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Seasoned with a crisp, lightly floral vegan wine (try a Sauvignon Blanc!), this Swiss cheese made with leftover wheat starch water from washing flour to make seitan is nutty and robust, slices perfectly for sandwiches, and should complement just about anything on your next charcuterie board.
Ingredients
Directions
Soak the cashews overnight or for 8-12 hours to soften them. If you're pressed for time you can boil a cup or two of water, then add the cashews and remove from the heat. Let them sit for 30 minutes in the boiled water, then give a quick rinse in cool water.
In a high-speed blender or food processor (I used the single blender cup from my Ninja) process the cashews and starting with about a 1/2 cup of water, process until smooth, adding the additional 1/4 cup as you go.
Drain as much excess water off your starch as possible and stir. I let mine sit in the fridge for a day or two to try to get it to really separate before using for this. Make sure your starch water is at room temperature before beginning, or it can make your coconut oil solidify when mixing.* I microwave it in 30-second increments, stirring each time until it's ready. Be careful not to heat it too much or the starch will clump.
*You can also leave the starch on your counter for several hours or overnight so it begins to ferment. The sourness and slight acidity will add more depth of flavor to your cheese.
Prepare a steamer and have a container ready for your cheese. I use these silicone molds which easily release. You may want to oil a glass container if using. Whatever you choose, make sure it can easily hold up at least 2 1/2-3 cups of liquid, because the mixture will rise by about 1/3 during cooking.
Add the blended cashews and all the ingredients through the onion powder to your blender or food processor and blitz. Slowly add in the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until it is fully emulsified.
Finally add in the lactic acid and pulse the blender a bit more to incorporate.* You can use chopsticks, dowels, or something like the heat safe silicone tubing I used to create holes in the final product, but it's not necessary. Pour the mixture into the prepared vessel and steam for 45 minutes. Allow to come to room temperature before covering and storing in the fridge. The cheese will be hardened after about 6-8 hours of resting in the fridge and will continue to harden a little more as it rests.
*SIDE NOTE: The reason I add the lactic acid last is because it can affect the kappa carageenan's ability to harden the cheese. I'm honestly not sure if it makes that much of a difference since I'm blending everything together before cooking, anyway, but it's a habit I picked up from The Non-Dairy Evolution by Skye Michael Conroy. If you're just learning about vegan cheese making or want to explore some new ideas, I highly recommend the book.
More Starch Water & Deli-Style Recipes
Ingredients
Directions
Soak the cashews overnight or for 8-12 hours to soften them. If you're pressed for time you can boil a cup or two of water, then add the cashews and remove from the heat. Let them sit for 30 minutes in the boiled water, then give a quick rinse in cool water.
In a high-speed blender or food processor (I used the single blender cup from my Ninja) process the cashews and starting with about a 1/2 cup of water, process until smooth, adding the additional 1/4 cup as you go.
Drain as much excess water off your starch as possible and stir. I let mine sit in the fridge for a day or two to try to get it to really separate before using for this. Make sure your starch water is at room temperature before beginning, or it can make your coconut oil solidify when mixing.* I microwave it in 30-second increments, stirring each time until it's ready. Be careful not to heat it too much or the starch will clump.
*You can also leave the starch on your counter for several hours or overnight so it begins to ferment. The sourness and slight acidity will add more depth of flavor to your cheese.
Prepare a steamer and have a container ready for your cheese. I use these silicone molds which easily release. You may want to oil a glass container if using. Whatever you choose, make sure it can easily hold up at least 2 1/2-3 cups of liquid, because the mixture will rise by about 1/3 during cooking.
Add the blended cashews and all the ingredients through the onion powder to your blender or food processor and blitz. Slowly add in the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until it is fully emulsified.
Finally add in the lactic acid and pulse the blender a bit more to incorporate.* You can use chopsticks, dowels, or something like the heat safe silicone tubing I used to create holes in the final product, but it's not necessary. Pour the mixture into the prepared vessel and steam for 45 minutes. Allow to come to room temperature before covering and storing in the fridge. The cheese will be hardened after about 6-8 hours of resting in the fridge and will continue to harden a little more as it rests.
Hi, could the wheat starch be substituted with another starch, like corn starch?
