Recently, I was at a party and I found myself in the middle of a conversation about cheese. The fact that I used to be the head fromagier for a pretty well-known cheese shop in LA came up. The girl I was talking to told me that she was so jealous and that being a fromagier was her dream job. She, very innocently, as any passionate cheese-lover would, began bringing up her various favorite types of cheeses and asking my opinions. Being that we had just met, I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by doing my speil about cheese and I couldn’t deny that this topic had once been my passion and I had started many a conversation just as she had. I decided to be agreeable and say “oh yeah, blue cheese is good,” and “yeah, I used to like really stinky cheese too.” Then I told her that one day a light bulb turned on and the way cheese is made became completely disgusting to me. This is where I lost her.
After the conversation was interrupted, I began imagining other ways the conversation could have gone. I imagined that I began telling her that my favorite cheese was actually a new cheddar that had just been invented.
“Really?! A new cheddar? From where?” she would ask.
“My kitchen,” I would proudly reply.
“Where is that? Is it new?”
“No. It was an early 70′s build. It’s at my home.”
She would look at me, clearly confused.
“You see,” I would tell her, “I make my own completely cruelty-free cheese, and I’ve just come up with a new, rich, mildly sharp and nutty cheddar. It is so delicious and after one taste, you will not be missing it’s non-compassionate (to say lightly) original.”
“Oh, is it one of those nut cheeses?”
“No. This one is nut-free and almost completely soy-free.”
“Really? What’s it made of then?”
“Sunflower seeds and love.”
Okay, maybe I would leave the “love” part out, but at this point she would be so intrigued that she would demand that she tried it. I would conveniently have some in my purse (as any good woman would) and she would hesitantly (I did just pull a piece of cheese from my purse) take a bite. She would hug me and thank me for introducing her to her new favorite cheese and proclaim “I shall never consume another yucky, cruel dairy product again!”
That’s how I picture the conversation going and I’m confident that it could have been a reality if I hadn’t eaten all of said sunflower cheddar, thus having some in my purse for this absolutely lovely cheese-lover to try. Next time.
SUNFLOWER CHEDDAR
adapted from Somer’s recipe* and Annie’s recipe
makes 1 8-9 inch wheel of cheese
Ingredients:
- 2 cups raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 1/2 T lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp white miso (to make this recipe 100% soy-free, use a chickpea miso or leave out completely)
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp onion granules
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 package of Pamona’s Pectin
- 1/4 tsp agar powder (optional- but will add a little bit of firmness to the final product)
- 2 cups + 1/2 cup water divided
- Spray a pie pan or loaf pan or individual muffin tins (all will work- it just depends on what shape you want your cheese to be) with olive oil spray. Set aside.
- Thoroughly mix the calcium packet from the pectin package with 1/2 cup water. Set aside.
- In a high-speed blender or food processor, combine the sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, miso, salt and spices until it forms a thick paste-like consistency. You can leave it here, or if your blender is difficult to scrape things out of, scrape the contents out into a small bowl.
- In a pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the pectin powder and agar powder and use a whisk (and a lot of upper body strength) to thoroughly combine both into the water. Continue to whisk until you have a very thick liquid. Pour the the sunflower mixture into the pectin mixture and stir like crazy until you have a very thick cheesy sauce. Add the calcium/water mixture from before and thoroughly combine. Pour into prepared dish and place in the refrigerator.
- After an hour or two, once the cheddar is firm, turn out the cheese onto a plate and let chill for one more hour. After it has chilled, you can serve it immediately or use it in any recipe that calls for cheddar cheese. Keep it stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Stay tuned next week for some recipes using this great cheddar!
This recipe is being shared with Gluten-Free Fridays, Wellness Weekends and Healthy Vegan Fridays.
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All Photos taken by Chris Miller
© Kristy Turner and Keepin’ It Kind, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material (content and images) without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kristy Turner and Keepin’ It Kind with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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You don’t know how happy this makes me! People with nut allergies have been asking me if there’s any other way to make the cheese! WOOHOO! xoxo!
Sunflower seeds are a great way to get around nut allergies, and they’re much cheaper too! Have a good weekend! xoxo
I just ran out of agar recently, this recipe was my inspiration to go ahead and order more this morning. I added the pectin to the order as well. I have been wanting to try the pectin based cheeses you have linked to before, and I am so excited to get started. I hope my order comes fast! We have been enjoying the tofu chevre frequently, I suspect this cheddar will go into regular rotation as well.
