Violife Vegan Cheese!

My tween has decided that she would like to be vegan and as a start wants to try out the lifestyle by giving up meat and meat products for lent. To see if she can cope. You see she likes to eat meat for the taste and experience, she just doesn’t like the idea of it and with her not being terribly adventurous with food in general it has made me wonder if she might not be able to manage it. She’s determined however so we’ve been trying out a few things to help her along the way. some of them successful (coconut daal was a winner last week) and some of them not so much… The vegan bacon she tried recently was actually unpalatable and we wondered if it was worth trying to recreate meat from other plant based sources or instead just opting for totally veggie dishes.

That would be fine I guess only she doesn’t tend to eat that many vegetable and this is the downfall. Finding subs she will eat… She doesn’t like margarine AT ALL and the plant based one she tried recently didn’t cut the mustard but of course a little olive or coconut oil can step in for that. But what about cheese? Cheese is used in so very many of the things she will eat that it seemed a stretch to not include it in her diet and yet when we’ve tried vegan cheese in the past it’s not been too wonderful. I was skeptical then about the selection of Violife vegan cheese we were sent to trial. Would they be more of the same that we have found don’t suit us or would this brand finally allow us to make a seamless switch? Skeptical maybe but… Happily surprised I’ll have you know and more to the point I now know that I can feed her with plant based foods for lent, live a little more mindfully myself (even though I am not a vegan) without notice and also, when we have our great friends over, as we did this half term, we can feed them great food without compromise. One of them is severely allergic to dairy products and I always feel like with my cooking she falls short with the things I make her. So… How have we got on?!

First up I wanted to try the Violife Original Flavour Slices in something simple like a sandwich. It’s easy to mask flavours with other things but if this cheese was going to work for me it had to stand alone and be able to be enjoyed in something humble.

It was half term and we had a few picnics which would usually be made with regular mild cheese slices for ease. I make them plain for the kiddos but for us I always add a chutney and some leaves to jazz it up a bit and always use a good wholemeal bread as nothing else has quite the same amount of taste.

I made my Mum and Jonny these sandwiches and told them afterwards what the main ingredient had been. Neither of them noticed and they both enjoyed the sandwich which tasted exactly as it always would. 100% vegan the cheese slices are made with coconut oil and for a meat eating non-vegan I promise you there is absolutely no noticeable difference so absolutely, why use anything else?!

Next up, another very easy meal I make the kiddos during the holidays, is meted wraps or pizza wraps and for this I used the Violife Original Flavour Grated which seems to melt just like grated mozzarella (which is what I usually use) and again we found no difference to taste really, perhaps a slightly more cheesy flavour as mozzarella is so mild and this one had a more cheddar like edge but it melted just perfectly and worked for both the folded wraps and when I used it for pizza!

And that brings me onto cheddar! Is there really something as satisfyingly cheesy as the real deal? Well, I had a friend visiting who has a severe allergy and wanting to make lasagne (veggie) for the rest of us I didn’t want her to feel left out so made her her own one using no dairy products. I’m not sure I have the bechamel sauce consistency right using the milk alternative I chose but when it came to the cheese, hers was no less so because of using the Violife Epic Mature. It grated easily and blended into the sauce well (I don’t usually add cheese directly into my bechamel but wanted to in case this one needed to pack an extra punch and then it crisped up on the top nicely too. The verdict was well appreciated!

I also found the Violife Smoky Cheddar Flavour Slices worked well with cheese and crackers as a stand alone or well melted over pots on the raclette. Flavour wise it delivered what you want from a smoky cheese and yet it’s made using only plant based ingredients just as with the rest of the range.

The big one for me on making a switch however was the Violife Le Rond, Camembert Flavour non-cheese. We are big on a baked camembert in this house and often have it as a sharing lunch or starter.

I prepared it in the same way I usually do, inside an oven proof ramekin and then scored the top (there is no skin unfortunately but by scoring it allowed the flavours of my toppings to permeate through the cheese) and added garlic, a chutney, some olive oil and salt and pepper before sprinkling with mixed herbs and baking for 5 minutes on a high heat!

I have to say that for me this didn’t come out tasting the same as usual but it was pleasant and Florence, the would be vegan, enjoyed it with all the same things I usually serve it with for dipping. So it worked and actually, if you don’t compare it then it’s a nice way of serving a light lunch or impressive starter for a vegan alternative.

Violife have done a very decent job of providing a plant based alternative to some cheesy favourites and I think we might just get through the 40 days of lent feeding Florence non-cheese alternatives as her main meal base. She isn’t keen on plant based non-meats but gave this all a big thumbs up. So interesting and absolutely perfect for anyone with an intolerance like our friend. Nothing to be missed out on with a plant based menu at all, not with Violife at any rate!

It’s worth remembering that each non-cheese is to be used differently so do check out the vegan recipes on the Violife website for some great ideas on how to serve it!

Collaboration.