Meltable Mozzarella Vegan Cheese Alternative
Alisa Fleming ~ Just a few simple tweaks from the Meltable Muenster and voila(!), a Meltable Mozzarella appears! Like the muenster, this vegan cheese alternative recipe is a sampling from the cookbook, Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner.
Miyoko offers two recipes for mozzarella in Artisan Vegan Cheese, one made from cashews, and this one, which is made from non-dairy yogurt. Which to choose? For Caprese Salad, she recommends the Fresh Mozzarella recipe made from cashews, as it is rich and delicious with tomatoes and basil. However, for meltability, this vegan cheese alternative recipe is the one to go with. Use it to make killer calzones and lasagna, and to impress guests at a dairy-free pizza party!
As mentioned prior, Miyoko uses some unusual ingredients in her cheesy recipes, but she also promises that her recipes are better than the norm. I’ve included links in the recipe to help you locate the lesser known ingredients, all of which are sold online and should also be available in some natural food stores. I’m sure that many of you cheese-aholics will find this recipe worth the ingredient hunt, and so easy to make once you have everything on hand.
This recipe is from Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner. Reprinted with permissions from the publisher, Book Publishing Co.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain, unsweetened nondairy yogurt (there is a homemade version in Artisan Vegan Cheese or store-bought options are available from Whole Soy & Co or Wildwood)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 tablespoons tapioca flour/starch
- 1 tablespoon carrageenan powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon xanthan gum, optional
- 8 cups ice water
Instructions
- Put the yogurt, water, oil, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a blender.
- Process until smooth and creamy, occasionally stopping to scrape down the blender jar and move the mixture toward the blades.
- Transfer to a clean glass bowl or container, cover, and let rest at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours, until mildly sharp in flavor.
- Transfer to a heavy medium saucepan and whisk in the tapioca flour and carrageenan. For a stretchier consistency, whisk in the optional xanthan gum.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly with the whisk, until very smooth, thick, gooey, and glossy, 3 to 5 minutes.
- To make a brine, put the ice water and remaining teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and stir until the salt dissolves.
- Form the cheese into balls using a small ice-cream scoop, dropping them into the brine as you go. They will harden almost instantly.
- Cover and refrigerate, keeping the cheese stored in the brine.
Notes
Storage Notes: Covered and stored in the brine, Meltable Mozzarella will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator.
http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/meltable-mozzarella-vegan-cheese-alternative
Tagged egg--free, gluten free, peanut-free, vegan, vegetarian
13 Comments
Leave a reply
RebeccaJanuary 9, 2013 at 8:07 am
I was so excited when I saw this and then I realized it was made with yogurt. My daughter is allergic to milk proteins so I am always on the look out for any kind of cheese like creations that would be safe for her. Even non-dairy yogurt has active milk protein in it
Alisa FlemingJanuary 9, 2013 at 8:09 amAuthor
Rebecca, what dairy-free yogurt have you found with milk in it? This is very bizarre. WholeSoy, So Delicious, Silk, and others all make completely dairy-free yogurt, no milk protein. See the yogurt reviews on this site for more options.
LaurelJanuary 9, 2013 at 8:19 am
I made this just before xmas and it really is incredibly melty. I even made it with my homemade cashew yogurt with no problems except for my lack of upper arm strength. My only thought was that 2 tsp of salt was not enough. It seemed to me it should have been more. Still it turned out amazingly well.
Alisa FlemingJanuary 9, 2013 at 8:25 amAuthor
Good to know, thanks for the feedback Laurel!
RebeccaJanuary 9, 2013 at 8:19 am
Hi Alisa,
I have only been able to find O’Soy locally and it is usually strawberry or peach flavored. I will have to do some more searching for a plain yogurt with out milk protein. Thanks for the info
Alisa FlemingJanuary 9, 2013 at 8:25 amAuthor
O’Soy is an evil one
That is not actually a dairy-free yogurt, they do use milk protein. But, that is literally the only brand I’ve seen on the market that appears to be non-dairy, but isn’t. Look for the words “dairy-free” and “vegan” when searching for yogurt or make your own!
KhristinaJanuary 9, 2013 at 1:30 pm
This looks amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe…we will be making it soon.
JenniferJanuary 9, 2013 at 11:01 pm
This looked exciting to make but then I saw it has carageenan which is a possible carcinogen. Is this a necessary ingredient?
Alisa FlemingJanuary 10, 2013 at 7:21 amAuthor
See this page on thickeners and “gelatins” (includes vegan options) – http://www.foodsubs.com/ThickenGelatins.html
KenJanuary 10, 2013 at 5:46 pm
Carrageenan was found to be just as bad for me as lactose when in reasonably large quantities. When I stopped using products with carrageenan most of my issues with lactose free labeled products went away. So people should be careful using it. I worked with one products’ scientists to figure out the carrageenan was causing me to have severe reactions that were almost identical to lactose intolerance.
babsFebruary 24, 2013 at 8:02 am
Carageenan is toxic! The other stuff looks good though.
Alisa FlemingFebruary 26, 2013 at 12:03 pmAuthor
You can use agar or your choice of “gelatins” in place of the carageenan. The author just feels that this ingredient works best. You can see her comment explaining her take on the ingredient on this post – http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/sharp-cheddar-vegan-cheese-alternative
AnnaApril 15, 2013 at 7:51 am
Hi,
I tried the “Better Buffalo Mozzarella” recipe and loved it.
So when I came across this recipe, I was really excited about making it stretchier in texture.
Yet for some reason, after adding the xanthan gum, the flavor got starchy (I was aiming for just stretchy).
It wasn’t close to edible so I had to throw away the entire batch.
Is there any way of reaching the desired stretchy quality, without ruining the consistency and flavor?