4 ms·

Cheese in the traditional way, probably not. I think it relies on a chemical reaction that's fairly unique to lactose (and lactose is, as far as I now, a sugar

by chucky 9y ago

Cheese in the traditional way, probably not. I think it relies on a chemical reaction that's fairly unique to lactose (and lactose is, as far as I now, a sugar unique to milk). At least I haven't seen or heard of anyone doing it (except a few biotech firms that are explicitly working on novel ways of achieving similar chemical reactions). If such a product exists it's really badly marketed (or very low volume), because I know many vegans that would pay a high premium for such a product. Yogurt is basically milk with a bacteria that eats sugar added to it. You can do that with any product similar to milk it seems. Oatly produces an oat-based yogurt, and the Swedish market has yogurts based on (at least) soy and lupine as well.

twobyfour 9y ago
Isn't cheese also produced using bacterial reactions that consume the sugars and form solids from the protein? I can imagine developing strains of bacteria that could live off a different variety of sugar. The difference in proteins present in cow's milk vs. vegetable milks seems like it would present a greater obstacle.
chc 9y ago
There is cultured vegan cheese, but it is a fairly premium product that doesn't get a lot of mass distribution. There's a recipe book for it called Artisan Vegan Cheese, and the woman who wrote it sells cultured vegan cheese and butter on her website and in upscale grocers like Whole Foods.
maxerickson 9y ago
Not lactose, the protein casein. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet The lactose mostly ends up in the whey, so most lactose intolerant people do okay eating rennet cheeses (and so can eat things like pizza and so on).
fragmede 9y ago
Canada-based Daiya makes a number of plant-based dairy-free cheese- alternatives, in a variety of forms, not just blocks but yoghurt and boxed mac-and-cheese. It's popular among the vegans I know, and some of the better pizza restaurants (in SF) even offer it for vegan pizzas. https://daiyafoods.com/ https://daiyafoods.com/
- chucky 9y ago
  Daiya, like all vegan cheese producers I've heard of, use a very different process to achieve something similar to cheese. The end result is very good (I've tried it) but the original comment I replied to asked if you could use plant-based milk for making cheese, and I don't think Daiya's production process uses plant-based milk in that sense.

by chucky 9y ago

twobyfour 9y ago

Isn't cheese also produced using bacterial reactions that consume the sugars and form solids from the protein? I can imagine developing strains of bacteria that could live off a different variety of sugar. The difference in proteins present in cow's milk vs. vegetable milks seems like it would present a greater obstacle.

chc 9y ago

There is cultured vegan cheese, but it is a fairly premium product that doesn't get a lot of mass distribution. There's a recipe book for it called Artisan Vegan Cheese, and the woman who wrote it sells cultured vegan cheese and butter on her website and in upscale grocers like Whole Foods.

maxerickson 9y ago

Not lactose, the protein casein. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet The lactose mostly ends up in the whey, so most lactose intolerant people do okay eating rennet cheeses (and so can eat things like pizza and so on).

fragmede 9y ago

Canada-based Daiya makes a number of plant-based dairy-free cheese- alternatives, in a variety of forms, not just blocks but yoghurt and boxed mac-and-cheese. It's popular among the vegans I know, and some of the better pizza restaurants (in SF) even offer it for vegan pizzas. https://daiyafoods.com/ https://daiyafoods.com/

chucky 9y ago
Daiya, like all vegan cheese producers I've heard of, use a very different process to achieve something similar to cheese. The end result is very good (I've tried it) but the original comment I replied to asked if you could use plant-based milk for making cheese, and I don't think Daiya's production process uses plant-based milk in that sense.