Kamil Perry
Vegan cheese has become increasingly popular, but one aspect that has proven difficult to replicate is its ability to melt. The melting component is challenging to mimic due to the absence of casein, a protein found in animal milk that gives cheese its stretchy, bubbly texture when heated. However, some vegan cheeses are better melters than others, and there are also recipes for homemade vegan cheese that melts more like its dairy counterpart. So, what is the texture of vegan cheese like when melted? It depends on the type of cheese and the method of melting, but some can get pretty close to the real deal.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Texture | Creamy, stretchy, smooth, gooey, stringy, bubbly |
| Taste | Mild, nutty, cheesy |
| Ingredients | Raw cashews, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, white beans, soy milk, coconut |
| Recipes | Mozzarella, gouda, cheddar, smoked cheese |
| Brands | Follow Your Heart, Violife, Chao, Daiya, Applewood, Sheese |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
Melting vegan cheese on pizza
Melting vegan cheese on a pizza can be a tricky affair. Traditional, dairy-based cheeses get their meltiness from casein, a protein that gives cheese its creamy, stretchy texture when melted. Casein is a naturally occurring protein found only in animal milk, and its complicated molecular structure makes it difficult to replicate in non-dairy cheese.
However, there are some excellent vegan cheese options that melt well on pizza. The best vegan cheeses for melting tend to be made with cashews, which have a smooth, creamy texture and a mild flavor that lets other ingredients shine through. Raw cashews are also full of healthy fats and soften quickly when soaked in boiling water, making them easy to blend into a smooth consistency.
Some of the best store-bought vegan cheeses for melting include:
- Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda: This cheese has a rating of 9.8 out of 10 and is perfect for homemade pizza or grilled cheese sandwiches.
- Violife Epic Mature Cheddar Flavour: With a whopping score of 10 out of 10, this cheese is one of the best-rated vegan cheeses when melting is considered.
- Applewood Smoky Cheese Alternative: This cheese received a 9.8 out of 10 rating for how well it melts and is perfect for pizza, toast, baked potatoes, or even fondue.
If you prefer to make your own vegan cheese, there are some excellent recipes that melt well on pizza. One recipe includes white beans, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, and garlic powder. Tapioca starch is essential for this recipe as it provides the gooey and stretchy texture of the cheese. Another popular recipe uses raw cashews, which are soaked in boiling water, blended with other ingredients, and then heated on a stovetop.
For store-bought and homemade vegan cheeses, a couple of drops of water added to the pan or oven can help create steam and improve the melting consistency of the cheese.
Mozzarella Melting Magic: How Does it Compare to Regular Cheese?
You may want to see also
The best store-bought vegan cheeses for melting
While vegan cheese has come a long way, the problem with it is not so much its taste as its texture. Stretching and melting are important parts of the cheese experience, and this is where non-dairy cheeses struggle. However, there are some store-bought vegan cheeses that melt well.
The best non-dairy cheese for melting in 2019 was the Applewood Smoky Cheese Alternative, which received a 9.8 out of 10 rating for how well it melts. It is smooth and creamy and melts beautifully, making it perfect for toasties, pizzas, pastas, baked potatoes, and even fondue.
Violife's Epic Mature Cheddar Flavour is one of the best-rated vegan cheeses when melting is considered, scoring a 10 out of 10. Violife itself states that the cheese "melts great!" and can be used on homemade pizzas or as an extra cheese on top of store-bought pizzas.
Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda is another highly-rated vegan cheese for melting, with a score of 9.8 out of 10. This smoked gouda is perfect for homemade pizzas or grilled cheese sandwiches.
Sheese Cheddar Style with Jalapeno and Chilli Vegan Cheese is another great option, receiving a 9 out of 10 rating for how well it melts. The spicy jalapeno and chilli take vegan pizzas to another level.
Miyoko's Fresh Vegan Mozzarella is another good choice, as it is soft and meltable like real mozzarella. It is also good when enjoyed raw.
In addition to these options, there are some recipes for homemade vegan cheeses that melt well, such as a vegan nacho dip that uses potatoes to create a more cheesy consistency, and a mozzarella-style cheese made with white beans, tapioca starch, and nutritional yeast.
Melted Parmesan Magic: The Perfect Cheesy Sauce
You may want to see also
The role of casein in melting cheese
The melting behaviour of cheese is determined by its ability to maintain its emulsion when the protein network begins to collapse. This, in turn, depends on the ratio of water to fat and the strength of the protein network. Casein, a phosphoprotein, is the primary emulsifier in milk, and plays a crucial role in the melting behaviour of cheese.
Casein is a family of related phosphoproteins commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of the proteins in human milk. It helps in mixing oils, fats, and water in milk. During cheesemaking, milk's most crucial component is casein: a type of protein that clumps together in families called micelles. These micelles are held together by calcium ions and hydrophobic interactions. When milk is heated with rennet, the caseins form a gelled network that traps fats and liquids, rather than squeezing them out.
