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Good morning beautiful Hive people. Today I bring you another fermentation post. Though I might say this every time, this is because I keep improving my vegan cheese-making skills, but THIS IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST VEGAN CHEESE I have ever made.

Though I have made many kinds of vegan cheese before that taste like cheese, never was I able to come this close. And when I say close, I mean it tasted like real cheese. My hubby and I knew it wasn’t real cheese so we thought we might be biased, so we did the cheese test.

I took a little to my friend's hotel and restaurant and asked her to serve it to some of our friends who come there for a swim and drink often. I asked her not to tell them I made it or they would know straight away it was real cheese.

So my friend served the cream cheese with some bread and asked people for their options. She added that they were thinking of adding this to their cold cut and tapas platters but wanted some feedback first. All of them said it was super delicious and none noticed it was made of cashews.

Mission accomplished. My friend even asked me if I could make some for the hotel. Though I am not sure if I will be able. Remember the preserved aka fermented lemon I made a while ago? Next to a little homemade kombucha, I used some of the lemon’s brine to get the fermentation started and give it its flavor.

Unfortunately, I don’t have jars and jars of preserved lemon at home to start making this cheese for commercial reasons…. So if they want it I guess they will have to buy and start using preserved lemons too lol.

Check out my previous post for the preserved lemons
PRESERVED AKA LACT0-FERMENTED LEMONS 🍋🍋🍋

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I shared my how-to-make kombucha post many years ago when Hive was still called steemit. For some reason, I cannot find it back. However, these days I make my kombucha different than 5 years ago. These days I use green tea instead of black tea. It’s so much better so I will make a new post soon!

FERMENTED CASHEW CREAM CHEESE

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ingredients (makes 1 big jar)

2 cups raw cashew nuts, soaked
¼ cup preserved lemon brine
1 T kombucha (I used some of my scoby hotel as all my other kombuchas are flavored)
2 cloves of garlic
½ tsp Himalayan pink salt
¼ cup + 2 tbsp water

Directions

Soak cashew nuts for a few hours, overnight is best. The more you soak them the easier it will be to get a creamy cheesy texture.

Add all ingredients to a blender. Process until smooth, creamy texture. Stop the blender often to scrape down the sides.

When ready, add the mixture to a clean jar. Lightly close the lid or seal with a cheesecloth and rubber band to allow airflow to go in.

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Depending on your climate, we live in the tropics so things go very fast here, let the cheese sit at room temperature for 24-48h.

Bubbles will start to form in the cheese, this is a good sign of fermentation. Taste a few times. When it has your preferred cheesy flavor, close the jar and store it in the fridge.

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