sAs soon as I got my package home, I couldn't wait to rip open the little compostable corn container of Cashew Cream Cheese. Its pearly-white loveliness beckoned to me from under the peekaboo lid. Dr. Cow's Cashew Cream Cheese just seemed to be crying out for me to try it with Dr. Kracker crackers. What a perfect pairing—it was love at first bite! ♥♥♥ Smooth, creamy, rich, and delicious. Everything a girl could ever want from a cream cheese. And yes, I do think it would be very geshmak (that's "tasty" in Yiddish) on a cinnamon-raisin bagel!
Dr. Cow's Cashew and Blue Green Cheese is strikingly colorful in its mold-colored rind and has many other characteristics of dairy bleu cheese, like its sharp and somewhat salty taste. But happily, it doesn't share dairy bleu cheese's distinctive smell. It would be delicious with pears, raisins, and walnuts. And I cannot wait to crumble some into my next salad!
The caramel-colored Aged Macadamia Nut Cheese is very soft and spreadable. With just the faintest hint of herbs des Provence, it reminded me of a cross between Reblochon and Morbier or even German Quark. (Yes, before I knew better, I very much used to enjoy my cheeses!)
Dr. Cow's Aged Cashew & Brazil Nut Cheese surprised me with its delightfully smoky flavor, and the blonde-colored Aged Cashew Nut Cheese was both pleasantly mellow and wonderfully sharp. But my favorite cheese of all was the Aged Cashew & Hemp Seed Cheese. Its texture was firm but creamy, and it had a decidedly sharp bite. Its creaminess was the perfect match for some crunchy apples from my happy apple tree!
So, what's the secret? How do the brilliant folks at Dr. Cow make their 100% raw organic artisan cheeses taste so very much like cheese made from cow's milk? It's simple. (Well, it's simple to say. I'm not at all sure that it's simple to do). They use the same process that is used to make traditional dairy-based cheese: They prepare a nut curd using some of their own home-made acidophilus (friendly bacteria) and a little royal pink Himalayan salt. And it's even more wonderful that they do it without adding any preservatives, stabilizers, artificial ingredients, or additives of any kind. While these cheeses are made with whole-food ingredients, they're not low in fat—after all, they're made from nuts. Now you may be thinking, "What's a McDougall girl like Gail doing eating this stuff?" Well, Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheeses come in dainty packages, which makes it easy to enjoy them as delectable little indulgences. Like coconut milk ice cream, cashew whipped cream, and so many other decadent treats, they're a wonderful way to occasionally add some lovely flavor, texture, and excitement to your meals.
Hopefully by now you're asking yourself where can you buy all of this deliciousness. Check out Dr. Cow's store locator to see if there's a store near you that carries them. If not, you can order them online directly from Dr. Cow or from Vegan Essentials or Pangea. You can even order them online in Canada from upayanaturals.
Now you can tell all of your friends who say they can't give up dairy because they can't imagine living without cheese that there are some really great new alternatives. Challenge them to kick the dairy habit for a month. After thirty days, ask them how they feel. (You know they're going to say they've never felt better.) Then invite them to slowly start trying some of the cheese alternatives out there. (Some guidance here would be a good idea. After only thirty days, you may not want to start screaming about the cheese-like joys of adding nooch to everthing.) You might even buy your friend a little "congratulations gift" of Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheese to help celebrate their dairy-free month and encourage them to keep on going! Here's my list of favorite vegan cheeses in no order of preference, because each one brings something uniquely delicious to the table:
Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheeses
Ste Martaen Cheeses
Nacho Mom's Ultimate Vegan Queso
Sunergia Foods Soy Bleu and Soy Feta Cheeses
2014 Update: Sunergia Foods Soy Bleu and Soy Feta are now from VegCuisine
Daiya Deliciously Dairy-free Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheeses
Vegan Gourmet Cheese and Cream Cheese Alternatives
Wayfare Foods We Can't Say It's Cheese Hickory-Smoked Cheddar-Style Spread
What's your favorite?
27 comments:
Wow! I've never heard of Dr. Cow before. They look incredible! I'm buying some for my mother who isn't vegan, but cannot consume any dairy at all. Thanks for sharing.
Vegan bleu cheese? Are you kidding me? And that cashew cream cheese looks like it's to die for!
I'll take that "cream cheese" one on that cinnamon raisin bagel, toasted please...mmmm! ;-)
I am enjoying all of your vegan cheese posts! Who knew there were so many choices? These Dr. Cow cheeses really look very good! And what perfect timing for this post! I was just thinking the other day how nice it would be to have a wine and cheese party.
