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

