The Cashew Cheese Evaluation

[Dee]

I made the "sliceable" cashew cheese recipe.
The first plus is that it is very easy to make.
After I blended it all together, I took 2, square, pint size plastic freezer containers and poured half of the cheese sauce in one, and the other half I added pimentos and paprika. Then I put them in the refrigerator.
I just checked on them and they are looking real close to being firm enough to slice.
The taste test:
It definitely tastes like a cheese that has a little bit of a sharpness to it.
I even had Jack taste it while I'm throwing questions at him about taste texture, etc...... He likes it.
So, now I decided that I am going to make the same recipe but without the gelatin and have macaroni & cheese with our dinner tonight. Do you know how long it's been since I've had macaroni & cheese???????? I can hardly wait!!!!
I'll report on that after dinner....
From Dee's test kitchen!!!!!!

[crranch]

Thanks for th update!!! I just came from the TINY little grocery store in a town near us and struck out on finding cashews that didn't have soybean oil on them , so I'm going to attempt the coconut milk version tonight if I can get time. I hope it comes out as well as your cashew version...Rick will be doing the happy dance if I can make him mac and cheese....

[crranch]

Okay....priorities of life...I'm blowing off work today to make time to try the coconut milk cheese recipe... I put 2 packets of gelatin in to set it up pretty firm, and added some mexican spices to give it a little zing...at it is wonderful. I put it in the freezer for a quick set up and just sliced a little to try, kind of like Veelveta with a little kick to it......mexican mac and cheese here we come.....

Hugs,
Carrie

[Dee]

Carrie,
I used raw organic cashews in the cheese recipe. I bought them at our local health food store.
The mac & cheese was not bad. Anything that tastes close to regular cheese I will use.. The 1st recipe that uses the gelatin will be good to shred when it's frozen. I think I'll do that and just put the shredded in a couple serving size bags.
I'm working on a cashew mayonnaise & an alfredo sauce.

Dee~~~

[crranch]

I'll have to track down some raw cashews on my next safari to Whole Foods in a couple of weeks. The down side to living so far out, it is an hour drive round trip just to get to a health food store, but at least a grocery about 20 minutes away carries the Thai Kitchen coconut milk, that doesn't have all the scary added ingredients that some of the other brands I found do. I'll let you know how dinner with the new cheese goes, Rick is dying for a hambuger steak with melted cheese, so looks like that will be his first taste test of it....

Carrie

[Dee]

Hey!!! I'm really proud of you for taking on the challenge...
Good for you & Rick..
When it comes to intolerances, we have to think outside the box...

[Dee]

You Go Carrie!!!
I'm really proud of you for taking on the challenge with the cheese experiment..
When having food intolerances, we have to learn to think outside of the box.
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Dee~~

[kimpatt]

Oh goody! So glad it came out good! I'll try this soon!!!

[kimpatt]

So, I have all the ingredients on hand EXCEPT for the nutritional yeast in order to make the 1st jack cheese. Do you think this matters? Any substitutions you can think of? I'm notorious for leaving out parts of a recipe, so I may try it anyway....

[Dee]

Kim,
The nutritional yeast is what gives the cashew cheese, it's nutty, cheese taste. I'd try a little tumeric/mustard powder if you're going to try it without the yeast.
Start with very small amounts.

Dee~~~~

[Dee]

Okay!
Tried the pimento cashew cheese to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
It melts, and I'm sure is far better tasting than those veggie or whatever those other fake cheeses do..
My suggestion with the 1st recipe that Tex posted is to do what I did and pour half in a square, pint size freezer container and the other add the pimentos and paprika and put that in a pint size conatiner, also.
Then let them set up in the refrigerator.
Take then out & run a butter knife around the square. The cheese will pop right out then.
Then cut the square block in half. Wrap in siran and put the block of cheese in a ziploc freezer bag, etc..
When the blocks are completely frozen, using a hand shredder or a food processor that has a shredding blade on it, shred up the cheese..
Then put the shredded cheese in the freezer.
The cashew cheese is very rich, so you will find that you don't need to pile it on. A little bit goes a long way..
I think the cheese would be very good sprinkled over broccoli or cauliflower. To use in a casserole that calls for topping off with cheese, topping on pizza, macaroni & cheese.
My next test will be making the nacho cheese recipe. If it's anything like the first experiment, it should be really tasty..

Dee

[kimpatt]

SO GOOD!!
I made mine w/o the yeast, and instead added a bit more onion & garlic powder, & also added about 1 T of Simply Organics all-purpose blend. It is soooo good!
Has small spice flecks in it.
Before it set, I poured a bit on my baked potato, and a bit on my toddler's pasta. It was a great thick creamy consistency, and you're right, Dee, a little goes a long way. I may have put 2 tsp. on my potato, and that was plenty.

I'll try it with the yeast next time, but honestly, it is heavenly! I think it will also be great cut in small cubes & sprinkled on a salad.

I cut my block into quarters, and froze two of them. One quarter I cut into thin slices for sandwiches; the other one, I left as a block to cut into squares.

I did figure that this recipe has about 240 grams of fat, but it's also equal to about 4 blocks of cheese (or more). It seems like a 1" cube would have between 5-8 grams of fat, which isn't bad, and is a bit less than traditional cheese's 10 gm. per 1" cube....in case you care!

