Reasonable tasting vegan alternatives to cheddar and feta, any recommendations?

[Blurberrydays]

Is there any such thing as a reasonable tasting vegan cheese or does it just not exist? I’m looking for a replacement for cheddar and feta - has anybody got some good recommendations?

I guess maybe I have to not look at these substitutes as cheese, but a whole new food group 😄 I don’t like that they’re all so heavily processed either, but definitely better than eating dairy.

Thanks for that - I’m quite good at doing that to an extent already, but cheese has such a unique taste and so use to adding it to enhance flavour that it will take a while to adjust.

I also came on here to say how lovely vegan Boursin is! Everything else I’ve tried has been a bit weird and synthetic, but vegan Boursin is ridiculously moreish!

I am currently dairy free as dd is bf and has a severe dairy allergy. I LOVE cheese and have found it hard to give it up. The replica cheese are vile, they smell and taste awful. I also hate that they are full of rubbish. The vegan boursin is the only thing worth trying.

I agree. Violife (Vile-life) is inedible as it has a nasty vanillary aftertatse.

The best vegan alternative to cheese I have tasted is Tyne Chease.

Would you consider cheese bought from a calf at foot dairy OP?

it costs more obviously but calves stay with their mother so more ethical

directory

Obviously much better than mass production of dairy, but still commodifying animals and still....weird....definitely not vegan.

Have you tried the French brand Jay&Joy? Abel and Cole stock it. Their blue cheese called Jeanne is delicious (as is the one recommended earlier Brixton blue from fauxmagerie which Waitrose sells). Jay& joy also do a good goats cheese which works well either in salades or on tarts. For feta, I use fermented tofu, Feto from the brand Taifun (Abel and Cole or Wholefoods, or i make my own using this recipe https://cultured.guru/blog/marinated-vegan-feta-crumbles.
For parmesan style, the School night vegan has good options, I made his which was easy and worked well, Am next going to try his suggestion for home made vegan mozzarella.
If you can get your hands on it, the Italian brand Dreamfarm is fantastic for mozarella, stracciatella and ricotta, all fermented but based, i buy it in Belgium and the Netherlands when I am there.
For cream cheese, Nush or marks and Spencer are great.
The only thing which i have found very hard to find decent replacement is mature cheddar

My local (South London) health food shop chain sells Kinda and G.O.A.T vegan cheese (and they are delicious - best I’ve ever tried!). I first bought the G.O.A.T ‘cheddar’ cheese in the Lake District and I’ve also seen it in Cardiff so fingers crossed it’s stocked near you too! I miss cheese but these brands bring me joy! My favourite now is the Kinda ‘blue’ cheese!

I did try making my own (including week long fermenting) - not a bad cheesy sauce but not worth the effort now I’ve found the above mentioned 😜!

My love of cheese is why I am a vegetarian and not a vegan.

Nope

Tofoo have a "feta" recipe made from tofu (unsurprisingly). Works well in salads 🤤

Another vote for Kinda. I like the mozzaloumi. Haven’t yet tried the others.

Could you share the name of the shop? I’m SE London so might be able to try it out. Thank you.

@Fourlittlepiggies it’s the Planta health shop in Crystal Palace (but they have a few others - one definitely in Bromley and I think one somewhere around Croydon? The Palace one is usually very well stocked too!).

Amazing! I am in between the two so can definitely visit one. Thank you!

Yes and so was I, but I can’t ignore any longer the welfare concerns I have about dairy farming and having to say goodbye to cheese and yogurt seems a small price to pay.

Thanks all for all these excellent recommendations - I can see I’m going to be busy taste testing for a while!

Is there any such thing as a reasonable tasting vegan cheese or does it just not exist?
It doesn't exist. Vegan cheese is just awful all around, they all taste like plastic.

@Fourlittlepiggies the Crystal Palace one is much bigger (I also love the triangle for mooching around!) - I hope you like the vegan cheese - it’s not an artisan manchego but it sure beats the upf plastic crap the supermarkets sell!