I haven’t tried but it might be possible. Other starches like potato and additional tapioca are often used to make vegan cheeses. For this you’d want to get the starch mixed with water to a thick pancake batter consistency. Wheat starch is pretty firm, but other starches might make a more meltable cheese. If you try it please let me know how it goes!
Wow, it looks amazing.
I just have a question…
I’ve lactic acid, but it’s liquid. Should be work?
Thank you and yes, it should though I haven’t tried it. I have read that you should only need 2-3 drops to replace a teaspoon of the powder. Hope you enjoy it!
Wow!! I’ve like 2lbs of lactic acid, I’m gonna start doing all the weeks for my entire life, haha.
Thanks for the info!
Someday if you travel to Costa Rica, maybe I’ll have my own cheese (made with your recipe) to share with u, haha.
Have a good weekend!
Maybe one day I’ll take you up on that offer! Thanks and you, too! 🙂
Hi Jen, I haven’t been able to get hold of kapa carrageenan but i have some vegan jel-it-in, im wondering if you know if anyone has had success using this in these cheese recipes? Ingredients are: carrageenan and locust bean gum along with stabilizers and glucose syrup.
Unfortunately I have never heard of anyone using it, but since carrageenan is the first ingredient it might work. My inclination would be that you may need just a little more than the recipe calls for, perhaps 2 tablespoons as a guess? You could try making half a recipe and see if it works out. If you do, please let me know how it goes and good luck!
We just washed some flour and look forward to making this vegan swiss! Waiting on the lactic acid to arrive. The vinyl tubing . Is it good safe? How is it specified? I see it at the local home store but no clear specs. Recipe looks like it will be a winner.
Hi Robert, the kind of tubing I used is silicone and it is generally used for brewing/wine making and is food safe. This is the one I bought: 5/16″ ID Silicon Tubing, JoyTube… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089YG7TWB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share though if you prefer to shop local and have a home brew supply store nearby that might be your best bet. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
What is starch water?
Starch water is the thick wheat starch and water combination leftover from washing flour to separate the gluten and the starch to make seitan. I’ll be sure to clarify on the recipe, but here’s a link to the process: http://seitansociety.com/wash-the-flour-method/ 🙂
Is the lactic acid absolutely necessary? Can you omit it? Or trade it out for some of the water for lemon juice or acv?
I wouldn’t omit it because it adds an important tanginess to the flavor, but you can sub lemon juice (though of course it will be more citrusy.) Use about twice the amount as the recipe calls for in lactic acid.
Are starch water cheeses meltable?
Wheat starch clumps and makes an awesome firm cheese texture, which I have found will soften, (like for a sandwich) especially when combined with tapioca starch. Some have made mozzarella with wheat starch, but I have never quite got it as melty as I would prefer for that type of cheese. Hope that helps.
Is there any chance in the future you could also add the metric weights for the ingredients being in the UK this would make things easier. Thank you for the great recipes though.
Yes, I have begun adding weights to my seitan recipes and plan to revisit the starch recipes as well. And you’re welcome. 🙂
Hi Jen,
First off, thank you for creating this site. It is extremely helpful. Second, am I able to substitute agar agar powder for the kappa carrageenan? Thanks in advance!
Hi Sam, Thanks and it makes me very happy to hear you are enjoying the site! I have not tried the agar substitution, but someone reported that double the amount of agar flakes worked well on the provolone recipe and that their cheese firmed up nicely. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes!
This looks lovely!
Is there a way to replace the coconut oil? My doctor is quite explicit about the need for me to remove this handy ingredient from my diet . . .
I haven’t tried any of these but you could possibly try a different oil, though it might not be as solid in the end result. I often also use vegan butter for its more firm texture. Perhaps a nut butter might work? If you try any of these successfully please let me know!
I’m pretty sure I did something wrong. After making the cheese, the result is quite sticky and slicing/shredding produces more of a mound of mush than something resembling cheese or the nice slices pictured. Are the 6-8 hours firming the bare minimum and do I have to “age” the cheese for longer in order to get the more “realistic” result ?
You can try aging it longer but it should be firm enough to slice at the 6-8 hour mark. Did you steam it for the full length of time? The kappa carrageenan needs to reach a minimum of 170F to activate. Could possibly be the starch water you used didn’t contain enough starch, which also adds to the firmness.