Raw Vegan Cheese
Life got exciting today. I made my raw food recipe for raw cashew cheese and it turned out great! I have been preparing raw food for some time now but the cheese, the ones that you have to make and set-up for a day, seemed a little daunting. Well, as my friend Michael often says, sometimes you just have to pull the bands back and let them fly. I’m glad I did. A few handfuls of cashews, some rejuvelac, and a little patience turned out a delightful cheese spread that is a welcome addition to any raw diet.
If you are wondering what rejuvelac is, it is a fermented liquid made from sprouting wheat berries that is said to be high in enzymes, friendly bacteria, vitamins and minerals. It is known as a health drink. If you have been following this site, you know I am sprouting a lot of wheat berries these days. I decided to put some of those sprouted wheat berries to work, make some rejuvelac and then, the cheese.
Cashew Cheese
Rejuvelac
- 1/2 cup sprouted wheat berries (sprouted just until tails start)
- 4 cups filtered water
- Place the wheat berries and the water in a jar. Leave in a warm place for 24-48 hours. You will see a little fizz. The liquid should be a little tart but not smell off.
Cheese
- 2 cups cashews
- 1/2 cup rejuvelac
- Cover cashews with water and soak overnight. Drain off water.
- Place cashews in Vitamix and process with rejuvelac until a smooth paste forms. You can add a dash of celtic sea salt.
- Line a strainer with 2 layers of cheese cloth. Spoon mixture into the cloth.
- Set in a warm place and let set for 24 hours. Form into the shape you want. I coated the outside with cracked pepper.
- Put in refrigerator to finish setting. Store in the refrigerator for about a week. Serve with Onion Sunflower Seed Flat Bread.
Doris wrote on July 5, 2010
This raw cheese is the best!! 4 REAL!!!
Jac wrote on July 5, 2010
Are the cashews blended while still wet from soaking or do they need to be redehydrated before hand??…thanks 😉
Rawfully Tempting wrote on June 29, 2010
Susan,
Which wheat berries are you using for this? Aren’t there Spring and Winter? Whole foods only had the Winter…could not find the Spring. I thought Rejuvelac was supposed to be made with the softer Spring variety? Do you know? Does it matter?
Thanks so much,
Barbara
Cathy wrote on June 16, 2010
Wow, fab ! Been looking for a firm cheeze for some time ! Looking forward to giving this a go !
Many thanx 🙂
France wrote on April 18, 2010
I was wondering, is there a way of making a hard raw cheese? Something you could possibly shave onto a salad, instead of crumble. Or would you more or less have to make, say a ‘parmesan tuile’ type cheese shard in the dehydrator to mimic shaved cheese?
Susan wrote on April 18, 2010
I do not have a recipe as it would require special aging and equipment that I don’t have. You can order it here: http://www.dr-cow.com/
Angie wrote on March 25, 2010
I’m purely amazed at what you do, you could write a book of your own with all your pretty pictures !
BTW, do you have a Flickr or some place you keep them ? I find them uber inspiring :))
durangowit03 wrote on March 4, 2010
my mom makes adds olive pimentos to her cashew cheese, really tasty but i’m wondering if they are raw- aren’t they just pickled with the olive?
Susan wrote on March 4, 2010
The Pimento comes from pimento peppers. I believe that they are just pickled along with the olives.