real cheese (and real meat) thanks. None of this plant based or lab grown crap. Humans already eat enough rubbish that's added to processed food which is causing a huge amount of problems.

Fortunately, real meat and cheese definitely don’t cause a huge amount of problems, right?

People who cheer against artificial animal products have all the same arguments as anti-vaxxers. I wonder how much of an overlap there is.

 

[SolarMane]

Personally, I prefer tofu, but additional plant-base alternatives are always welcome.

 

[Rauth85]

Can this be called cheese?

 

[BribrnThe]

Cashew or sunflower seed based cheese substitutes can be amazing. They're not cheap but neither is actually good cheese. At least in central Europe it's not too difficult to get them. Even Spar has some options under their brand.

Coconut based options on the other hand... from revolting to workable in some circumstances (mostly melted but actually melting them can sometimes be tricky) but never really good. At least to me.

 

[Wheels Of Confusion]

Can this be called cheese?

Not if the Dairy industry has anything to lobby about it!

 

[NameRedacted]

Can this be called cheese?

It can be called whatever you want to call it.

Marketing wise, it’ll depend on the country, but that’s also true of other things we call “cheese”, such as American Cheese.

 

[Bloater51]

I'll stick with real cheese (and real meat) thanks. None of this plant based or lab grown crap. Humans already eat enough rubbish that's added to processed food which is causing a huge amount of problems.

But meat and dairy products are plant based when it comes to it. And some plant products humans have been eating for millennia, like bread and beer, rely on a fermentation process. It is all chemistry in the end.

 

[McTurkey]

There’s a few companies already making casein from non-animal sources like New Culture

Came here to say this. New Culture is making 100% bioidentical dairy cheese without the animal intermediary. Right now, they're working to scale up the production process, but they seem to have a path to get there.

I actually prefer many plant-based "meats" to the animal-derived ones, but cheese has so far been a tough sell for me. In the right dish, the plant-based option works, but there are use cases where casein-based cheese is in a class of its own. Like pizza, which was the lone exception to my two years of veganism. Even cheese fries and nachos work with the right plant-based cheese.

 

[alphaLONE]

I've got no real ick for alternative stuff. I've eaten non-dairy "cheeses" from Pizza Hut and incorporated in other ready made meals at cafeterias, and while they were fine, really (not the best, but still far better than some real proper cheeses i've had), they made me suffer Intestinal Turmoil later on, every time. Now I'm wary of them because of this.

 

[McTurkey]

It can be called whatever you want to call it.

Marketing wise, it’ll depend on the country, but that’s also true of other things we call “cheese”, such as American Cheese.

I assume when you say "American Cheese", you mean that plastic-wrapped Kraft nonsense, and not the kind you get from the deli (which is as much cheese as swiss, gouda, meunster, or any other kind)?

 

[Rauth85]

It can be called whatever you want to call it.

Marketing wise, it’ll depend on the country, but that’s also true of other things we call “cheese”, such as American Cheese.

Technically it is processed cheese product. It is made of mostly cheese though, plus butter, salts, and whatever flavoring. Ive seen it made.

 

[NameRedacted]

I assume when you say "American Cheese", you mean that plastic-wrapped Kraft nonsense, and not the kind you get from the deli (which is as much cheese as swiss, gouda, meunster, or any other kind)?

No, I mean the kind you get at the deli too. In many parts of the world (Canada at least and some parts of Europe), it doesn’t qualify as “cheese”.

Make no mistake, I love American Cheese (the stuff from the deli, not the wrapped stuff although most people in Canada at least don’t know they’re two different things, and it’s hella hard to find the real stuff), but any criticism of vegan cheese not being allowed to be called “cheese” should probably take this into account.

 

[NameRedacted]

Technically it is processed cheese product. It is made of mostly cheese though, plus butter, salts, and whatever flavoring. Ive seen it made.

Yes, but most importantly to the point at hand, in many places it can’t be called “cheese”.

This is not a criticism of American Cheese (which I love), it’s a criticism of basing whether a food is good or not based on marketing words.

 

[Rauth85]

Yes, but most importantly to the point at hand, in many places it can’t be called “cheese”.

This is not a criticism of American Cheese (which I love), it’s a criticism of basing whether a food is good or not based on marketing words.

You get the same label on us sold processed cheese too. I thing it snuck in on the main label since its over 100 years old.

 

[killerhurtalot]

I guess when quality can only go in one direction.

Reminds me of gluten-free beer. So, so bad (and some of the funniest reviews I ever read on some beer tasting sites). The only palatable variants became the IPAs, which just overwhelmed your taste buds with hops. But I digress…

Have you tried the variety of rice lagers?
They're pretty damn good for a lager anyways. Can't find much of good gluten free ales though.

I'm not even gluten intolerant, I just like good beer