Vegan Cashew & Soy Cheese

Make Vegan Cashew & Soy Yoghurt using our Non-Dairy, Vegan Yoghurt Culture.

The Non-Dairy Yoghurt Culture is a specially formulated culture that is not grown on a dairy base. This culture also contains gut-healthy probiotic bacteria and is vegan-friendly. 

You Will Need The Following Items

• A yoghurt maker large enough to hold one litre of milk.
• Blender
• Sieve
• A stainless steel pot or pyrex bowl for pasteurising your cashew and soy milk mixture.
• A dairy thermometer
• A sealed whisk
• Measuring spoons

Your Ingredients

• 3 to 3 1/2 cups of whole raw chashews
• 1 litre of soy milk
• 1 dose of Yoghurt Starter Culture
• Tablespoon sugar (optional)
• Cheese Salt to taste

Note: The amount of culture used for one litre is VERY SMALL.

Directions

• Soak your cashew nuts in boiling hot non-chlorinated water for one hour, covered.
• Drain and rinse the cashews.
• Warm the soymilk to around 40° C by standing the container in hot water or in a pot on the stove.
• Blend the cashews with approximately half a litre of soy milk, on high speed for about five to six minutes.
• Pour the soy milk and cashews through a sieve into a yoghurt maker to catch any large pieces of cashew nut remaining, if there are any. Blend for longer next time if any pieces of nuts are there.
• Mix in 1 tablespoon of sugar, this is optional if using ready-made soy milk. Home-made soy milk definitely needs the sugar.
• Pour the balance of the soy milk into the yoghurt maker.
• Add your starter culture and mix well to ensure the culture is evenly distributed.
• Maintain the milk mixture between 37° and 43° C for 24 hours.
• Chill and salt to taste.

Your soft cheese can now be flavoured if you wish. We have tried sweet chilli sauce and crushed garlic with ground black pepper with great success.

Comments:

If using an EasiYo yoghurt maker, do not fill the external container so high with boiling water as to have it come into direct contact with the internal container, as this will cause the temperature to rise too high, scalding and killing the culture.  Just fill it to the level of the baffle (red shelf). This will give you the benefit of a heat reservoir without risking killing the culture. Monitor the temperature if concerned and replace the hot water when needed. 

The yoghurt culture grows by eating the available sugars or carbohydrates and turning them into an acid. If you like a more acidic yoghurt feel free to add a larger amount of sugar. If your soy milk does not have enough sugar in, the culture will not thrive.

Feedback

If you are getting particularly good results with a variation on the above recipe and directions please share it with us.