Plant-based cheese with pink pepper is for those who cannot tolerate lactose or do not use cow’s milk, so it’s also suitable for vegans. But it’s so good that everyone in the family eats it — vegans, vegetarians and omnivores.
In my recipe for plant-based cheese with pink pepper I use homemade rice milk made with the ChufaMix, a really handy tool for making any type of grain-based milk, but you can also use soy milk or any other plant milk. Try making the delicious super-easy creamy almond cheese as well.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 1Piece
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 5/8 cups plant-based milk (as desired; I used rice milk)
- 3 1/3 tablespoons vegetable cream (unsweetened, natural)
- 4 1/3 tablespoons potato starch
- 1 2/3 teaspoons soy lecithin (in granules or powder)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons nutritional yeast (deactivated, flakes)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons agar agar powder
- 1 teaspoon carob flour
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt (5 g)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pink peppercorns (about 10 g)
Tools
To weigh small amounts, I recommend using a precision scale.
- Scale precision scale
Preparation
Prepare a container for the cheese mold. In this case I used a small bowl about 10 cm (approximately 4 in) in diameter and 8 cm (about 3 1/8 in) high, with a matching lid.
Lightly grease the inside with a film of olive oil and spread a layer of pink peppercorns on the bottom.
Put the amount of milk from the recipe into a non-stick saucepan and set it aside, meanwhile prepare the other ingredients for the plant-based cheese.
Now begin weighing the soy lecithin and place it in a glass with 50 g (about 3 1/3 tablespoons) of milk taken from the recipe amount and let it dissolve for about thirty minutes.
Then, in other separate small glasses, weigh the agar agar, the carob flour and the potato starch and add a small amount of milk to each (again taken from the recipe amount) to dissolve the ingredients.
At this point weigh the other ingredients as well, placing them separately in other small glasses.
Prepare the amount of vegetable cream, the nutritional yeast flakes, the salt, the garlic and turmeric seasonings, and the lemon juice. The lemon juice should be added at the end of the recipe.
Meanwhile the soy lecithin will have dissolved, as will the agar agar, the carob flour and the potato starch. Pour all the ingredients, except the lemon juice, into the saucepan with the milk, mix well and let it rest for two minutes.
Place the saucepan over low heat and cook the mixture, stirring with a whisk so it doesn’t stick. After five minutes of cooking the milk will become a thick cream; continue stirring until it reaches the first boil. Count another five minutes before turning off the heat.
When cooking is finished, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the lemon juice. Then pour the hot cheese mixture into the mold and let it cool for at least 15 minutes before closing with the lid.
Place the plant-based cheese with pink pepper in the refrigerator and let it set for at least 2 hours before removing it from the mold.
Plant-based cheeses firm up after 2-3 hours in the refrigerator, but if they sit for 24 hours they are even better.
