Greetings Steemfood lovers. What have you been up to lately?

A few months ago I picked up a new hobby: rock climbing. I soooo love it. Ever since the little free time I have I spent either in the kitchen or climbing.

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AGED VEGAN BRIE CHEESE

Giving up animal products wasn't such a big step for me as I have always eaten more veggies and fruits and never been a big meat eater. Cheese, however, is one of the things I miss. Though I have made many vegan cheeses before, I have taken my vegan cheese-making to the next level.

This vegan brie cheese has a lovely cheese flavor and a white rind which is so typical of brie cheese. Currently, I am also working on a vegan blue cheese but this will take another few weeks to age in the fridge though I already love the blue color. Can't wait to taste it!

INGREDIENTS (makes 3 cheeses)

4 cups raw cashew nuts
½ cup filtered water
⅛ tsp Mesophilic cheese culture
⅛ tsp Penicillium candidum
2 tsp Himalayan pink salt or sea salt

FYI: You can also use a thermophilic cheese culture. What’s the difference? Mesophilic bacteria grow best at lower temperatures compared to thermophilic bacteria. Furthermore, mesophilic culture blends are used primarily for American-style and specialty cheeses – such as cheddar, brie, etc. – while thermophilic cultures are frequently used in Italian-style cheeses – such as parmesan, provolone, etc. While vegan brie cheese will never taste the same as real brie, using a mesophilic culture will come close to it. Though the thermophilic culture will also produce a delicious cheesy flavor. The penicillin fungi’s function is to create the white rind, which is so typical for brie cheese.

DIRECTIOMS

Step 1 – SOAK CASHEW NUTS

Soak the cashew nuts in water for at least 4 hours, overnight is best. When soaked, drain and pour boiled water over the cashews before moving on to the next step. Let them sit for a few minutes in the boiled water to kill unwanted bacteria.

STEP 2 – PRE-FERMENTATION
Drain the cashew nuts and add them to a blender with the filtered water. Blend on high speed, scraping down the sides often, until you get a smooth paste. Make sure no lumps remain in the paste. Depending on the power of your blender this blending step may take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

When you have the right consistency, add the penicillium and meso- or thermophilic cultures. Blend again for a few seconds to make sure the cultures are well incorporated.

Add the cashew paste to a glass, plastic, porcelain, or ceramic bowl. Avoid metal bowls other than stainless steel because the fermentation acids can react with the metal and leach toxins into your cashew ferment.

Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap or cheesecloth and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours, in a dark place. The cashew paste will undergo its first fermentation.

STEP 3 – AGING OF THE CHEESE
Optional: after 24 hours, place the cheese mixture in the fridge for 2-4 hours to firm up and make the mixture easier to handle.

To prepare your cheese molds, line them with either baking paper or plastic wrap. This is again to avoid the mixture touching the metal of your molds.

Spoon the cashew mix into prepped molds and push it down using a piece of plastic wrap to avoid the mixture from sticking to your hands.

Then add the mold or springform pans to a plate, cutting board, or any other flat surface and place a bowl or plastic box over them to prevent to cheeses from drying out. Place the cheeses in the fridge to age them.

After about 24 hours, remove the cheeses from the molds and sprinkle them with salt on both sides to remove excess moisture from the cheeses. The cheese will still be quite creamy, so use a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper to flip them. After a few days, they will firm up and get easier to handle.

Now comes the hard part... waiting and flipping the cheese for a few weeks. Every day, flip the cheeses. Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands before touching the cheeses or use gloves, parchment paper, or plastic film to flip them.

After about 10 days to 2 weeks, the white rind should start to form. Continue flipping them every day for another 2 to 4 weeks while the white rind will completely cover the cheese.