Culinary genius Miyoko Schinner, queen of vegan cheeses, sent us eight of her line of nine fancy pants gourmet cashew cheeses to sample. Turns out everything everyone has been saying about them is 100 percent true: These cheeses are legit.
The Classic Double Cream Chive and Fresh Loire Valley in a Fig Leaf. Look at all those cracker options I got for Meave! I’m too good to her.
Megan very sweetly hosted a wine and cheese tasting party at her lovely new apartment for us; as I texted Laura a few hours later in a boozy, cheesy fog, we have arrived. This is the stuff of cheese boards and decadent sandwiches and European picnics. It is not all of the cheese, but this culinary art form is still in its infancy. Imagine if humankind had taken millennia to cultivate the art of cultured nut cheeses alongside (instead of!) dairy cheeses? Miyoko’s Kitchen represents such a strong start, I can’t wait to see what vegan cheeses will look like in another five years. In the meantime, let’s review some cheese!
I’m pretty sure this is a pic of the High Sierra Rustic Alpine. Either that or the Smoked Farmhouse. I forget. Sue me.
(Megan’s sister, DearCally, was on hand to try some vegan cheese too, so we got an omnivore opinion as well. In other news, CALLY IS ADORBS)
High Sierra Rustic Alpine
Meave says: Super smoky, creamy, sharper at the finish. The smokiness is pleasant; not, as Megan says, at all like a ham. Best of the smoky ones. Chewier than I expected, but good.
Megan says:Yes, def smoky. I don’t usually like smoky because it tastes like ham mixed with chemicals but this is different! I like this! (Spoiler: this ended up being my fave)
Cally says: Tastes like cheddar.
Aged English Smoked Farmhouse
Meave says: Thick, super duper smoky, chewy. A little gluey. Not as refined as the Rustic Alpine. Still not like a ham. Also, two dairy-cheese-lovers I later shared this with claim it tastes “just like” smoked Gouda. I cannot vouch for this, but I trust their opinions.
Megan says: Less creamy than the Rustic Alpine and a touch more smoky.
Double Cream Sundried Tomato Garlic
Meave says: Tangy, garlicky, creamy, like really fancy cream cheese but better. Gets better when warmer, but leave it sitting out too long and it’ll start to separate a little, so be careful. I really want this on toast.
Megan says: Mmmmm yummy. I thought it’d be like cream cheese but it’s not.
Cally says: This is effing good. This would spice up that tofu y’all always eat.
Classic Double Cream Chive.
Classic Double Cream Chive
Meave says: Like the fanciest cream cheese you ever had. Oniony and bright, but milder, in the vein of double creams.
Megan says: Like scallion cream cheese but thicker. And better. It would make a bagel crazy good.
Cally says: It would make a lot of stuff crazy good.
Fresh Loire Valley in a Fig Leaf
Meave says: Amazing. Eat the leaf with the cheese, don’t peel it off and discard it. Sweet but not cloying, fruity, super creamy. Finish is … vanilla? Or something? We cannot identify this mysterious flavor — IS IT FIG? — but it is incredible. My favorite.
Megan says: Tastes like…tastes like dolmas?
Cally says: Tastes like candy and apricots and…something. I don’t know. I’m freaking out.
Close up of the Country Style Herbes de Provence. Herbalicious, right?
Country Style Herbes de Provence
Meave says: Super herbaceous, of course, lots of rosemary, sage, and thyme. Drier than the others, but still creamier than crumbly. Sharp but no bite. You could easily crumble this in a salad. My second favorite
Megan says: Thickest of them. Very good, very rosemary-y. Tastes like my mom’s thanksgiving stuffing (I guess she uses herbes de provence?).
Aged English Sharp Farmhouse
Meave says: Another gluey consistency but cheddary and pleasant. Milder than the smoked but still fairly smoky Kind of reminds me of childhood but I don’t know why. I wish it were a little harder? But it’s solid.
Megan says: Cheddary and kind of thick like clay.
Cally says: Tastes like cheddar and romano.
And there you have it! Thanks for joining us on this vegan cheese journey! You can order the cheese for yourself online. Have any of you already tried them? Which is the best? Megan says Rustic Alpine, Meave says the fig leaf one!