MELTDOWN: Vegan Cheese Taste Test

11 dairy-free cheeses, one big review. We've got together 11 brands of vegan cheese on sale in the UK and put them to the test - the Veganoo Taste Test. In Part 1 of the test, we see how well they melt, and how they taste hot. Next week we'll be looking at how they compare eaten cold. Pizza is the name of the game for the meltdown test, but which vegan cheese will come out on top...?

Review: MozzaRisella, SmokeyRisella, CreamyRisella

Vegan cheese, italian style. Three varieties of dairy-free cheese from Italian producer Frescolat. These three are all variations on classic mozzarella - a traditional one, a smoked version and a soft and creamy version. We've heard great things about these new vegan cheeses... read on to see if we agree:

The Big Cheese: 11 brands of vegan cheese

The biggest ever vegan cheese taste test. Coming shortly on Veganoo. We've assembled a huge vegan cheeseboard covering 11 brands of vegan cheese available in the UK. The cheeses are Swiss, German, Italian, American and of course British.

The names can be confusingly similar if you're a new vegan... Veganic, Vegourmet, Vegusto, Vegerella, MozzaRisella, Tofutti, Teese, Sheese, Cheezly, Jeezini.., and SoyaToo. We couldn't get hold of any Daiya, but the Tofutti and Teese are American takes on vegan cheese.

We're going to be putting them to the ultimate Taste Test, or should we say taste tests... as they'll be tested for meltability and how they taste hot, as well as how they taste cold.

New: Violife Vegan Cheese

Dairy-free cheese slices from Greece, via German firm Veganic. The cheese has just launched in the UK, along with a grated pizza cheese bearing the Veganic name. The Violife slices are produced by Viotros, a specialist cheese producer that makes dairy as well as non-dairy cheeses. The Violife cheese slices are Vegan approved and come in packs of ten slices. Could this new cheese finally mark the arrival of a vegan cheese worthy of the name?

Air-dried cheddar/disaster from Artisan Vegan Cheese

Another less than successful result. This time it was the air-dried cheddar recipe from Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese book. The colour is still wrong because we're still using dark brown miso (white miso is suddenly hard to come by), but the texture is also very un-cheese like too. In fact Uncheese is becoming the theme for our results (like the name of the 1990's vegan cheese book..)

Brie from the Artisan Vegan Cheese Book

A wedge of vegan brie from a recipe in Miyoko Schinner's vegan cheese book (yeah we know it looks like cheesecake). We're slowly working through some of the key recipes in the book as part of our ongoing review. This one uses the same rejuvelac-cultured cashew base as most other recipes in the book, and includes coconut oil for ooziness, along with yeshi (nutritional yeast) for flavour.

Vegan Cheese: Rejuvelac-Cultured Yoghurt Cheese

Dairy-free cheese made from soya milk and rejuvelac. We're still reviewing the Artisan Vegan Cheese book and as a sidestep (not in the book) we tried the rejuvelac-culturing method on plain soya milk. It cultures the soya milk well, although it seems to partially coagulate it at the same time... giving you a cheese that's somewhere between tofu and yoghurt cheese. 

Rejuvelation!... How to make Rejuvelac

Make your own rejuvelac... a step by step guide. Our sister site plantfoods.org has a new demo on how to make rejuvelac at home. Rejuvelac is a non-alcoholic fermented liquid made from sprouted grains. It can be used to make vegan nut/seed cheeses or plantmilk yoghurts. You can also just drink it as a digestive aid.

Cashew Chèvre from the Artisan Vegan Cheese Book

We're reviewing Miyoko Schinner's vegan cheese book. This is the first recipe in the book, and the cashew recipe is the base for many other cheeses in the book, so we thought it a good place to start. Chèvre is a goat's cheese which we've never eaten so making comparisons is difficult. It's also difficult to know if you've achieved the same results as the author...

