In an effort to cut out a bit more dairy from my diet, I decided to try out a product that I’ve heard about all over the blog world: Daiya, which is a vegan cheese substitute.
I gotta tell ya, the words “cheese substitute” make my spine tingle. Nevertheless, I gave the mozzarella style a go in one of my favorite preparations, the grilled cheese sammich.
The grilled cheese has become my go-to dinner for nights that I either don’t have anything planned to make, or just can’t make myself cook anything. It’s a versatile dinner as you can add any number of vegetables and/or condiments and make a unique and tasty sandwich tailored to your cravings for that evening. Paired with a salad or soup, and it’s no less impressive than something you spent an hour cooking.
I tried my first vegan grilled “cheese” with just a smear of apple butter, one of my favorite simple combinations.
I was a little put off by the smell of the “cheese” in it’s packaging. It was kind of salty and acidic; reminded me of parmesan but not in a good way, kind of like a half-melted and wet hunk of parmesan.
It was a little unpleasant to the touch; a bit wet, slightly oily. The strands separated from each other better than real cheese though, which made it easy to sprinkle on the sandwich evenly.
I prepared the sandwich in my usual manner; non-stick olive oil spray in the pan, press the sandwiches while cooking with a heavier pan weighting them down, flip once and done.
The Daiya passed the first test in that it melted well and held the bread together as well as regular cheese.
The real test is taste though, right?
I gotta say, I was astounded at how good this is. If I was served that sandwich and no one told me the cheese was vegan, I wouldn’t have thought anything was different about it. It is a little creamier than regular cheese, but not Velveeta creamy, so it doesn’t come off as one of those oily processed cheese products. And the ingredient list doesn’t have a single thing on it that I’ve never heard of or should be wary of.
I am thrilled that I can use this product to replace some of the dairy in my diet without sacrificing any of the pleasure in my beloved grilled cheese. I never intend to eliminate dairy entirely, but I want to treat it as more of a junk food and really save it as something to eat only at restaurants or on special occasions.
What is your relationship with dairy these days?
