February 1, 2018

Cultured Cashew Cheese

I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this recipe with you. I’ve been making cashew-based probiotic yogurt, sour cream, and buttermilk for such a long time, so why shouldn’t I give making my own cashew cheese a shot! I’m so glad I did. It’s incredibly easy to make, dangerously delicious, and you can even be creative with the choice of flavors you want to add. Really – the hardest part is waiting for the probiotic cultures to do their fermentation job!

Remember to soak cashews overnight or for at least 4 hours!

You will need:

a high speed blender
patience while waiting

Ingredients: (For four 3-inch/7.5 cm ∅ cheeses)

For the cheese base:

2 1/2 cups (350 g) raw, unsalted cashews, soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours, drained
1/3 cup (80 ml) filtered water (don’t use tap water!)
3 probiotic capsules (I used “Renew Life” – Ultimate Flora/50 billion live cultures)

To add after fermentation:

1 tsp Celtic sea salt
2 tsp brown rice miso
extra virgin olive oil to brush muffin pan molds

For the different varieties:

Paprika pine nut cheese:

1/2 tsp paprika powder and a good sprinkle for the mold
4 Tbsp pine nuts, quickly pan fried on medium heat without oil to achieve a golden color and nice flavor

Seeds and nuts cheese:

4 Tbsp seeds and chopped nuts of your choice (I used pecans, pumpkin seeds, white and black sesame seeds), quickly pan fried on medium heat without oil
1/8 tsp paprika

Herbed cheese:

1 tsp dried rosemary
2 Tbsp finely minced parsley

Spicy pepper cheese:

1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 – 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like it)

Preparation:

For the cheese base, blend soaked and drained cashews with 1/3 cup (80 ml) filtered water in a high speed blender for at least 1 minute until very smooth. Use a tamper to push all the cashews down towards the knife. I also stopped my blender in between and scraped down the sides.

Once smooth, scrape into either a ceramic or glass container and stir in the contents of 3 probiotic capsules. They are very easy to open. Just give them a little twist and pull the two sections apart. Use a spoon to blend the probiotic powder thoroughly with the cashew mass. Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel, place a lid on top, and keep in a warm, dark spot. The fermentation process will take longer in a cold room.

Now comes the hardest part: wait for about 48 hours!

Whenever the kitchen towel is dry, dampen it again. I did that once a day.

If you’re a little impatient (like me), you can stir the cheese with a wooden spoon at around halftime. It should already smell and taste cheesy.

Once the wait is over and your cheese is fermented, stir in salt and miso and, using a wooden spoon, blend thoroughly.

Brush 4 molds of a muffin pan with olive oil. This helps to prevent sticking to the pan.

Now comes the fun part! You get to play with the flavors, if you want to add them. Keep in mind that I used ¼ of the cheese base for each flavor. If you want to use only one flavor for the whole cheese, you have to respectively adjust the amount of the ingredients. Here are my four suggestions:

Divide cheese base into 4 parts, and use small bowls to blend them with their ingredients.

For the paprika pine nut cheese, pan-fry pine nuts without oil for only about 3 minutes in a small pan while stirring continuously. They get dark quickly. Once a golden color is achieved, let them cool down a bit. Add a few pine nuts to one of the prepared molds and sprinkle some of the paprika into the mold as well. Use a spoon to thoroughly blend the remaining pine nuts and paprika with ¼ (!) of the cheese base. Fill the respective mold with the mix and press down to make sure there are no air pockets. Smooth the surface with a knife.

For the seeds and nuts cheese, fry chopped nuts and larger seeds without oil for about 2 minutes in a small pan. Add sesame seeds last, because they only need a minute. Stir continuously. Place a small amount of the nut/seed mix into one of the prepared muffin molds. Use a spoon to thoroughly blend the remaining nuts/seeds and paprika with ¼ of the cheese base. Fill the prepared mold with the mix, and press down to avoid air pockets. Smooth the surface with a knife.

For the herbed cheese, blend dried rosemary and minced parsley, and add just a little to one of the prepared muffin molds. Use a spoon to thoroughly blend the rest with ¼ of the cheese base. Fill the prepared mold with the mix, and press down to avoid air pockets. Smooth the surface with a knife.

For the spicy pepper cheese, blend ground black pepper with crushed red pepper, sprinkle a little bit into the last prepared mold, and blend the rest with the remaining ¼ of the cheese base. Fill the prepared mold with the mix, and press down to avoid air pockets. Smooth the surface with a knife.

You can find 3 more flavors in the notes!

Put the muffin pan with the cheeses into the refrigerator for about one hour to set.

Once they are chilled you can take your little cheeses out of the mold by putting a plate face down on top of them and flipping it over. If you brushed the molds well with oil, they should come out easily. If not, tap on the bottom of the muffin pan.

Enjoy these beauties on your favorite breads, with crackers, vegetables, fruit, or just by themselves!

Keep refrigerated!

Notes:

These cheeses are attention drawing and fantastic to bring to a dinner party (if you want to share them!)
All of them are spreadable and sliceable.
Be prepared to take a walk to your fridge at the oddest times. They are dangerously delicious!
Vegans and non-vegans love them. These yummy guys really make it hard to believe that there’s no dairy involved.
Here are 3 more flavors to play with. Keep in mind that each of the new ones is again meant for ¼ of the cheese base, as the recipe states above.
- For smoky cheese: blend ½ tsp smoked paprika into ¼ of the cheese base and sprinkle some more into the prepared mold. Proceed the same way as above.
- For caraway cheese: blend 1½ tsp with a pinch of ground turmeric into ¼ of the cheese base. Sprinkle some more caraway seeds into the prepared muffin mold and proceed the same way as above.
- For garlic and chive cheese: press 1 clove of garlic into ¼ of the cheese base, add 2 Tbsp minced chives, and blend well. Sprinkle some minced chives into the prepared muffin pan and proceed as before.