Walnut & Cranberry Cashew Nut Cheese

Nut cheese is one of my most favourite things to make in the kitchen. The process may happen over days, but your time spent is actually quite minimal for such a phenomenal end result. These cashew-based cheeses are as good as any dairy-based equivalent, it all depends on what you do to it. Using the best ingredients you can afford and preferably filtered water, your homemade vegan cheese will really impress guests. Even adding a few fresh picked herbs to the cultured nuts can be enough to make a fantastic cheese. I’ve made this for my latest Suma Blogger’s Network recipe, with thanks to them for the big bag of walnuts!

I prefer to use rejuvelac to culture it, recipe here, I think you get a better ‘cheese’ flavour. But you can use the powder from inside probiotic capsules instead, with water, as described in the recipe. This cuts down the time spent on this as well.

I’ve started omitting salt from the cheeses I make recently, and this hasn’t greatly affected the flavour. Try and get dried cranberries that don’t have added sugar, oil or salt- these are common in dried cranberries unfortunately.

I like the simplicity of this cheese. Just beautifully cultured cashew cheese with delicious walnuts and dried fruit. Perfect at christmas or special occasions. Don’t be put off by the preparation time, it is only a few minutes of your time at each step. All this takes is planning, and waiting. Then you get to unwrap it and enjoy!

Preparation Time:

Rejuvelac – about 2-3 days depending on how long it takes for the sprouts to be ready

Cashew Nuts – must be soaked overnight or up to 24 hours before making cheese

Cheese- 3 days

You will need a nut bag or a large piece of muslin or cheese cloth to hang the cheese in.

Ingredients

• 250g cashew nuts, soaked for 12-24 hours
• 1/2 cup rejuvelac ( or powder of 2 probiotic capsules plus 1/2 cup water )
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
  

Directions

1. Take soaked cashew nuts, drain well and blend with garlic powder, nutritional yeast and rejuvelac or probiotic powder/ water combo until creamy and smooth.
2. Spoon the cheese mix into the nut bag, muslin or cheese cloth. Twist into tight ball and tie knot at the end.Suspend this ball of cheese so it can drain excess liquid. I use a large jug, hang the cheese ball over it and tie the end of the bag or cloth to the handle, then place a plate over the jug to loosely cover it without it being airtight.
3. Let it ferment suspended like this for 24-48 hours.
4. Unwrap from the nut bag and refrigerate for 24 hours in an airtight container.
5. After refrigeration it should be quite firm. Add the lemon juice, walnuts and dried cranberries and mix- I use my hands.
6. Shape into a ball or log and wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for another 8-24 hours.
7. If you want, cut into quarters and freeze.

I find my cashew cheese is best eaten within one week.