Picture of bread with vegan cheese spread

Fresh vegan cheese

Yoga Kitchen – Simple, healthy and plant-based

The perfect and tasty alternative

Fresh white cheese, also known as flat cheese in Flemish and cottage cheese, used to be a favourite on my breakfast table. Fortunately, today I can make a quick vegan version of this in no time.

There are some vegetable cottage cheese substitutes available on the market. The organic versions, from the brand Provamel among others, are hard to find in organic stores and organic supermarkets, which still give high priority to (organic) animal dairy products. The classic cottage cheese substitute from Alpro in the ordinary supermarket (Alpro Greek Style) in its “natural version” contains no less than 14 ingredients, including sugar (!) and a whole bunch of preservatives to guarantee the thing a long life on the shop shelves. Whenever I eat the latter, my palate tends to react violently against it.

The good news: with silken tofu you can make vegan “flat” cheese in no time with just 3 ingredients!

What you need

  • One packet of silken tofu
  • The juice of half a or a whole lemon (to taste)
  • A pinch of sea salt or Himalayan salt (to taste)

Silken tofu is commonly found in 400g (The Hobbit or Taifun) or small 300g (Clearspring) brick packs. The protein content varies quite markedly. So this is not a recipe with very precise quantities. I invite you to experiment according to taste and preference.

This is how you do it

  • Put the silken tofu in a food processor after you drain or press out the excess water
  • Add the salt and lemon juice
  • Mix in the food processor until you get a creamy consistency
  • Taste and if necessary add some more lemon or salt

This vegan fresh cheese will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.
It can further serve as a starting point for all kinds of delicious variations

How to make a savoury dip of this vegan cheese

  • Add a tablespoon of miso to the mixture
  • Add a tablespoon of sesame oil and mix well
  • You can finish off with extra fresh herbs or spices to taste

How to make a chocolate spread

  • Add a tablespoon of unsweetened (preferably raw) cocoa powder
  • Sweeten with one or two tablespoons of agave syrup or other suitable wholefood sweetener

How to make a delicious plant-based tzatziki

Read the recipe for vegan tzatziki here (link) and see how easy it is to make a delicious fresh summer side dish with this vegan fresh cheese as a base, for a salad buffet or as a spread.

Sweet treats with silken tofu

Silken tofu is also a perfect base for all kinds of sweet desserts. Read more here.

Why not use animal dairy products?

The current methods of producing animal dairy products are very harmful to the environment and wasteful of resources and raw materials. Moreover, they are based on the merciless exploitation of animals. Newborn calves, goats or buffaloes are immediately taken from their mothers because the milk is stolen for human consumption. It is a painful cycle of forced insemination, forced childbirth and repeated severing of the maternal bond that the mother animals are forced to go through again and again. Until, after repeated pregnancies and giving thousands and thousands of litres of milk, they are finally sent to the slaughterhouse. I find that incredibly cruel and out of keeping with our current state of civilisation.

In addition, milk is presented as much healthier than it really is. The fact that adults still drink the mother’s milk of another species is completely absurd.

Food technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and it looks as if the entire classical dairy sector is going to disappear completely. Anyone who wants to eat animal cheeses and other derived dairy products in the future can be sure that in the near future they will be made by fermentation processes in tanks. The starting point will be a limited quantity of animal stem cells or substances. The animal itself will finally be freed from the slavery of dairy production and human exploitation.