~ Cashew Spread ~ aka vegan "cream cheese"

For my Food Chemistry class, my partner and I decided to attempt to make a vegan cream cheese spread. I had been vegan for a couple years until a year abroad in France made it nearly impossible to continue, so I returned to my cheese-loving ways. My Food Chem partner, however, is and has been vegan for several years.

We have both tried store-bought vegan cream cheese and regular cheeses before, and it's very clear that good ol' casein and whey are difficult to mimic and substitute.
If you've ever tried store-bought vegan cheese, you know that the texture and taste are reminiscent of tasteless plastic.
Thankfully, veganism has grown and thus vegan versions have improved considerably and are more widely available than they were before.

This cashew spread recipe we came up with went through many different tests. We looked at many recipes online to get a good idea of the main ingredients and ratios, and the rest was determined through trial and error. What I like about this recipe is that you can change the flavors by putting different herbs and spices, according to your liking. Beware, this recipe does take time (as with all cheeses), patience is definitely needed. That being said, it's not labor intensive but there is a lot of waiting time involved.

We did discover that the type and brand of yogurt we used yielded slightly different texture to the cheese. The one we stuck with is the So Delicious Plain Coconut Yogurt, Greek style. This one gave us the right creaminess without giving a slight rubbery texture like silly putty that we got from other yogurts we tried.

Soak: 3 hours
Cook: 7 minutes
Rest: 2 days, 16 hours
Servings: about 16

Ingredients:
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 3 hours, drained
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup plain unsweetened soy or coconut yogurt
• ½ cup refined coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
• 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour or starch
• 1 teaspoon agar agar powder or flakes
• Fresh herbs, chopped: 1 T basil, 1 T oregano, 1 tsp thyme, dill (to decorate)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp garlic powder, or more to taste

Directions:

1. Combine cashews, water, yogurt, coconut oil, nutritional yeast and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender; process until smooth. Transfer mixture into a large bowl, cover with a towel. Let sit at room temperature, 24-36 hours.

2. Pour mixture into a medium saucepan. Add fresh herbs, minced garlic and garlic powder. Whisk in tapioca flour and agar; heat over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook until mixture is thick and pulls away from the side of the pan, about 5 minutes.

3. Line a 6-inch cake pan or small molds with cheesecloth; pour in hot cheese mixture. Spread mixture and cover with cheesecloth. Let cool in refrigerator until firm, 4 hours. The inside will still be very soft.

4. Remove cheesecloth. Wet hands; sprinkle them with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Rub wet salt over cheese. Decorate with dill. Place cheese on a wire rack; let sit in a cool corner, 24 hours. Flip cheese over; let rest until it appears dry, 12 hours. Wrap in wax paper; store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. For longer storage, freeze in a sealed plastic bag.

*Variations:
• Add more nutritional yeast for a more cheese like flavor.
• Increase or decrease the amount of herbs to your liking.
• Minced garlic gives it a more spicy taste and the garlic powder gives it a more earthy taste. If you don't like chunks of garlic surprising you, just do the garlic powder.
• I've since tried making other vegan cheeses (spreads, sauces), and I've found Miso paste gives it a great flavor! So I'll definitely try to incorporate it into this recipe the next time I make it.

We kindly asked others to test our cheese spread, and although some were hesitant to try it at first they gave us very good reviews and requested to have the recipe. I hope that you may have a chance to try this recipe and let me know what you think! Happy cooking!