Cultured Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese
Equipment
- High power blender - though a regular blender or food processor is fine if you don't have a high power blender, the cheese will just end up being a little more grainier.
- mixing bowl (plastic, porcelain or glass, avoid metal)
- spoon (plastic, porcelain or glass, avoid metal)
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashew nuts
- water to soak cashew nuts
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ water
- 1 probiotic capsule*
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a bowl, cover them with water and let them soak for at least 6hrs or a night.
- After soaking, drain the cashews, rinse with some water, drain again and ad to the blender. Add minced garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, sea salt and about ¼ of a cup of water. Blend til smooth and creamy, adding a little bit extra water if needed (I ended up adding an extra ⅛ cup of water) and scraping down the sides to make sure everything is well incorporated.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed but be aware that the flavours will change while fermenting.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the probiotic powder from the capsule, stir with a spoon to combine.
- Cover the bowl with a cloth or dish and let it sit on your kitchen counter to ferment the cashew cheese for at least 24hrs, up to 72hrs**. The longer you ferment it the more tangy and sour it becomes. So taste at certain times to see if it's ready - make sure you use a clean spoon when you scoop out your sample. I fermented my cheese for 72hrs and loved it but I think some people might prefer a less tangy cheese.
- Enjoy! This cheese will be great on bread, crackers, as a base for a cheesy sauce or other savoury dishes you'd normally use cream cheese for! This cheese keep for about 7 days in the fridge.
Notes
* I used 'Udo's Choice Adult Blend' - other probiotic brands may work well too but be careful to use a probiotic that doesn't have prebiotics (like inulin) in it. I've read on several blogs that this could cause the cheese to mold.
** The time to ferment the cheese depends not only on your taste but also the room temperature. I fermented the cheese at 21°C. When it's warmer the fermentation process will take less time, when it's colder it will take longer.