Every vegan in the country decided that this was a hilarious idea, so we started eating toasted Gary sandwiches, put Gary and chutney on oatcakes, and spread Gary on our bagels. I honestly felt sorry for any vegan actually named Gary. Maybe they all changed their names to Gareth, or Bob, or Dave or something. I kinda feel like the whole joke is getting a bit old, but maybe I was just bitter that it took me nearly three weeks before I managed to get my grubby mitts on some of this mythical fromage. When I did, I bought one of each. For scientific purposes.<\/p>\n
In the true spirit of science, I decided that I couldn\u2019t conduct an accurate experiment or write a non-biased blog post without a control group. Vegan cheese has really grown on me, but as I don\u2019t eat the dairy stuff, are these actually good? Or have my tastebuds just adjusted to the lack of dairy in my life? Luckily I have a human omni taste tester in the form of my lovely assistant Leanne. Leanne does not usually like vegan cheese, so these would have to pass her rigorous testing standards. Say hi to Leanne guys.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019d heard good things about how this stuff melts, which sounded very promising. There\u2019s nothing worse than a vegan cheese that takes on the appearance of melted, bubbling plastic as soon as it\u2019s melted. I haven\u2019t found a non-dairy cheese in the UK that melts as well as some of the versions I\u2019ve tried in Canada so this had a lot to live up to.<\/p>\n Verdict:<\/span><\/strong> I thought this one whiffed a bit of feet, but it wasn\u2019t exactly overpowering. I found the texture a bit \u201coff\u201d, slightly grainier than a dairy cheese, though it did taste more like cheddar than a lot of vegan cheddars I\u2019ve tried.<\/p>\n Leanne thought this one tasted and smelled the most like cheese, and could actually pass for cheddar though the texture was a bit off.<\/p>\n Caramelised onion is my weakness. It\u2019s my go-to chutney to have with cheese, and it can usually mask the taste of even the most dire of foods. Tastes like shit? Dollop caramelised onion on it and choke it down. I had high hopes for this one.<\/p>\n Verdict:<\/span> <\/strong>I thought this one was alright, but it smelled SO STRONG. I used to love strong, stinky cheeses, but this absolutely reeked<\/em>. The texture was pretty much spot on and\u00a0it had a bit of a sweet undertone, though there was a characteristic acidic tang to it that could have been down to the caramelised onion or just the fact it was vegan cheese. Not really a fan.<\/p>\n Leanne REALLY didn\u2019t like this one. \u201cIt smells revolting and tastes worse. I\u2019m not eating the rest of this.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I used to love this type of cheese in my pre-vegan days, so this was the one I was most looking forward to. It certainly looks<\/em> like the real deal, but does it make up for the lack of Wensleydale on the christmas cheese platter?<\/p>\n Verdict: I really don\u2019t know how I feel about this one. On one hand I really like cranberry in cheese, but on the other this tasted absolutely nothing<\/em> like Wensleydale.<\/p>\n Leanne thought this one tasted a bit like the sweet icing on a cake. She wasn\u2019t sure if she thought it was good or bad, and commented that it tasted nothing like cheese. Oh, and she\u2019s not a fan of Wensleydale anyways. \u201cMy boyfriend might like it though. He likes sweet things in cheese.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ll be honest here, I don\u2019t actually like feta, which I think is what this variety was meant to mimic. I find it too salty and it just seems to be a way to ruin a decent pasta salad.<\/p>\n Verdict:<\/span><\/strong> I found this so bland, it was like the cheap imitation fetas you find in supermarket packaged salads, and also a bit grainier than the other vegan cheeses we tried. I\u2019m wondering when someone will make a decent vegan cheese with the taste and texture of a high-end dairy cheese rather than just aiming for basic cheddar and supermarket feta?<\/p>\n Leanne thought this one was alright but \u201cit doesn\u2019t taste like cheese though\u201d.<\/em> She ate half the cracker so I guess that was a good sign for this one.<\/p>\n Soft cheese is something that companies like Tofutti have been doing well for years; in fact, I have been eating their version of cream cheese for way longer than I\u2019ve been vegan. Could I be bothered to trek all the way to the big Sainsbury\u2019s for this stuff, when New Leaf Co-op is just around the corner from my flat and Tofutti is so reliably tasty?<\/p>\n Verdict:<\/span><\/strong> This was a perfectly serviceable soft cheese, very similar to Tofutti though the tiniest bit tangier. I\u2019d like to try the plain version of this, which I think would be perfect for my daily bagel.<\/p>\n Leanne liked this one. \u201cI\u2019ll actually eat this, it\u2019s nice\u201d<\/em> (5)<\/p>\n![\"img_5703-1\"](\"https:\/\/tetrischeesecakes.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/10\/img_5703-1.jpg\")
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Cheddar-style with caramelised onion<\/h2>\n
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Wensleydale-style with cranberries<\/h2>\n
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Greek-style<\/h2>\n
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Soft cheese-style with garlic and herb<\/h2>\n
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