What I talk about
- For aged plant-based cheeses I need cheesecloth (a fine organic cotton gauze), a dehydrator and probiotic capsules; ricotta baskets are useful too. Instead of a dehydrator, a home oven at its lowest setting works, ideally fan-assisted.
- I soak raw nuts, such as cashews or blanched almonds, overnight and then blend them into a smooth, even cream; in my recipes I also use pumpkin seeds.
- I use probiotic capsules: tablets crushed in a mortar did not give me the same result. Lemon juice, shoyu, nutritional yeast flakes and spices are only there for flavour.
- The cheese rests in the basket for at least 24 hours at room temperature, then dries for 24 hours at about 40 °C, turned every 5 to 6 hours; finally it matures in the fridge under an upturned bowl, turned every day. It takes about 15 days before you can taste it.
- Well-cooked vegetables can replace part of the nuts: I suggest celeriac, but cauliflower and chickpeas work too.
Sources
- The recipes are in the June 2023 issue of Terra Nuova (in Italian).
- The video page on veggiechannel.com (in Italian).
- The original video on the Veggie Channel YouTube channel.
