Raw Recipe: Simple Almond Cheese
Nut cheeses are a great item to have in your raw food recipe collection. They are tasty, easily support the addition of many herbs and spices, and will impress your raw and non-raw friends a like! There are a couple of different ways to make nut cheeses.
You can make delicious nut cheeses with macadamia nuts, cashew nuts and many other nuts and seeds.
Macadamia Nut Cheese made with probiotics.
(From the Rawmazing Holiday Book)
Probiotics: Probably the easiest, but most expensive way to make the “cheese” is to use probiotics. I love how this “cheese” tastes and the texture is wonderful and it is quite fail-proof. The only drawback is the cost of the probiotics. Most recipes require at least a teaspoon, which can be more than half a bottle of capsules. On the plus side, the cheeses are wonderful, the probiotics don’t require advanced preparation.
Cashew Cheese made with Rejuvelac
(recipe here: Cheese)
Rejuvelac: Raw Cheeses made with rejuvilac also have great taste and texture but can be a little more temperamental. Plus, you need to add a couple of days to your process to make the rejuvelac. The grain needs to be sprouted first and then made into rejuvelac. It can be a bit time consuming. That said, it makes a great cheese with wonderful, tangy taste and good texture.
Simple Almond Cheese (recipe follows)
Simple Cheese: Simple cheese spreads and simple cheeses can be made with just nuts and no fermentation process. I usually prefer these cheeses for spreads, but they can also be firmed up and dehydrated to form the rind.
Different nuts not only taste different, but also will give different textures. Almonds make a clean tasting cheese that is a little grainy. Macadamias make a beautiful, creamy cheese that develops good firm texture. Cashews make a smooth, easy to flavor cheese that has a bit of a softer texture.
Today’s recipe is pretty simple. I started my “cheese” when I got up. I threw the ingredients in the food processor, spooned it into a nut-milk bad and tossed it in the refrigerator. The next morning, I took it out, patted it into a round and tossed it in the dehydrator (to form a “rind”). By the evening, it was ready to go!
I hope I have inspired you to try your hand at nut cheese making. It is fun and tasty!
Soaked almonds with skins removed. It takes a little time but is very easy. They just pop right off.
The almonds should be well blended and smooth.
The mixture in the nut-milk bag, before putting it in the refrigerator.
Simple Almond Cheese
Simple Almond Cheese
- 1 cup almonds, soaked, drained and skins removed
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- pinch Himalayan Salt
- Soak almonds overnight in water. Drain and pop off skins.
Place all ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth. This will take a bit of time, don’t rush.
Place nut mixture in nut-milk bag or colander lined with cheese cloth.
Give a light squeeze and place in refrigerator over-night to set up.
You can use the cheese at this point or if you want it more firm, place it in the dehydrator for 6+ hours (at 115 degrees) to form a rind.
Rachel Grey wrote on July 20, 2014
Hi,
I’m making this now and in response to the nut milk bag question and how to strain
I’m using a regular wire strainer lined with a sheet of kitchen paper
It’s working a treat and the clear liquid is slowly coming out at the bottom
It works also when making ghee in place of muslin cloth 🙂
Happy cheese making 🙂
Daphne wrote on July 19, 2014
This sounds like a stupid question, but would it work without the lemon juice (if I put in some extra water, to compensate for the loss of the liquid)?
I’m allergic to lemon and fruits which are similar to it.
Susan wrote on August 1, 2014
Yes, but the flavor will change. Cheers!
Luanne wrote on July 12, 2014
I tried the almond cheese and loved it. I used mine as a spread since I don’t have a dehydrator. I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Luanne
simplify123.net
LuRan wrote on June 28, 2014
Can already skinless almonds be used?
Susan wrote on July 1, 2014
Yes, but they won’t be raw. Cheers!
Svetlana wrote on June 23, 2014
I love your recipes. I wanna try making the almond cheese today, but want to know if I can make it without adding any oil?
Thanx 🙂
Luanne wrote on June 19, 2014
I made this almond cheese for the first time and it was fantastic and easy to make. I served it at my dinner party that evening and it was a rave!! I’ll make it again for sure!
Luanne
Suzanne wrote on May 23, 2014
Susan
Do you leave the cheese in the nut bag/ cheesecloth when you refrigerate it?
Thx
Susan wrote on May 26, 2014
Hi, Suzanne! You can, or you can remove it to another container. It is completely up to you. Cheers!