Category: How-to’s

Plant-based Cheddar Cheese

Plant-Based Cheddar Cheese

3 Aug 2019 Plant-based Bear

I’ve now tried several recipes for a plant-based cheese, and although I really do like my Plant-Based Sharp Cheddar recipe, I’m still on the hunt for the “perfect” plant-based cheese!

As I search through cheese recipes, most of them are variations of the same theme, which doesn’t mean I won’t try them, but I expect similar results and maybe not a solution to downsides of other recipes I’ve tried. But, this one from Michelle Blackwood over at Healthier Steps, caught my eye as it included some different ingredients that I thought might help make the cheese more firm and perhaps more, uh, cheese-like, or having the same feeling, texture, and type of cutting of a real cheddar. The tapioca starch (or flour) and the cornstarch could make it more interesting!

Recently I’ve been using this agar powder, which is about as good of a price and quality I’ve yet been able to find. It is working great in all of the other cheese recipes. However, the amount of agar (2 T) in Michelle’s recipe seems a bit high, particularly for a 1/2 cup of water. For comparison, my Plant-Based Sharp Cheddar recipes uses 1 T of agar powder to 1 cup water. I would think that Michelle just made a simple mistake and has Tablespoons, instead of teaspoons, but she does properly list 2 teaspoons kappa carrageenan as an alternative, and doubles-down on the amounts of agar powder and water in the comments when some said their cheeses were too soft.

I followed the recipe, only doubling the lemon juice, but, due to the Plant-based Bear not using oil, just skipped the coconut oil in the recipe entirely. I’m not sure how this might affect things, but the cheese turned out fine and didn’t need additional oil, at least from a non-stick angle. All was well…

…Until I started making that agar/water mixture. I couldn’t even begin to dissolve 2 T of agar powder into the 1/2 cup water, and got a gluey ball that wouldn’t at all be able to be brought to a boil. I tried adding just a SMALL amount more water, but that wasn’t enough to make a difference either. I wasn’t measuring my added water, but I’d imagine I ended up with a cup and a half of water or more to make a rather thick agar paste I could bring to a boil. I poured it into the other mixture and blended as instructed.

I have a number of “tiny loaf” pans that I use for making cheese, and instead of oiling up, I simply line them with plastic wrap, leaving excess in place, extending beyond the pan. This makes things non-stick, super easy to clean up, and I can wrap the resulting cheeses in the extra wrap. I bought my 1-cup tiny loaf pans years ago, and can’t for the life of me find any more, but this pan would also be similar. For this recipe, I can make three “loaves” of cheese.

The Healthier Steps original Vegan Cheddar Cheese recipe is below:

Plant-based Cheddar Cheese
Print Recipe

Vegan Cheddar Cheese

Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cheese
Calories: 118kcal
Author: Michelle Blackwood

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup water for mixing with agar powder
  • 2 tablespoons agar powder or 2 teaspoons kappa carrageenan
  • 1/2 cup water for mixing with other ingredients
  • 1/2 cup cashews raw
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper chopped, seeds removed
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil optional
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
  • 1 tablespoon non-gmo cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch Cayenne pepper optional

Instructions

  • If using a high-speed blender, add water, cashews, bell pepper, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice, coconut milk, coconut oil, tapioca starch, cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper.
  • Process until smooth and creamy.
  • Mix cold water with agar powder in a saucepan, bring to boil on medium stirring constantly.
  • Remove from heat and immediately add to cheese sauce.
  • Process until smooth.
  • Pour mixture into an oiled container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Alternatively, especially when using a regular blender, process all the ingredients including agar powder in a blender until smooth. Pour sauce into a non-stick sauce on medium heat whisking constantly until thick and bubbly. Immediately pour into an oiled container and refrigerate for an hour.

Notes

I find the consistency of the method using the high-speed blender better. This recipe is not like storebought processed vegan cheese. So it’s not as firm. Yes, it slices and shreds but not like storebought and tastes amazing!
The recipe calls for agar powder, if using agar flakes, use 3 times the amount instead.
If you prefer a sharper flavor then add extra lemon juice

The results were okay. I think my “pinch of cayenne” was rather large, so my cheese was a bit spicy, and it definitely was more firm than other cheese recipes (probably due to the “excess” agar.) But I didn’t find it dramatically different or better, and it still looks about the same. It’s still more of a “Velveeta” consistency, rather than a typical hard dairy cheese.

I’ll have to try it again soon, with what I’ve learned, and then maybe publish a Plant-based Bear edit!

I did slice the cheese up, and pair with Pretzel Crisps, fresh veggies, and some home-made hummus to take to a get-together, and everyone loved it!

Michelle has some real interesting things on her site, so I do encourage you check it out if you like Jamaican, Asian, and/or Cajun flavors.

PBB
Plant-based Cheddar Cheese, Veggies, Hummus and Pretzel Crisps!

Plant-based Cheese Sauce

27 Jul 2019 Plant-based Bear

Most plant-based cheese sauce uses a lot of cashews, nutritional yeast, and a bunch of other less-than-common ingredients. But, the author of this cheese sauce claimed it was the ultimate, and it was pretty much just basic plants (and those ever-present raw cashews!)

https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/ultimate-cheese-sauce/

So, for my plant-based omelette attempt, I knew I’d want some good cheesy sauce, so why not make it first!