Review: Redwood Breaded Cheezly Bites

Chunks of vegan cheese with a crispy breadcrumb coating. Redwood's selection of snacks and party food seems to have exploded lately. We're not quite sure where these fit in to an everyday menu but we can imagine them being served as an appetiser. We've no idea what dairy pepperjack cheese tastes like as it's not really a cheese eaten in the UK. We certainly know what Cheezly tastes like though and we're interested in how it tastes hot and breadcrumbed.

Soy-Free Vegan: Cheezly Soy & Dairy Free

Melting vegan cheese made with pea protein. Cheezly's dairy-free range is now pretty extensive and Redwood even cater for those who wish to avoid soya too. Most home-made vegan cheeses are made from nuts, but the commercial stuff is invariably made with some kind of soy. If you are avoiding soy for whatever reason the options are limited. We tried out Redwood's soy-free option to see if it's on a par with their regular Cheezly.

Redwood Christmas: Vegan Cheese Selection

Your dairy-free Christmas cheese board is sorted thanks to Redwood. If you're looking to offer a selection of vegan cheeses but don't want to buy whole blocks, then this pack of three cuts is ideal. The pack offers red cheddar, cranberry and blue cheese styles in a handy size for your cheeseboard. We grabbed a selection of biscuits and crackers and put the cheeses to the test:

Don't Panic: Sheese lives on

The website for Bute Island Foods is gone, along with the website for Deli-Frys as we mentioned in our recent review. Fear not, Sheese lovers, we spoke to them today and they're alive and well and are now aware of the problems. We're planning to review some more Deli Frys mock meats in the coming days.

UPDATE: Deli-Frys has been rebranded as VEGANDELI

Taste Test: Best Vegan Parmesan

Now that Redwood have launched a vegan parmesan cheese we can run a taste test...against the only other vegan parmesan available in the UK...Parmazano from Life Free From. They're very different interpretations of parmesan...one a carton of cheese sprinkles, the other a block of faux vegan cheese. We took them both to the kitchen to see if either of them were worthy parmesan substitutes.

Vegan Pizza Day. Review: Redwood Vegan Pizzas

What better review for #VeganPizzaDay than Redwood's meat and dairy free frozen pizzas? The pizzas which launched earlier this year come in three varieties, Cheezly & Tomato, Meatless Feast and Ham Style & Pineapple. We first sampled them at VegFest Bristol and today we're reviewing the Meatless Feast and Ham & Pineapple pizzas. Are they worthy of a place at the dinner table on Vegan Pizza Day?

Review: Sheese Melty 'Red Cheddar' vegan cheese

There are twice as many vegan cheeses on the market in the UK as this time two years ago, but the two 'big cheeses' are still Redwood's Cheezly and Bute Island's Sheese. Bute Island have recently joined in the 'melty' cheese revolution with their new line Sheese Melty. We put the red cheddar style Sheese to the test to see how it fares against the competition..

Review: Tofutti 'Better than Ricotta Cheese'

'Better' than Ricotta Cheese is quite some pledge. Of course, anything vegan is better than something for which animals have suffered, but you know what we mean. Tofutti is something of a dairy-free specialist with everything from cheese to ice cream in their product range. The faux Ricotta has been available in the US since last year and recently launched here in the UK, but at a price (a fiver a tub)...that means it had 'better' be good! Is it?

Vegan Ricotta Bruschetta made with Tofutti Ricotta

We're currently reviewing Tofutti 'Better Than Ricotta Cheese' and just made some herby ricotta bruschetta with dill, chives, spring onions (scallions) and garlic... Yep lots of the allium family in the seasoning but for good reason...this vegan ricotta is pretty bland on its own. Full review coming once when we've made some tagliatelle sauce for pasta with it.

Teese me, please me? Review: Teese 'Mozzarella'

There are many dairy-free cheeses on the market now, but few are palatable in all honesty. Teese is the latest to appear in the UK and promises a vegan mozzarella that melts and stretches just like the dairy stuff. Does it deliver?