While some vegan cheeses come in blocks or rounds that can be used for snacking, melting, or cooking, most vegan cheeses do not. Miyoko’s and Kite Hill both culture their vegan cheeses. Others actually go through a similar process as dairy cheese, where a starter culture is added to break down the fat and protein in nuts to unlock new textures and flavors. Some will add in natural flavorings, like nutritional yeast, to simulate the depth of flavor you’d find in dairy cheeses. Much like dairy cheese, there's a wide flavor range in non-dairy cheese. It’s something that many plant-based or dairy-free eaters grow accustomed to, but if you’re new to vegan cheese, it may be more noticeable. You may find that the less processed ones are a little grainy or chalky, even if they have great flavor. In general, the more processed vegan cheeses will be the ones that feel most like dairy cheese. Unlike the vegan label, which is applicable to a variety of foods and other products, the Certified Plant Based label (independently verified by NSF International) is specifically for plant-based meat, egg, and dairy alternatives and has a stricter limit for non-plant-based additives (5 percent). According to the Certified Vegan Website, certified products must not contain “honey or honey bee products, insects or products from insects such as silk or dyes, or sugar filtered with bone char or be processed with any animal products or by-products.” If a product is Certified Vegan, that means that it’s free of the obvious animal products like dairy or meat. The vegan certification is not currently regulated by the FDA, but there are other certifying bodies that issue vegan labels including Natural Food Certifiers and The Vegan Society. Nutritional yeast is also added to create a “cheesy” flavor. The most common potential allergen in vegan cheese is tree nuts, so watch out if you have a nut allergy. Young looks for vegan cheeses with a cashew or root vegetable base because they are naturally creamy. We spoke to nutritionist Berit Young, RDN, for advice on what to look out for when shopping for vegan cheese. What to Look for When Buying Vegan Cheese
0 kommentar(er)
