By Hannah Kaminsky, author of My Sweet Vegan - Yes, I just couldn’t keep away from Tofutti after I’d been so impressed with the goods that I previously sampled. This time though, I decided to go with a product from one of their more savory lines of food: Tofutti Cream Cheese, to be precise.

Now that I look at the jar, I think it might be from their special “Non Hydrogenated” category, seeing as he outer appearance doesn’t match with their typical label for Plain. A better blunder than one could hope, the non hydrogenated has a number of addition health benefits, utilizing all organic sugar and no preservatives. What’s not to like there?

At first look, Tofutti Cream Cheese appears to be an exact match with tradition cream cheese; A soft white sort of paste in a traditional “easy access” tub. Smoothing it across the top of a whole wheat english muffin, it even spread as nicely as the real thing. Spreading is a huge point of importance to me - I remember buying some odd vegan replacement cream cheese or sour cream, I don’t remember, and it had about the same consistency as plastic. I’m pretty sure it ended up as a special treat for my dog, because no one else was brave enough to try it.

While it seems that 90% of all vegan “cheeses” and such leave quite a bit to be desired, Tofutti comes pretty damn close in my opinion. No, they don’t hit the nail exactly on the head, and I would bet that anyone, vegan or non, would be able to tell the difference. That aside, I honestly like this new version a whole lot better! Maybe from being vegan for so long now, I’ve really grown a taste for things that taste more like soy.

A first bite yeilds a smooth, creamy texture across the tongue, and a pleasant sort of sour tang, such as one might find in many soy yogurts. There is a definite after taste of soybeans, but I found it really enjoyable. I actually thought that very first taste was a bit odd and I wasn’t even sure if I liked it, but after a few separate breakfast tastings, it really grew on me.

I will say it’s probably not for everybody, and non-vegans may be disappointed, but you’ve just got to give it a fair chance. Personally, I’m very pleased to have finally tried it and plan on incorporating it into many meals in the future. As with anything by Tofutti, it also comes in many varieties, all of which are vegan except for the Smoked Salmon (Obviously.)

So go out and conquere my veggie brethren - Vegan cheeses (Or atleast Tofutii Cream Cheese) can be tasty!

Where to Buy:

• Online – If you just can’t find this stuff in stores, it is available to order from Amazon
• In Store – Tofutti is a regular in natural food grocers, and lately, it has debuted in some of the new “natural food” aisles at other local grocery stores

Hannah Kaminsky is the author of the indulgent dessert cookbook, My Sweet Vegan.  She also keeps a personal blog of crafts, baking and photography at Bittersweet Blog.

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