Monday 23 December 2013

Say Cheese!

I realized that I had five different kinds of cheese in my fridge, three of which were dairy-free.

Now before you go thinking I'm some kind of cheese freak, let me explain.

  1. The first cheese was a brick of soy cheese, the first one I bought when I decided to try eating dairy-free.
  2. Next, was a pack of dairy-free Swiss flavoured cheese slices.
  3. There was also a pack of dairy-free cheese shreds.
  4. My husband bought a bag of Mexicana style cheese last time he was home.
  5. And I had a container of feta.
I was in the mood for cheese toast, but I wasn't sure what kind of cheese, so I went with all of them! Excluding the feta, that is. I love feta, but maybe not on a toasted bun... Haha.


I've been making cheese toast the exact same way for over three years now. I turn the oven onto broil, I place some buns or bread on a cookie sheet, put some cheese on top, and then once the oven has warmed up a bit, slide them in. I always stick with exactly three minutes. Sometimes they might need a bit longer, but usually three minutes is the magic number. I've been through five different stoves, gluten and gluten-free buns, and now dairy-free cheese, but the process is always the same.


Top left are the slices of soy loaf, top right are the Daiya shreds, bottom left is the Daiya Swiss slice, and bottom right is actually a dairy product! I had high hopes for all of them, as I've enjoyed them all in other forms, but I definitely expected the Kraft bun to come out the best. I'm sorry, but I still trust cow milk the most.


Three minutes later, they were mostly done. The buns were starting to brown, but neither of the Daiya brand cheeses were melted enough for me. I pulled the other two off and put those two back in for thirty more seconds.


So, now for the verdict, right? I mean, this is all about comparison, isn't it?

The soy loaf slices were fairly oily, the cheese was stringy and warm. The bun was very dry wherever the cheese wasn't covering, but the cheese honestly tasted real. I might not have known it wasn't a cow product if I hadn't made it.

The Daiya shreds were liquid-y, fake tasting and had a weird texture to them. These would not have fooled anyone, they were clearly fake cheese. It was edible, but not entirely enjoyable.

The Daiya Swiss slices were gag-worthy. The cheese had a strong Swiss flavour, but the cheese itself was so liquid-ey and creamy. It stuck to the roof of my mouth and I couldn't finish more than one bite. Very fake tasting, but also really gross.

And of course the real cheese tasted pretty real. It had a slight spice, the kind that just hangs out in the back of your throat. It was tasty and stringy, but honestly not as tasty as the soy loaf slices (the first one).

So my verdict: The block of soy cheese is the best. I will be buying it again. The extra work to grate or shred it is totally worth it. The Swiss slices were good in a grilled cheese, but not so good on an open bun. The other two were good, but had their drawbacks.

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