Dairy-free cheese sauce from New Zealand producer Cherub. We reviewed their parmesan shaker back in September, and now this sauce mix has started to hit the shelves of health food shops across the UK. We made up some macaroni cheese to check it out:
The product is based on corn starch and chickpea flour (gram flour), flavoured with yeast, garlic and mustard powders. It's not an instant sauce - you have to cook it in a pan (or in the microwave). It can be made with soya or rice milk, while for a richer sauce, you add your own oil (we didn't).
The sauce has an excellent texture, clinging to the pasta without being too gloopy. It also doesn't go firm too quickly, which some vegan mac-and-cheese sauces do. The flavour is far superior to the last cheese sauce mix we tested (Free and Easy), with a punchy cheese taste and plenty of garlic.
Making your own cheese sauce is quick and easy enough, but products like these have a place in the market. This one has a great texture and a pleasant taste, so we hope it displaces the Free and Easy product, which has neither.
The Good: Non-cloying, full flavoured
The Not-so-Good: A little pricey
Veganoo Score: ★★★★☆
Cherub Cheesey Sauce Mix
Cherub Cheesey Sauce Mix
Footnote: Ingredients
Here is the ingredients panel from the pack we reviewed.
Vegan Blog · Vegan Product Reviews · Vegan Food Reviews · Vegan News · Vegetarian
This would definitely be a good convenience food for camping and it definitely looks and sounds nicer than the Free & Easy stuff. I really wasn't a fan when I tried that back when I first went vegan.
ReplyDeleteGood idea, but don't mix it up with the bag of custard powder with soya milk powder
Delete