The recipe called for boiling the veggies (and yes, those cashews) for 20 minutes or so, but one person had used an Instant Pot. I haven’t had the chance to use mine in awhile, so went this route, chopping up the veggies, adding them to the Instant Pot, setting it for 5 minutes at high pressure, and then mostly letting it naturally depressurize.

Then I added the ingredients in the specified amounts (for example, I’d cooked up too many potatoes for the the 2 cups I needed) and blended them all up in my Ninja blender.

Tasty cheese sauce!

And, it worked! I still think I can taste a bit of the potato and carrot in this, but it’s rather cheesy tasting, and quite delicious. It also went well with my plant-based omelettes I was making! (If only those omelettes were as good as this cheese sauce!)

Delicious with the pretzel crisps!

By the way, those dark specs in the sauce are because I didn’t peel my potatoes. To me it’s not a problem!

PBB

No-Oil Air Fryer Country Potatoes

24 Jul 2019 Plant-based Bear

This morning I had a hankering for some good old-fashioned country potatoes. Usually, these would be fried up in a skillet, and topped with cheese and sour cream. Yeah, none of that last sentence is going to work anymore!

So, with my air fryer, I was able to make my own country potatoes, and they turned out delicious.

This “recipe” is more of a how-to method than a good measuring guide.

Print Recipe

No-Oil Air Fryer Country Potatoes

Like any country potatoes, but plant-based, and using no oil!
Last updated Sept. 25, 2019.
Prep Time25 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: breakfast, potato
Author: Plant-Based-Bear.com

Equipment

  • Air fryer

Ingredients

  • whole raw potatoes 2 medium-large potatoes is an ample serving per person
  • cold water Enough to cover potatoes in a bowl
  • Chicken-like seasoning
  • paprika Use more than you think necessary
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • chili powder Just a touch.
  • ground pepper
  • other seasonings thyme, rosemary, oregano or others, as to suit
  • bell pepper diced
  • green onions diced
  • other chop-able veggies zucchini, squash, tomatoes, onions
  • salsa or ketchup
  • plant-based sour cream optional
  • plant-based shredded cheese optional

Instructions

  • Wash and dry potatoes.
  • Dice to desired size. I tend to like mine more like those you'd buy frozen, so reasonably small.
  • Soak potatoes in water for the duration of your dicing session. You may choose to drain off and rinse the potatoes a couple times, until water doesn't get cloudy with stirring.
  • Drain water from diced raw potatoes. Drain as much possible, but no need to go through extra drying steps.
  • To the bowl of potatoes, add some chicken-like seasoning. Remember this is usually pretty salty, so use accordingly.
  • Add paprika for color and flavor. Smoked paprika could work here, too. This helps give a beautiful fried color, so be generous!
  • Add onion and garlic powder to bowl, for flavor. Add other herbs and spices, as desired.
  • Stir up ingredients of the bowl, coating each potato piece with some of each ingredient. If there doesn't seem to be enough coating, add some more!
  • Depending on the size of your air fryer, spread out in the bottom of air fryer. About 1-3 inches thick seemed to work for me, but make sure plenty of air can get around all of the potatoes, and don't try to cook too many at once.
  • Cook in air fryer, for about 13-16 minutes at 400°F. Depending on how heavily you load your air fryer, you may wish to give a good stir, or shake the potatoes around about every 5 minutes.
  • While cooking your potatoes, slice, dice, and mince the bell peppers, green onions, and other veggies, trying to stick with veggies that need about the same cooking time.
  • Remove pan from air fryer and add veggies, and stir around in with potatoes.
  • Air fry for another 3+ minutes to desired crispness.
  • Serve with plant-based sour cream, salsa or ketchup, and plant-based shredded cheese, or even sprinkle some fresh diced green onions on tap!

I found that if I don’t soak my potatoes in water first, I end up with a mess that just doesn’t have that restaurant quality. But the length of the soak doesn’t seem to matter as much as just doing it, and clearing the cloudy water.

For the seasonings, use more than you think necessary or needed, except for the chicken-like seasoning. I use McKay’s Chicken Seasoning if I have any (I find that it is expensive online), but there are alternatives, and I’ve found some compelling looking products at my local Asian supermarkets (some even without oil.)

Seems that most plant-based sour cream recipes are about the same, but I’ll rehash the one I’m using at some other time. I’ve now taken the time to post my Plant-based Sour Cream recipe!

And for shredded cheese, I’ve been using my Plant-based Sharp Cheddar.

Enjoy! I know I thoroughly do, every time I make this recipe!

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No-Oil Air Fryer Country Potatoes.
I’ve eaten a few bites here, to show you more of the potatoes!
The version from August 31, 2019 with onions, bell peppers, and fresh tomatoes.
No-Oil Air Fryer Country Potatoes with bell peppers and onions, and topped with Plant-based Sour Cream, Plant-based Cheddar Cheese (shredded) and some salsa, from Oct. 6, 2019.