Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Veganism, new and old Vegans, info, support and recipes

OK, for various reasons I'm trying to cut down and maybe give up dairy. For a time anyway. As I'm a vegetarian of more than 30 years' standing, that means for all practical purposes I'd be vegan.

I don't take milk in tea or coffee anyway. But I do love cheese. And I consider pizza the greatest food ever.

I had bad experiences with fake cheese in the early days of my vegetarianism. That's the early 80s. So things must have improved.

I did try Scheese (mozzarella style) on a homemade pizza last night. It tasted unpleasantly artificial. I can still taste it today. I'd rather not taste that cheese flavouring ever again.

So what are the actually good vegan cheeses?

(Complication: in a recent development, Brazil nuts now make my lips and tongue swell and my throat close up. Possibly some other nuts too. I'm scared to experiment which).
 
try the tesco/sainsbury's own
there's a cheddar style one from sainsbury's i use on pizzas that works and is much better than cheese
or there is violife and a few other brands

some people say to give up normal cheese and leave it a while before trying the gary (vegan cheese)
 
Re tofu, drain and chop it to chunks and put on a baking tray in the oven for 15 20 mins rather than just frying it.
This makes it go firm and less oily. I then chuck it in the stir fry or whatever right at the end. Also solves the problem of it collapsing during the frying process. Very simple
 
danny la rouge said:
OK, for various reasons I'm trying to cut down and maybe give up dairy. For a time anyway. As I'm a vegetarian of more than 30 years' standing, that means for all practical purposes I'd be vegan.

I don't take milk in tea or coffee anyway. But I do love cheese. And I consider pizza the greatest food ever.
Click to expand...
That's pretty much where I am. Giving up milk resulted in a huge improvement in my eczema but cheese remains my Achilles's Heel when it comes to going full vegan.
 
Tofu - this is my all time best recipe -

1) Take the tofu out of the package, wrap it in a tea towel or something and put a plate on top, then a few cans of beans on top of the plate. Press it like that for an hour or so.
2) Make marinade - about 50ml soy sauce, 50 ml water, 2 tablespoon maple syrup / agave, 1 tablespoon balsamic, 1 tablespoon tomato puree, 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (or half teaspoon smoked paprika) 1 tablespoon oil, couple of cloves of garlic, chopped.
3) Chop tofu into about 10-12 planks, cover with marinade, put in fridge for at least a couple of hours.
4) Bake at about 200 degrees for 30-40 mins, turning every 15 mins, pouring marinade over each time.

Now you can use it a variety of ways. Chop into smaller chunks for stir fry etc or leave in planks for sandwich fillings. Great hot or cold. I find it hard not to just gobble the lot.
 
8ball said:
You want a little guide hole first.
Half a centimetre, horizontal, just between the ridge of the Adam's Apple and the next one down.

I think.
Best check youtube.
Click to expand...
After the travesty of the last thread, it would be nice if we could keep this one on topic no?
 
editor said:
After the travesty of the last thread, it would be nice if we could keep this one on topic no?
Click to expand...

Gah! Went on a bit of a nuts tangent.

We were talking about cheese, I think.
A good vegan cheese that isn't made from Brazil nuts or another nut that might cause anaphylaxis.

But enough about the nuts, let's talk about the cheese.
A good blue vegan cheese. Mmmm.

edit: Sorry. Gary. I meant Gary.
 
lazythursday said:
Tofu - this is my all time best recipe -

1) Take the tofu out of the package, wrap it in a tea towel or something and put a plate on top, then a few cans of beans on top of the plate. Press it like that for an hour or so.
2) Make marinade - about 50ml soy sauce, 50 ml water, 2 tablespoon maple syrup / agave, 1 tablespoon balsamic, 1 tablespoon tomato puree, 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (or half teaspoon smoked paprika) 1 tablespoon oil, couple of cloves of garlic, chopped.
3) Chop tofu into about 10-12 planks, cover with marinade, put in fridge for at least a couple of hours.
4) Bake at about 200 degrees for 30-40 mins, turning every 15 mins, pouring marinade over each time.

