We loved that smoky vegan cheddar sauce so much that I decided to try to turn it into a solid, meltable cheese with the addition of some kappa carrageenan and xanthan gum. It’s similar to my super fast and easy meltable vegan cheddar, but contains no extracted oil (the only oil is in the cashews).

So…here goes!

Smoky Vegan Cheddar

Blend in the Vitamix for two minutes:

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 2 cups boiling water
• pinch of salt

Next, add to the mixture:

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1 TBS miso
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 1 tsp Knorr Vegetable Broth powder
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 TBS kappa carageenan (if you don’t plan on melting the cheese, you can use agar agar)
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Blend on high for thirty seconds. Pour the mixture into a saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes smooth and shiny. The tapioca flour will be cooked ONLY when the mixture is shiny.

Pour into a mold and refrigerate for at least two hours.

 

This turned out VERY well in terms of taste. It does have that firm-creme-caramel texture that James finds a bit off-putting, but I don’t mind the texture. The true test is how well the cheese melts, however….

It melts very well, buuuut the texture is still a bit gelatinous, so I suspect that removing the extracted oil from the recipe is the problem.

Tomorrow, I’m going to try the flavouring from this cheese, but the rest of the ingredients from my super quick meltable cheddar.

I also tried another crack at my corn tortillas today. Yesterday’s dough was too wet and fragile, but today’s was a bit too dry and, for lack of a better word, robust. Still, they tasted great with our lunch….

Tofu Taco Scramble on a salad of baby kale, chard, arugula, and nasturtium leaves (from the garden) tossed with Cashew-Dill Dressing.

That’s Smoky Vegan Cheddar Sauce on top….and fresh cilantro from the garden!

I’ve been listening to a super mellow jazz playlist since 9:30 this morning, so the song of the day is, of course, Madeleine Peyroux’s “Between the Bars.”

….which is a cover of the late great Elliot Smith’s song: