46 | JUNE 6 • 2024
J
N

FOOD

S

havuot is fast-approach-
ing, and as I discussed
in last week’s recipe
column, it has become tradi-
tional to indulge in dairy-based
foods on the holiday. But what
about those of us with lactose
intolerance or milk allergies,
which are dis-
proportionately
prevalent among
Ashkenazi Jews?
With tech-
nological
developments
in dairy-alter-
native products,
I invited 11
tasters to join me in an adven-
ture into the world of non-dairy
cheeses to find out which are
worthwhile.
Non-dairy cheeses have
a long history, with the first
recorded mention of soy cheese-
like products in 1500s China.
Recognizable soy cheese brands
emerged in the 1980s and, since
then, the field has expanded to
include products based on milks
from other ingredients, like oats,
seeds, legumes and nuts. Most
recently, bacterial cultures have
been used to create fermented
products.
For our exploration, we con-
sidered several mozzarella prod-
ucts, both “raw” and melted on
a baguette slice, as well as several
other varieties, which we sam-
pled raw.
While an array of spreadable
non-dairy cheese products are
available, we focused on those
simulating non-spreadable
cheeses. All of the products
are available locally at Kroger,
Whole Foods or Plum Market.

We tasted three mozzarel-
la cheeses, all of which are
hechshered: Miyoko’s Fresh
Plant Milk Mozzarella Classic,
Daiya Shreds and Violife Shreds.


Overall, tasters found the
texture of the raw Miyoko’s moz-
zarella to be strange, calling it
“spongy” and like “play dough,
”
though they noted that the
texture improved after melting,
describing it as “creamy.
”
A few tasters appreciated its
deeper flavor, though several
expressed that it did not taste
like mozzarella. Tasters also
found the Violife mozzarella
shreds to fall short in several
areas. Multiple tasters agreed the
flavor resembled movie theater
popcorn, perhaps reflecting its
primary ingredient of coconut
oil. While they did not find this
to be unpleasant, they also noted
that it did not taste like mozza-
rella. It was evident the product
did not fully melt and had some-
what of a chalky texture.
The Daiya mozzarella shreds
emerged as the general favorite,
with tasters noting superior
melting, including a great pull,
and browning and a mild and
sweet flavor consistent with
mozzarella. They did note that
the oat flavor was detectable
and the raw texture was grainy,
and that it was a bit oily when
melted. One taster noted that it
“would be great for pizza.
”
Next, we sampled Violife Feta
and Follow Your Heart Bleu
Cheese Crumbles, both of which
are hechshered. Tasters noted
the feta had a salty feta-like
flavor with some chemical after-
taste and a solid, but silky and
slippery texture. The bleu cheese

crumbles were very polarizing.
Some tasters were emphatic that
the flavor and texture replicated
that of dairy bleu cheese, giving
it the highest scores of all the
cheeses for both flavor and tex-
ture. However, others expressed
that “it starts too strong and
then gets chemical and disgust-
ing” and it “tastes like perma-
nent marker.
” I found it to have a
very strong chemical smell.

NON-DAIRY CHEESE
WITHOUT HECHSHER
We also tasted several cheeses
that are vegan, but do not have
a hechsher, including Babybel
Original and White Cheddar
varieties, Cheeze and Thank You
Herbed Feta and Black Garlic
Truffle Fontina varieties, and
Nuts for Cheese Black Garlic
variety.
While one taster indicated
that they would buy the Babybel,
most were not enthusiastic about
it, describing it as mild-tasting
with some chemical notes and
a rubbery texture. The cheddar
variety had a somewhat more
pronounced flavor, which some
tasters preferred.
The Cheeze and Thank You
Herbed Feta was very polarizing
with a strong herb flavor and
grainy texture. One described
the flavor as an “assault on the

palate” but another considered it
to be “very tasty.
”
Tasters did not like the texture
of the Cheeze and Thank You
Black Garlic Truffle Fontina,
calling it spongy and rubbery
and identified the main flavor as
“mushroom” and most, but not
all, found it to be quite offensive.
The Nuts for Cheese Black
Garlic had a different, soft tex-
ture, which reminded tasters
of hummus rather than cheese.
Tasters noted the savory garlic
flavor, which some really liked
and others really did not, and
some identified a chemical after-
taste.
Overall, I was impressed to
see the array of brands and
products for non-dairy cheeses.
I was struck by how different the
opinions were on the products
we tasted, and I conclude that
it is necessary to try a variety
to identify what suits your own
tastes. But as new technologies
continue to be developed, I am
optimistic that the market for
non-dairy cheeses will only con-
tinue to improve in the coming
years.

Dr. Joelle Abramowitz works as an

economist at the University of Michigan’s

Institute for Social Research and also

writes about food and life. See more of

her writing at gastronomisteconomist.

substack.com.

Tasting non-dairy
cheeses for Shavuot.
Un-Brie-lievably



Gouda?

Joelle
Abramowitz