Cheese please! Vegan muenster that makes you wonder!

MUENSTER VEGAN CHEESE...

In my vegetarian college years, I would eat muenster cheese by the block.  I loved the stuff.  It had the softness and saltiness I craved.  However, the sickness that followed my cheese consumption was never favorable to me and feeling bad is never wonderful. Therefore, once college ended, I heavily slowed my cheese consumption.  I read once that cow cheese was so damaging to the body that it should not even be considered food.  We stomach it because it tastes so good, especially since most folks have a degree of lactose intolerance. 

For anyone who ever saw a documentary on dairy cheese and how it's made, the reasons for not eating cheese (or any dairy for that matter) are obvious.  If you've never watched a documentary on cheese, I highly encourage you to do so.  Now-a-days, even vegetarians have come to realize that cheese can be made with animal rennet and they have to be cautious of which cheeses are made with this animal ingredient.  Many of us know that cheese is a mucus-forming substance, and debilitates many people with asthma, sinusitis, and other mucus-related ailments; but the taste keeps us coming back.  Many of us would be vegan except that we love dairy so much.  I understand.  I REALLY do.  In my undergraduate college years, I'd joke with friends that I had turned into a mouse because I ate so much of this stuff.  However, now, I am striving to be rid of all animal by-products for a healthier lifestyle; and therefore, I have been looking for palatable alternatives to dairy and cheese.

So, here's where I'm at right now.  Most vegan cheeses on the market that are free of casein (an animal protein) make me gag.  I found Miyoko Schinner's book "Artisan Vegan Cheese" and I started trying the recipes in there.  Now, if you haven't purchased this cookbook yet, you should know that most of the cheeses take some time to make.  However, there are a few that are pretty quick to make. I've also found that I have to stick exactly to the recipe (which is very hard for me because I like to change things up so much).

Blended mixture first in sauce pan.

In my last post I've finally mastered the vegan yogurt (Yay!).  I found that I had to use organic unsweetened plain soy yogurt to culture organic unsweetened plain soy milk.  I tried to use coconut milk (MAJOR FAIL) and  almond milk (though it turned to yogurt, the whey separated).  I also found that the "potent" probiotic I used was lacking in strength to culture my yogurt.  So, sticking to Miyoko's recipe paid off.  It's a good thing it did because I needed this yogurt to make the vegan cheese that I'm blogging about today.  It's muenster cheese!  Fast and delicious!!!

After blended mixture has thickened after 5 minutes.

Though I'm not posting Miyoko's recipe for muenster cheese (it's not mine to give), I am giving everyone a link to her YouTube video.  It's the easiest of all of the cheeses I've made so far because it takes only 5-7 minutes from start to finish.  It sat in the refrigerator for only 3 hours and I put paprika around it to mimic the red on the muenster cheese.  I've tasted it and it is SO VERY similar to the cow version. This will become a staple in my house. I can have my vegan cheese now without gagging.  No animal protein or unsafe ingredients, period.  Here's Miyoko's video on muenster cheese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zbPLXONzXA

Once poured into the mold, it started to firm immediately.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, let me know.  Some of these cheeses take days to get to the finished product.  I will post them as they become ready, but for now, I am so EXCITED about making tasty cheeses the vegan way!

Finished muenster cheese rubbed with paprika.  It's pretty spot on. Yum!