[tex]

Dee, Carrie, and Kimberly,

Thank you for testing these out, and finding alternate ways to make them. This is turning out even better than I had hoped. I was hoping that they would make "decent" cheese substitutes, but it sounds like they're much better than that.

With all the possibilities, I'm pretty sure that even Polly, with all her intolerances, should be able to find a combination of ingredients that will safely satisfy her cheese "cravings".

Thank you for all your efforts, and your insight.

Tex

[Courtney]

Help! I would love to try the cashew cheese, but I can't find the recipe!

Love,

Courtney

[tex]

Hi Courtney,

Sorry about that. The recipes are indeed rather difficult to locate. They originally appeared on the second page of this topic:

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... ese+recipe

Here's a copy of my post in that topic, for your convenience:

Kim,

Regarding your question about cheese - the answer I gave in my previous response was the short answer. To expand on that, there are some "artificial" cheeses that some of us can eat. In the recipe room, for example, Dee mentions a website that sells "allergen-free" cheese, (among other products). It is here:

http://www.allergyfreefoods.com/order-products.asp

However, their products contain corn derivatives, (especially, relatively large amounts of corn starch, and a couple of smaller items that may be derived from corn). Therefore, whether or not they would adversely affect you, depends on whether or not you are corn intolerant.

Most of the commercial "cheese substitutes" that are available are based on soy, and soy is a pretty common allergen, so they're not a practical option for many/most of us.

If you want to try your hand at making your own "cheese substitute", here are some recipes that I got from the celiac forum noted below, that describe how to make Cashew Cheese. Apparently, the first recipe is from the chefs at Five Loaves Deli & Bakery, (which is considered by many to be Seattle's finest vegetarian restaurant), and they appear in a book titled Best Gourmet Recipes, by Neva Brackett. Note that all but the last recipe include nutritional yeast flakes, (in case that's a problem).

Sliceable Cashew Cheese From Five Loaves Deli & Bakery by Neva Brackett

2 cups cashew nuts
3/8 cup emes kosher gel (I'm sure regular gelatin would work)
1 ½ cups boiling water
2 Tbs. Lemon juice
2 Tbs. Yeast flakes (nutritional)
1 Tbs. Salt
1 tsp. Onion powder
½ tsp. Garlic powder
1 Cup Cold water

1. Place all ingredients in the blender except the 1 cup cold water. Turn on and blend for 1 or 2 minutes until very smooth.

Hint: Place a towel over the lid of the blender before turning on. Hot liquids tend to splash out.

2. Add 1 cup cold water, blend briefly and pour into containers of your choice to chill and slice when firm.

Hint: This recipe makes a white cheese resembling Jack cheese. If you want half of it to resemble American cheese in color, pour half of it into a 1 pint mold and blend in ¼ cup pimientos and 1 tsp. paprika to the remainder. This can be frozen, so you might want to make a double recipe and keep it handy for future use, Frozen Cashew Cheese shreds very nicely if you do it while still frozen, and makes a great topping for Pizza. To thaw, set out at room temperature for an hour. Don't try to thaw it in the microwave--it will melt and not be sliceable.

Prep time: 15 min Chill time: 4 hr or overnight.


Cashew Pimento Cheese (for pizza) From Cooking by the Book by Marcella Lynch

½ c water
½ c cashews
½ tsp. salt
2 tbs. oil
2 ½ tbs. lemon juice
1 4oz jar pimentos
½ tsp. onion salt
½ tsp. garlic salt
1 ½ tbs. nutritional yeast flakes

Whiz all ingredients together in blender until smooth. Drizzle over pizza before baking.
Melted Cheese Sauce (I use with Sliceable cheese w/o gel for mac & cheese)

From Newstart Lifestyle Cookbook by Weimar Institute

2 cups water
¼ cup clean, raw cashews
4 ounce jar pimentos
3 tbs. food yeast flakes
2 tbs. cornstarch or arrowroot
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. onion flakes or powder
¼ tsp. garlic powder

Process cashews in about ½ cup of the water in a blender until very smooth. Add remaining water and other ingredients and continue blending until very smooth. Simmer in a heavy saucepan until thickened, stirring constantly (5-6 minutes). Pour over vegetables, potatoes, tortilla chips etc.

Variations: for Cheese Fondue or Cheese Spread increase cornstarch or arrowroot to 3 tablespoons.

Nacho Cheese Sauce (also from Newstart)

1 cup clean, raw cashews
1 cup hot water
2 ounce jar pimentos
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. paprika
Chili powder to taste

Process cashews and hot water in a blender until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients and continue blending until very smooth. Pour into saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Serve over chips, if desired.

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... opic=21880

Here is one more completely different recipe that appears to have possibilities, (I haven't tried any of these):

Adjust the proportions to your taste and desire for gelled-up quality (more gelatin equals a more solid, gelled consistency)

Gently heat:
Canned coconut milk (can find this in any asian grocery store)

When it is simmering, stir in:
Some plain gelatin
Some garlic powder and onion powder and Sea Salt .

Stir until the gelatin dissolves, then chill.

I would think that any of us would be able to safely eat this last one, unless, of course, the garlic powder or onion powder is a problem.

Tex

Love,
Tex