The casein network needs to be flexible enough to move but rigid enough for the cheese to hold together. Increasing the amount of water or fat locked into the casein network can encourage melting, but so can modifying the casein itself. For a satisfying melt, cheese needs a balance of bonds between molecules of calcium phosphate embedded in the casein. As cheese matures, enzymes and microorganisms inside it can break down the casein molecules. With more of this breakdown, the cheese melts more easily but is less able to stretch and is more likely to become soupy.
Vegan cheese, which contains no casein, is relatively soft even when chilled and often becomes unappetizing when heated. However, companies like DairyX have found a way to synthesize casein proteins in a lab, which could revolutionize dairy-free cheeses.
Pimento Cheese: Melting Mystery Solved!
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Making melty vegan cheese at home
Vegan cheese has come a long way in recent years, with many options that melt and stretch like traditional cheese. While the taste of vegan cheese has largely been mastered, the texture is still a work in progress for many manufacturers. However, there are some excellent recipes for melty vegan cheese that you can make at home.
Ingredients
The key to making melty vegan cheese is in the ingredients. Tapioca starch (or tapioca flour) is essential, as it provides the gooey and stretchy texture that characterises melted cheese. Nutritional yeast is another important ingredient, as it adds umami and cheesiness, as well as vitamins. Other ingredients commonly used in melty vegan cheese recipes include white beans, cauliflower, cashews, vegetable oil, and agar.
Recipes
There are numerous recipes for melty vegan cheese available online, with options for mozzarella, gouda, cheddar, and more. Some recipes are designed to be melted on top of dishes like pizza or grilled cheese sandwiches, while others can be sliced or shredded and melted into dishes.
One recipe for vegan mozzarella involves blending boiled cauliflower with nutritional yeast, tapioca flour, apple cider vinegar, salt, and garlic powder. The mixture is then cooked over medium heat until it becomes gooey and stretchy.
Another recipe for a melty vegan cheese uses white beans, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, and garlic powder. This recipe is perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches, nachos, or pizza.
For those who prefer a firmer cheese, there are recipes that use agar to create a sliceable, shreddable, melty cheese. This type of cheese can be enjoyed on a cheese board or melted into dishes like enchiladas, quesadillas, or pasta.
Pre-made options
If making cheese from scratch seems daunting, there are some excellent pre-made vegan cheese options that melt well. The Applewood Smoky Cheese Alternative is a highly rated choice, with a smooth and creamy texture that melts beautifully. Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda is another excellent option, perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches or homemade pizza. For a mature cheddar flavour, Violife Epic Mature Cheddar is a top choice, rated 10 out of 10 for melting.
Cheese Pull: Melty, Stretchy, Gooey Goodness
You may want to see also
The future of vegan cheese
One of the primary challenges in creating vegan cheese that melts like its dairy counterpart is the absence of casein, a protein found only in animal milk. Casein plays a crucial role in giving cheese its stretchy, creamy texture when melted. However, an Israeli company, DairyX, claims to have synthesized casein proteins in a lab, potentially revolutionizing dairy-free cheese. This development could address the melting issue and bring vegan cheese even closer to the real thing in terms of taste and texture.
In the meantime, vegan cheese enthusiasts have experimented with various recipes and techniques to achieve better meltability. Raw cashews, for instance, have gained popularity due to their smooth and creamy texture, making them ideal for blending and enhancing other cheesy ingredients. Additionally, tapioca starch or flour is often used in vegan mozzarella recipes to provide the desired gooey and stretchy texture.
While some commercially available vegan cheeses have improved in terms of melting, they still fall short compared to traditional cheese. Brands like Follow Your Heart, Violife, and Chao have been praised for their melting capabilities, especially in grilled cheese sandwiches and pizzas. However, even with these advancements, the melting aspect of vegan cheese remains a work in progress.
Looking ahead, the future of vegan cheese is bright, with ongoing research and development aimed at enhancing both taste and texture. As consumer demand for plant-based alternatives continues to grow, companies are investing in innovative solutions to replicate the melting properties of dairy cheese. While the perfect vegan cheese that melts just like its dairy counterpart may still be a few years away, the advancements in lab-grown proteins and ongoing recipe experimentation signal a positive trajectory for the vegan cheese industry.
Reduced-Fat Cheese Melting: What's the Science?
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
The texture of vegan cheese when melted is often described as gooey, smooth, creamy, and stretchy. However, it is said that vegan cheese does not melt in the same way as dairy cheese because it lacks casein, the protein that causes regular cheese to melt.
There are several ways to melt vegan cheese. For grilled sandwiches, the heat from a skillet or griddle may be enough to melt the cheese. For burgers, placing a cheese slice in a skillet or toaster oven should do the trick. If not, a quick 20 seconds in the microwave works. For casseroles, bake the dish without the cheese for 90% of the time, then add the cheese for the last 5-10 minutes.
Some highly-rated melting vegan cheeses include Applewood Smoky Cheese Alternative, Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda, and Violife Epic Mature Cheddar.
One way to improve the texture of vegan cheese is to combine it with other ingredients. For example, a vegan nacho dip recipe might use potatoes to create a more cheesy consistency.
