Vegan Blue Cheese
Vegan blue cheese that tastes like the real one! Made using traditional cheese-making techniques and only 5 ingredients. A creamy, sharp, and strong cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw cashews
- 2 tbsp refined coconut oil
- 1/8 tsp mesophilic culture or 6 capsules vegan probiotics (Acidophilus)
- 1/8 tsp penicillium roqueforti in powdered or liquid form
- 5 tbsp filtered water
- sea salt
Instructions
The day before
- Soak the cashews in filtered water for at least 5 hours or overnight.
Forming the cheese
- Drain the cashews and place them in a large glass bowl. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, pour the water directly onto the cashews. Let sit 1-2 minutes, and drain the cashews again. This step will help kill possible bacteria.
- Transfer the cashews to the bowl of a blender or food processor. Add the coconut oil and 5 tablespoons of filtered water. Blend on high speed, scraping down the sides from time to time, this step might take about 10 minutes, depending on your blender. You should get a smooth, thick mixture.
- Open the probiotic capsules and add the powder to the blender.
- Add the penicillium roqueforti. If your penicillium roqueforti is in powdered form it works the same way as the liquid one. Blend for another 10-15 seconds.
- The mixture should be smooth but thick. If needed, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until smooth. Do not add too much water otherwise the mixture will be too liquid, you want a thick consistency.
- Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with plastic film, and let sit at room temperature in a dark place for about 24h. This step is important to let the cheese ferment.
- The following day, place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 4 hours to make the mixture easier to work with.
- After that, line a baking sheet or flat plate with parchment paper. Place 4 small springform pans on top (I used two 3-inch cookie cutter rounds for each cheese, stacked).
- Cut strips of parchment paper and lay them in 4 small springform pans. You want to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. You can also use plastic film if you prefer. The goal is to prevent the cashew mixture from touching the metal. Fill each pan with the cashew mixture and press it down using plastic film, so it doesn't stick to your hands.
- Place a container upside down on the plate where the cheeses sit. This step is essential to keep some humidity inside. It's important for good mold growth. Place the cheeses in your refrigerator (you will age the cheeses covered in your refrigerator during the whole aging process).
Aging
- After 2 days, sprinkle salt over the top of the cheeses, and lightly rub with clean hands. Carefully flip the cheeses using a small plate lined with parchment paper, and remove the springform pan. Sprinkle salt on top and the sides, rubbing gently. You will only salt once. The cheeses will still be very soft, but they will be easier to work with after a few days.
- Flip the cheeses every day, always using clean hands. You can use gloves or work with a plastic film to make sure you are not touching the cheeses.
- Blue mold should start to appear after about 7 days. The mold will be slightly darker or lighter, depending on the humidity and temperature of your fridge.
- After 2 weeks, scramble the cheese into little pieces (just like when you scramble tofu) in a clean bowl. The cashew mixture will still be quite soft, so try to make small pieces. For this step, I highly recommend wearing latex gloves.
- Lay strips of parchment paper into springform pans and fill each pan with the scrambled cheese without pressing too much. This step is important to create holes inside the cheese as the mold needs to be in contact with air to grow. You can remove the cheeses from the springform pans right after shaping them. Place the cheeses on the baking sheet or plate, cover them with a plastic box or container, and place them back in the refrigerator.
- Continue to flip the cheeses every day for the next 3 weeks, always using clean hands or gloves. This step only takes a few seconds every day.
- After a total of 5 weeks, the inside and the outside of your cheeses will be covered with blue mold. They will be ready to eat soon!
- Wrap each cheese in cheese paper or aluminum foil and wait another 3-7 days. The longer you let them age in the refrigerator, the stronger the taste.
- The cheese will keep for about one month in the refrigerator and will become firmer and sharper.
Notes
- Age the cheeses in a container during the complete aging process. Mold needs humidity to grow, that's why you need to keep the cheeses in a small box or container in your refrigerator. If you were to let the cheeses uncovered, they would dry out before the mold gets a chance to grow.
- Do not omit any ingredient. This recipe is not versatile so I do not recommend substituting or omitting any ingredient.
- Use latex gloves. By using gloves each time you handle the cheeses, you reduce your chances to see bad mold growing. Latex gloves are pretty cheap and come in large boxes so do not hesitate to get yourself a box.
- If you are making vegan camembert at the same time: I recommend you keep them in two separate boxes. Mold can transfer very easily and you could end up with white mold on your blue cheese, or blue mold on your camembert.
- Regarding the appearance of the cheese. The rind of this blue cheese is dark blue because I didn't scrape the sides. Be aware the rind is edible, but if you prefer the exterior to be white, you can gently scrape the mold using a clean knife every two weeks. I prefer to leave the rind because it looks cooler and after about a month it will become a little bit firmer. Creamy inside + firm rind = perfect cheese to me.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 /4 of a cheese (about 1 oz) | Calories: 95 kcal | Carbohydrates: 5 g | Protein: 3.2 g | Fat: 8.5 g | Fiber: 0.6 g | Sugar: 1 g
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