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.
Betty wrote on June 26, 2015
Do you think peanuts would work instead of almonds? Tree nut allergies in the family 🙁
nikki wrote on July 3, 2015
Maybe sunflower seeds?
Susan wrote on June 29, 2015
Boy…I think that would be a difficult substitution. You might get a final product that more resembled peanut butter. 🙂
Hannah wrote on June 14, 2015
I’ve had great success using homemade miso cultured kimchi as a “starter” for my cheeses. All it took was 2 tbsp or so. Thought I’d pass that along. I think store bought would work well.
Shayla wrote on April 26, 2015
Hello, i’m looking for an alternative to using oil? Thanks
Susan wrote on April 30, 2015
You could probably just leave it out. 😉
Cat B wrote on April 30, 2015
You might try coconut shortening
Jennilee wrote on April 10, 2015
How much cheese does this make? Like in cups.
J'Marinde wrote on March 17, 2015
What about using ready-made nut flours instead of soaking and grinding the nuts? (peanut flour, almond flour, cashew meal, hazelnut meal, Brazil nut flour, etc.)?
Also – any cheese to be made from nut butters?
Thanks for your MOST DELIGHTFUL site, recipes and guidance.
Susan wrote on March 17, 2015
You can use already made but they are processed and would not be raw. If you start with raw nuts, you can maintain more nutrients by making your own. Cheers!
J'Marinde wrote on March 13, 2015
Can one just buy blanched almonds to use in this? How does one get it to a state where one can slice it for sandwiches?
Thank you.
Susan wrote on March 15, 2015
You would need a different recipe for a sliceable cheese. Also, blanched almonds have been processed. If you are ok with that, then try them. Cheers!