Cheese recipes without cheese

Notice to vegans and lactose intolerants, we have found the solution to prepare cheese recipes… without cheese. Because everything is possible in cooking, we have found the best plant-based alternatives to cheese for you.

Illusion by the false mage

To replace cheese in our recipes, two solutions are available to us. Either we prepare false mage, a “fake cheese” made from vegetable milk or oilseeds; either we use ingredients like tofu or butternut squash to find the texture and deliciousness of the cheese. While it is enough to taste the false mage as is to feel like you are enjoying goat’s cheese, for the other ingredients mentioned, a few recipes are required.

Cheese, the ultimate Umami flavor

What flavor does cheese have? Sour, bitter, sweet or salty? None of them…strange? Not quite. For good reason, cheese has an almost indescribable flavor that we love, this little taste that drives us crazy: umami. A “fifth” flavor very well known in Japan and which we have all unknowingly already tasted. From the word “essence of delight” in Japanese, this flavor was identified 100 years ago, by the Japanese scientist Dr. Kikunae Ikeda. Since then, the Japanese have described it as a “meaty, salty delicacy that deepens the flavor.” In the mouth, the umami flavor does not appear from the start like salty or sweet, but rather in the “background”. You will probably see better what it is if we mention parmesan, goat cheese or feta: their flavor is unique to each and particularly long in the mouth.

The main foods with umami flavor

Along with cheese, malted yeast is the ultimate umami flavor. However, other foods are affected. In the first line, we find on the land side: plants (ripe tomatoes, asparagus, peas, seaweed, garlic, onion, smoked paprika, soy sauce or mushrooms), beef and chicken; sea ​​side: crab and anchovies. Some oilseeds like walnuts, toasted sesame and almonds also have a hint of umami.

Umami foods to replace cheese

Let’s go back to malted yeast. Also called “brewer’s yeast”, it can be sprinkled on any plate and transports our taste buds to seventh heaven. When it comes to adding it to a gratin, once absorbed into the preparation, the malted yeast is surprisingly reminiscent of the taste of cheese. Mixed with soy cream or almond puree, you will even find its creamy texture. You will have understood that when combined well, foods with an umami flavor easily give the illusion of cheese. Try it in any dish where you can replace cheese!

For example, thanks to its subtly marked taste, tofu replaces ricotta very well. Visually, with its solid appearance and rough texture, tofu would even suggest that you are about to eat feta. And when it comes to trompe l’oeil, there is no shortage of ingredients. To get the color of cheddar, opt for butternut squash or pumpkin. In terms of texture and taste, add cashews to cooked butternut squash then mix everything, the result will blow you away! Finally, a final, unexpected ingredient replaces cheese in the preparation of béchamel: chickpeas. And yes, you read correctly. Prepared in a pan with a few spices, lemon juice and olive oil, you will obtain a texture and flavor identical to that of béchamel.

7 vegan recipes, based on plant-based cheese. Bluffing!