Now you can use it a variety of ways. Chop into smaller chunks for stir fry etc or leave in planks for sandwich fillings. Great hot or cold. I find it hard not to just gobble the lot.
Click to expand...

I sometimes throw siratcha in the marinade as well.

I've got some bloody silken stuff sitting in the fridge. Falls apart the moment the packs opened. Bought it by mistake, but going to have a go at making scrambled tofu in the morning.
 
UnderAnOpenSky said:
I sometimes throw siratcha in the marinade as well.

I've got some bloody silken stuff sitting in the fridge. Falls apart the moment the packs opened. Bought it by mistake, but going to have a go at making scrambled tofu in the morning.
Click to expand...
I still have to find a use for silken tofu too. Yeah sriracha is a good call. Lots of things you can try. But home marinaded tofu is about a billion times better than any of the stuff sold in shops. The cauldron marinated tofu is horrible.

I have recently got into making tofu fish substitute too. Cut block of tofu in to four steaks, boil for 20 mins in water / juice of lemon / couple cloves garlic / some seaweed. Then wrap each steak in nori (cut to size, it sticks right to it) , then dip that in batter (I make mine with gram flour so gluten free) and fry.
 
danny la rouge said:
OK, for various reasons I'm trying to cut down and maybe give up dairy. For a time anyway. As I'm a vegetarian of more than 30 years' standing, that means for all practical purposes I'd be vegan.

I don't take milk in tea or coffee anyway. But I do love cheese. And I consider pizza the greatest food ever.

I had bad experiences with fake cheese in the early days of my vegetarianism. That's the early 80s. So things must have improved.

I did try Scheese (mozzarella style) on a homemade pizza last night. It tasted unpleasantly artificial. I can still taste it today. I'd rather not taste that cheese flavouring ever again.

So what are the actually good vegan cheeses?

(Complication: in a recent development, Brazil nuts now make my lips and tongue swell and my throat close up. Possibly some other nuts too. I'm scared to experiment which).
Click to expand...

I agree with ddraig that Sainsbury’s and Violife are some of the better ones (haven’t tried Tesco): they are made with coconut so should be okay for you allergy wise. I think the most successful vegan cheeses are the coconut-based generally because coconut is one of the only plant foods high in saturated fat so they more closely approximate the texture.

This is probably my favourite brand but it’s not widely available: Vegan Gouda Flavour in block - Green Vie Foods

With regard to Pizza, Tesco do a really nice one vegan one (kinda pricey for a supermarket pizza but it’s good) https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/298910515 it’s not in the pizza isle but it’s at the end of one of the isles with the ‘free from’ ingredients/meals. Pizza Express has a cheese-free pizza (good) as well as a vegan cheese that can be added to all their pizzas (this one is a pretty good Mozzeralla sub) as do Zizzi.

Personally, my favourite pizzas are without cheese, and I realised this even before I went vegan. If it’s a good base then the combination of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil is so flavourful and I can appreciate all the ingredients more than I could if it were smothered in greesy cheese. Black olives, olive tepanade and sundried tomatoes can be added for salt and fat, wilted spinach can be added for moisture etc.

A few thoughts anyway.
 
danny la rouge said:
Thanks Jeff Robinson. I might try ddraig's suggestion and give up cheese for a while before looking for substitutes. I've had to cut down anyway, so it should be an easy enough step.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan.

If you like making your own pizza this recipe might be of interest.

It includes a vegan mozzeralla made with cashews so not sure if that will be appropriate for you.
 
I've been scoping out Tesco and Sainsbury here in Stirling. Typically they have no vegan pizzas, not in any aisle.
 
