CheeseLinks run workshops on making all sorts of cheeses and appear to be one of the few places that sell the equipment for those keen to continue making it at home. After my feta making workshop about two years ago I bought a kit of stuff which I have since misplaced.
So I got online and ordered some small cheese baskets for $1 each and a large cheesecloth. Once they arrived I was ready (if a little nervous) to make my almond nut cheese.
Recipe
There are many recipes online. The one I am basing my version on is via a YouTube video about eating and raw vegan diet.
Ingredients I used
1 cup raw organic almonds
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp some type of probiotic (I used two capsules of Nutritious Care Polybac 8)
Method
- Soak the almonds in fresh filtered water for 20 - 24 hours
- Peel the almonds (I should have poured boiling water over the soaked almonds for a few minutes as the peeling of the almonds became quite a lengthy and fiddly process
- Place almonds in the trusty Vitamix along with the 1/2 cup of water and probiotic
- Blend until smooth adding more water as needed (my mix was still a little grainy but I didn't want to add too much more water as I want a reasonably firm 'cheese')
- Spoon the 'cheese' into the cheese baskets lined with the cheesecloth
- Rest the baskets over a cup or in a bowl to allow liquid to drain
- Fold the cheesecloth over the 'cheese' and place a weighty thing over it (I used teacups with canned goods)
- Place in a warm dark place to ferment for 8 - 12 hours
- Taste test your 'cheese' - if you want a stronger tasting cheese you could ferment for a further 24 to 72 hours.
- Season cheese to your liking then store in a glass container (with lid) in the fridge for up to a week.
What I did
I used the three different baskets of almond cheese to try different method.
- Basket 1 was spooned into a tea cup and a pinch of salt, a 1/4 tsp of lemon infused olive oil and some chopped up Greek basil was stirred through. Pressed back into the cheese cloth and basket. From here:
- half went into the dehydrator
- half went into the fridge
- Basket 2 was squeezed further of fluid pressed back into cheesecloth and basket. There there:
- half went into the dehydrator
- half went into the fridge
- Basket 3 was squeezed further of fluid and pressed back into cheesecloth and basket. It was left to ferment a further 12 hours
Firstly I'd like to confirm my suspicion that cheese made out of almonds does NOT taste like cheese. However, I do admit that there are so many recipes online that perhaps one of them does produce something a little more cheesy. But this recipe and all the variations did not taste like cheese. But here is a record of the results. The texture was very soft - kind of like a ricotta. Each of the basket methods produced a different flavour and so a different experience.
- Basket 1: this was my preferred result. The herbs, flavoured oil and salt really made this 'cheese' taste yum! The dehydrated one was even better but both were great.
- Basket 2: not too bad but it really didn't have much taste at all. It was very mild and a little sweet. Again, the dehydrated one was a bit nicer.
- Basket 3: Umm...it tasted a little sour which got me a little nervous thinking I'd fermented it to a point it might not agree with me. I thought maybe it would be better if I dehydrated it ... it wasn't.
Verdict
Would I do this again? Hard to say. I certainly wouldn't do the last basket option again but the first was really nice. I might not bother with the cheese baskets (after buying them online for this experiment!) and just make an almond based dip or spread. The addition of the herbs really made it something so might pull this out for a dinner party or the like. I also am curious about some of the other recipes I found with different ingredients so perhaps my cheese baskets won't get lost in the back of the 'I was once interested' cupboard.
CheeseLinks: http://cheeselinks.com.au/
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