Alisa Fleming ~ Just a few simple tweaks from the Meltable Muenster and voila(!), a Meltable Mozzarella appears! Like the muenster, this vegan cheese alternative recipe is a sampling from the cookbook, Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner.
Miyoko offers two recipes for mozzarella in Artisan Vegan Cheese, one made from cashews, and this one, which is made from non-dairy yogurt. Which to choose? For Caprese Salad, she recommends the Fresh Mozzarella recipe made from cashews, as it is rich and delicious with tomatoes and basil. However, for meltability, this vegan cheese alternative recipe is the one to go with. Use it to make killer calzones and lasagna, and to impress guests at a dairy-free pizza party!
As mentioned prior, Miyoko uses some unusual ingredients in her cheesy recipes, but she also promises that her recipes are better than the norm. I’ve included links in the recipe to help you locate the lesser known ingredients, all of which are sold online and should also be available in some natural food stores. I’m sure that many of you cheese-aholics will find this recipe worth the ingredient hunt, and so easy to make once you have everything on hand.
Meltable Mozzarella Vegan Cheese Alternative
Ingredients
Method
- Put the yogurt, water, oil, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a blender.
- Process until smooth and creamy, occasionally stopping to scrape down the blender jar and move the mixture toward the blades.
- Transfer to a clean glass bowl or container, cover, and let rest at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours, until mildly sharp in flavor.
- Transfer to a heavy medium saucepan and whisk in the tapioca flour and carrageenan. For a stretchier consistency, whisk in the optional xanthan gum.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly with the whisk, until very smooth, thick, gooey, and glossy, 3 to 5 minutes.
- To make a brine, put the ice water and remaining teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and stir until the salt dissolves.
- Form the cheese into balls using a small ice-cream scoop, dropping them into the brine as you go. They will harden almost instantly.
- Cover and refrigerate, keeping the cheese stored in the brine.
69 Comments
Hi, I followed this recipe but it didn’t melt. It also started deteriorating in the brine almost straight away. When I put it in the pot to thicken, it went thick and gluey straight away. Did I not use enough water? How runny should it be before it goes in the brine?
Flavour was awesome though 🙂
Hi Nicole, this isn’t my recipe, it’s Miyoko’s, but I’m pretty sure she won’t follow up, so I’ll do my best to help you based on my own experiences making cheese alternatives. Tapioca makes more of a gluey consistency, while carrageenan sets up more like a gelatin. It should go very thick when you cook it. You want it to set up solid when chilled, so very thick is a good thing. But if you think it isn’t right, it sounds like the tapioca. You can cook it a little longer (it will break down) or add more water. If it were me though, I would continue with the recipe. As mentioned, very, very thick is good. And it could seem gluey. Especially if you added the xanthan gum. That stuff can make an almost rubbery consistency.
I’m curious how to tweak the directions for using gelatin instead of carrageenan… Would I dissolve the gelatin in a small bit of cold water, then add it to the mixture after it’s already been cooked for the 3-5 minutes, or would I add it at the beginning of the cooking time? Do I need to let the mixture cool before putting it in the brine (to let the gelatin set)?
I would probably reserve the water to dissolve the gelatin. I don’t think you really need to add the water in the first step since it will be fluid enough without it. You can then dissolve the gelatin in the (cold) 1/2 cup water and add it to the medium saucepan with everything else. Does that make sense?
Hi,
I am just curious what is the reason to culture the cheese since yogurt by definition is already cultured? The buffalo mozzarella recipe needs culturing because you are adding additional ingredient that can be used as “food” for the culture (cashew). Some variation of this recipe I saw call for 1/2 c of rejuvelac instead of regular water, can you explain the difference?
Thanks!
Hi Dominic, I’m guessing it is to fully culture the cheese, not just add a cultured yogurt. It will add more depth and tang to the cheese alternative. I can’t say for certain though, as I don’t do a lot of culturing myself! But I’m guessing that this is the method to Miyoko’s madness with this recipe.
Do you know of a low-carb substitute for the tapioca starch? Could more xanthan or maybe even agar be used in place of it?
I’m really not a low-carb expert. Xanthan and agar are very different and much stronger, so I wouldn’t be sure how to balance those out properly.
I accidentally used regular organic yogurt. Is it supposed to separate?? When making regular cheese I know it does, but I’m not too sure about vegan cheese.
I would assume not, but I can’t say for sure Jamie since it isn’t one of my recipes.
Hi,
I don’t have Carageenan, but I want a stretchy cheese. I don’t have the Zantam Gum.
All I have is cashew curd (homemade),oil, agar agar and Tapioca powder. How can I make a meltable cheese with these ingredients?
Can you tell me the measures ?
Thank you
You can make a cheese alternative that will set up with the ingredients you have, but then making it meltable is tricky. Agar won’t melt in the same way that cheese does. What I usually do is make a very thick cheesy sauce w/ tapioca starch – it’s like pre-melted cheese!
Can you tell me if anyone has tried freezing this cheese in a lasagna (for example) that is then frozen and then baked at a later time?
I haven’t tried freezing this exact cheese but have tried freezing a similar one, and it doesn’t freeze fantastically. It might be okay baked inside, but I would use something fresh on top.
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Dodi
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