I love making quick n’ easy vegan cheeses, but I really do not like the taste of coconut oil in a lot of the recipes you find online.

That got me wondering … What could I use instead of coconut oil in a quick n easy cashew based cheese?

Then I realised the answer: vegetable based margarine! It sets solid when cold, so I decided to experiment with an olive oil based one. I know health fans out there will say margarine has a lot of preservatives & E numbers, but I just wanted to see how it works!

A lot of the quick n easy vegan cheese recipes, not only use coconut oil, but Agar Agar to set them and Tapioca Starch for stretch, so I’ve decided to use both of these in addition to margarine. What results is a creamy, buttery tasting soft Cheeze!

Ingredients Port & Cranberry

🧀 1/2 cup dried Cranberries soaked in
🧀 2 tbsp port + Hot water 😉

🧀 1 tbsp Agar Agar powder
🧀 1 cup Water
🧀 1/2 cup Cashews, soaked for a min of 2 hours, drained, and rinsed
🧀 1/3 cup (solid) olive oil Margarine
🧀 1 TSP Garlic granules
🧀 1 tsp Celery salt
🧀 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
🧀 1 TBSP White Wine Vinegar
🧀 2 tbsp Tapioca Starch
🧀 1 tsp Red chili Pepper flakes (optional)

Ingredients Jalapeño & Chilli Pepper

🧀  2 tbsp diced Jalapeños from pickled jar
🧀 2 tbsp jalapeño Brine from jar

🧀 1 tbsp Agar Agar powder
🧀 1 cup Water
🧀 1/2 cup Cashews, soaked for a min of 2 hours, drained, and rinsed
🧀 1/3 cup (solid) olive oil Margarine
🧀 1 TSP Garlic granules
🧀 1 tsp Celery salt
🧀 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
🧀 1 TSP Mustard
🧀 2 tbsp Tapioca Starch
🧀 1 tsp Red chili Pepper flakes (optional)

Method:

For the Cranberry version I literally smoked the cranberries in the port & a little warm water, until they had plumped up. Then drained them & set aside.

For the Jalapeño version I sliced the jalapeños & set aside.

For both versions, I put all other ingredients in a blender & blended until smooth. I then added the mixture to a saucepan & heated it until it bubbled gently. This will melt the Agar Agar & allow the Tapioca Starch to absorb the liquid.

Working quickly I added either the cranberries or Jalapeños (depending on what version I was making, & poured into a greased mould.

I then put the moulds in the fridge to set for several hours.