Vegan fermented cream cheese

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A while ago, when I stopped consuming dairy products, I looked for an alternative to cream cheese that will be lactose free. One of the things I missed the most since I changed my diet to dairy free was a slice of fresh bread with cream cheese and tomato, Yam. I looked for a tasty and good substitute and this recipe “Vegan fermented cream cheese” was exactly what I needed, it’s the best.

At first, this recipe started as a mistake of my previous recipe “labaneh cheese balls”.  I wanted to make vegan cashew nut cheese labaneh balls, but accidentally I put too much water with the cashew nuts into the mixer. As a result, the fermented cashew spread became too soft, and the spread could not be molded into labane balls.

I was disappointed that after three days of preparation everything went down the drain. But then I had an idea, instead of labane balls in olive oil, I can make Vegan fermented cream cheese.

In the dilemma of whether to use almonds or cashews, I decided to use cashews. I found cashew nuts to be more suitable. The taste and texture of ground cashews are very similar to the familiar flavors of milk cheeses.

The role of fermentation here is the sour familiar taste of labaneh cheese balls.

In order to produce the fermentation in the grounded cashews, it is needed to use some type of starter. A teaspoon of a previous batch of cashew cheese will do the job. However, If you don’t have a previous batch of cashew cheese, it is possible to use a teaspoon of fermented brine form your fermented vegetables.

Another important point I found in the success of this recipe is the use of a good blender. Continuous operation of the blender is required to obtain a smooth texture of the cashew mixture. If you do not grind the cashews long enough, you will get a gritty texture.

I like to add some spices and herbs to give the cheese additional flavors. A generous handful each of parsley and dill will do the job for a beautiful herby cream cheese.

Ingredients:

     500 g cashews
     400 ml water
     10 grams kosher salt
     1 teaspoon starter from previous cashew cheese/ fermented brine

Instructions:

• Grind all ingredients until smooth.
• Transfer the mixture into a bowl and cover with a piece of cloth In order to give the mixture access to oxygen.
• Leave the mixture out of the refrigerator for 48 hours, and stir twice a day in order to get oxygen into the mixture and help the fermentation proses.
• After 48 hours when the fermentation process is complete, transfer the fermented mixture into the refrigerator for 12 hours until the mixture is slightly hardened.