I really like Daiya for making grilled cheese and pizza. I haven't found a good cheese for just eating with crackers, and your photos certainly make Dr. Cow's look very tasty and now I want to try them for sure.
Yummy yummy yummy! And I LOVE your new site!! Looks abso gorg, Gail. =)
Awe, thank you, Allison!
Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheeses look eye-poppingly good! I know what I'm going to be stuffing in (ice-pack filled) Christmas stockings this year!
That blue cheese looks crazy good! Oooh, that's an interesting idea, Marla!
I was a cheddar and American girl in my pre-vegan days, but Dr. Cow knocks my socks off! The price seems steep, but it is a worthwhile treat.
Wow - what a great resource! I can't wait to check out these Dr. Cow folks! The cheeses look delicious...
I LOVE the look of your blog...is it new? Or am I just really behind in actually reading blogs as opposed to reading through my reader. Well I love it!
And I love Dr. Cow cheeses too. We rarely order them, but do so occasionally as a treat and then eat them very sparingly! I have the kale flavor in my fridge now. SO good! Thanks for this great review.
Thank you, Tanya! Yes, the design is brand new and thanks to the incredible talent of Emily the Blog Fairy, whose website is http://theblogfairy.com/
those cheeses look divine. wow1!!!
Gail I also received your christmas reciepe. You will be the first one posted on the first of November. You are also the only one that has gotten in touch with me about the cookie reciepe. I hope I get more participants. If I don't I will post your reciepe for a week and then I'll put in the other 3 weeks of that month. Thank you sweety. Look for your post on my blog on Nov. 1.
Going over your list I can say that I've tried Daiya, Vegan Gourmet, and Wayfare Foods Cheeses. I can't wait to try Nacho Mom's Vegan Queso, and now that I've seen this post, I am dying to try Dr. Cow's. A bottle of red wine and a platter of Dr. Cow cheeses and fruit sound like the perfect way to start a romantic evening!
We enjoyed (VERY MUCH ENJOYED!)the cashew cheese today with toasted ciabatta bread and crackers. Amazing, really. It had a wonderful sharp cheddar flavor. I'd definitely pay the price for it once in a while! Very much an indulgence!
Oh, Sheree, I'm so glad you are enjoying Dr. Cow cheese as much as I am! It must be wonderful on ciabatta!
Thanks for the tip on Dr. Cow! We no longer serve artificial ingredients or preservatives to our children, so this is a great alternative.
So many vegan cheesy flavours. Wow. Will take a while to get to the U.K
:(
Oh my! Now this is fantastical!! How have I not known about this? I am so glad to have found you after you stopped by my blog. I will for sure be back. You have a lovely blog!
Ellen (lapuremama.com)
Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I respect your opinion about aspartame, and I appreciate the information, but I will never let go of my Flintstone vitamins. I truly believe chewable vitamins are much better for us because we absorb them better. Plus, I only take a half so I know I'm not getting much aspartame.
Thanks for the cheese info. I'll have to look for this where I work!! It sounds delicious. Does it have adequate calcium??
Hi Gina! Thanks so much for stopping by. All I can say is that I'm truly flabbergasted that a registered dietitian, of all people, would actually choose to continue to consume something as indisputably toxic as aspartame. If you read my article, "A Tale of Two Sweeteners," you'll discover that aspartame is a drug, not a food.
As far as "adequate calcium" in Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheeses, since dairy products are the worst source of calcium one can imagine, (every time you consume animal protein your body pulls calcium from your bones and excretes it), I would never expect to get adequate calcium from cheese or any other dairy product. Instead, I prefer to get my calcium from the same sources that many of the world's largest, strongest animals do: from dark leafy green plants.
I have had their cheese and it really is something special.
This is a really well written, compelling review for this cheese. I don't know who Dr Cow is(is it a cow that is a doctor that moonlights making cheese?), but she or he should use this to promote their products.
And BTW, love the redecorating job.
:-)
Thank you, The Vegan, that's very sweet of you!
oh i've never heard of those -great to know! thanks!
Unfortunately your links at the bottom of the post don't work!!! :(
Hello Spanish Steps, and welcome to Hungry Vegan! This post is four years old, so yes, it's true, a couple of the links were out of date, because companies have updated their websites. (One or my favorite products is now owned by a company with a different name.) A quick Google search revealed the most current links, and I have made the appropriate updates. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Also, many new and extremely delicious vegan cheese products have entered the marketplace since the writing of this post. (Ones made from cashew cheese are particularly yummy!) I hope you will do some further exploration, and find the dairy-free cheese
alternatives that appeal to you!
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