I always make my own pizzas (usually buying the base but not always) and I've never bothered with any of the vegan cheeses either - but cheese was never really something I was into so I don't miss it. You can make great pizzas without cheese, especially if you don't restrict yourself to just a tomato topping, try things like various home made pestos etc.
 
lazythursday said:
Tofu - this is my all time best recipe -

1) Take the tofu out of the package, wrap it in a tea towel or something and put a plate on top, then a few cans of beans on top of the plate. Press it like that for an hour or so.
2) Make marinade - about 50ml soy sauce, 50 ml water, 2 tablespoon maple syrup / agave, 1 tablespoon balsamic, 1 tablespoon tomato puree, 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (or half teaspoon smoked paprika) 1 tablespoon oil, couple of cloves of garlic, chopped.
3) Chop tofu into about 10-12 planks, cover with marinade, put in fridge for at least a couple of hours.
4) Bake at about 200 degrees for 30-40 mins, turning every 15 mins, pouring marinade over each time.

Now you can use it a variety of ways. Chop into smaller chunks for stir fry etc or leave in planks for sandwich fillings. Great hot or cold. I find it hard not to just gobble the lot.
Click to expand...

What the hell is "liquid smoke"? Sounds like vape juice.
 
mwgdrwg said:
What the hell is "liquid smoke"? Sounds like vape juice.
Click to expand...
It looks like soy sauce but it tastes of smoke. Popular in America but you occasionally see it in supermarkets here, especially if they have an 'American' bit in the world foods aisle, containing things like oreos and cheese in a can. I believe it is carcinogenic also but it does taste nice.
 
danny la rouge said:
I asked. Nope.

It's Stirling. Stirling's shite.
Click to expand...

tbf they're hard to get in most supermarkets. Could try Holland and Barrett - they have frozen vegan pizza in many of their branches. Stirling health food store might be worth checking out. I just looked on their website and they sell a vegan cheese specifically made for pizza, but dunno if they sell actual vegan pizzas.
 
Jeff Robinson said:
tbf they're hard to get in most supermarkets. Could try Holland and Barrett - they have frozen vegan pizza in many of their branches. Stirling health food store might be worth checking out. I just looked on their website and they sell a vegan cheese specifically made for pizza, but dunno if they sell actual vegan pizzas.
Click to expand...
I know Stirling Health Foods well. It's where I got the bad vegan cheese in the early 80s. And the nasty Scheese I had the other day!

I usually make my own pizza to be fair. It's just good to have lazy options. And I had a non cheese recipe (with potatoes and rosemary) that I used sometimes anyway.

As a veggie of long standing, I can attest that the options available to vegans are better than the options that were available to vegetarians when I started being one way back then. But it's maybe akin to being a vegetarian 20 years ago, rather than 35. :D
 
danny la rouge said:
I know Stirling Health Foods well. It's where I got the bad vegan cheese in the early 80s. And the nasty Scheese I had the other day!

I usually make my own pizza to be fair. It's just good to have lazy options. And I had a non cheese recipe (with potatoes and rosemary) that I used sometimes anyway.

As a veggie of long standing, I can attest that the options available to vegans are better than the options that were available to vegetarians when I started being one way back then. But it's maybe akin to being a vegetarian 20 years ago, rather than 35. :D
Click to expand...

They have violife in there too I see, that's worth a go I think. I agree with you on Scheese - it should be banned.
 
I'm going to have to just give up cheese, most of the vegan ones make me want to hurl. These incredibly expensive little wonders are the best I've found for just eating, rather than cooking with, for special occasions. TYNE CHEASE | Artisan Organic Cultured Vegan Cheese | Dairy-Free

Tofu-wise, I like the Tofoo Co. Smoked, prepared like this: Crispy Chilli Tofu by Bosh #Yum #Foodie #Inspiration | Meme on me.me

I''ve accepted I'll probably never be completely vegan (beer!) but I'm making big strides in the right direction.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Boudicca
Gluten free bread - shop bought and recipes
Replies
24
Views
496
story
story
Maggot
Lettuce recipes
Replies
12
Views
363
what
W
dessiato
Air popcorn maker, other uses and recipes
Replies
18
Views
518
ouirdeaux
ouirdeaux
I
Veggie/vegan Burns Supper haggis alternatives
2
Replies
43
Views
1K
Oriole
O
N
Kale recipes
2
Replies
49
Views
1K
Orang Utan
Orang Utan
Back
Top Bottom