Thank you so much, Sarah! I absolutely love hearing that you make the tofu chevre frequently. I certainly hope you like this one as well! Have a great weekend!
That is one impressive-looking wheel o’ cheez!! Can’t wait to try this. Truth be told, I was getting a wee tired of the cashew version
.
Sunflower seeds are quite a bit less expensive than the cashews too and they add a slightly less sweet taste.
Enjoy!
Yes! Can’t wait to see what you put this yummy looking cheese into. I hope you have another chance to have that conversation go your way. I am going to picture you carrying around this cheese in your purse now.
Oh, you know I’m going to be carrying cheese, looking for an excuse to start that conversation.
Have a good weekend!
haha. i totally redo all of my conversations later 2 or 3 times to figure out how future ones should go.. there is such a small opening to get though usually and a fine balance to maintain
that wheel and shreds look amazing! i tried the cashew moza from vegnews and it left me desiring a better taste. i think seeds are the way to go!
I do that too, all the time. I often get tongue-tied in conversations or I forget that I can’t just say everything that pops into my head.
Thank you! I have the vegnews sitting on my counter and I want to try to make some, but I’m feeling pretty lazy about making the rejuvelac. I think I’ll try the rejuvelac-free recipes first.
i am generally scared of rejuvelac.. all that fermentation:) the mozzarella has yogurt, so i tried that one first;)
Awww shocks, next time
But thanks for telling us your story so we’ll know what to say and do when situations like that happen to us. And thank you for putting together this awesome sunflower cheese recipe. I’m so intrigued. I just got into making my own vegan cheese. I’ve started with cashews, macadamias, and pili nuts. On to sunflower seeds!
Anytime, Richgail! I got yo’ back.
I love making my own cheese. Even though I love daiya, making my own makes it taste better somehow.
I’m new to the whole make-it-yourself vegan cheese thing, and don’t have white miso. Is there a substitute that I can use instead? Also don’t have agar powder, hopefully the end product will turn out. I see a lot of vegan cheese recipes calling for cashews to be used though. Cashews are just so darn expensive I never buy them and would hate to use them in an application like this and not have it turn out. Would any mild tasting nut, like almonds, work for cheese? Any advice would be helpful!
You can actually leave the miso out if you want. I would just increase the nutritional yeast a bit. Miso is an inexpensive ingredient, though, and a good staple to have in the kitchen. I actually usually make a more mild, plain version with cashews (see the link for Somer’s recipe) and I didn’t use miso or agar powder in the older versions and they were fine. The miso gives it a little bit of a sharper flavor and the agar just firms it up a bit more. You’ll be fine if you just use pectin.
As for other nuts, I think you can do it with almonds (I’ve seen almond-based cheese recipes) but there may be some sort of straining you have to do, like you would for almond milk. Cashews make a great cheese, but so do macadamia nuts, and brazil nuts (but very expensive). If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, I would suggest their raw cashew pieces. They’re a couple dollars cheaper than the raw whole cashews and they work just the same in applications like these.
I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any more questions or if there is anyway I can help you more.
Good luck!
So, I just tried this without the miso and without the agar. It’s a shame I have to wait 2-3 hours to try it! The only thing I wasn’t sure of in the recipe was whether to stir the sunflower seed mixture on or off the heat. I stirred it in off the heat because I didn’t want to mixture to burn while I was stirring it in.
You did it right. Thank you for pointing that out- I’ll adjust the recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it turned out!
The cheese turned out great! I think next time I’ll use the agar to firm it up a bit more. I think I’ll look for miso the next time I’m in the grocery store. The flavor was a little weak for my taste with the miso omitted. Thanks for the recipe!
Great! Thanks for letting me know! Have fun with it!
Okay, now this is brilliant. I’ve seen tons of recipes for vegan cheese, but they’ve never ever worked out for me… but I’ve never seen one with agar and pectin in it. Duh! It needs something to hold it together! And I love that this is soy and nut free, as well… will have to give this a try next time I’m looking for a dairy-substitute!
Thanks Willow! The pectin is primarily there to hold it together while the agar firms it up a bit. I misspoke when I said it was soy-free, I hadn’t thought about the miso, which is actually soy, but if need be, this could totally be made without it. Have fun!
Is it just me or is the fact that this is described as soy-free completely misleading? Miso is a soy product and therefore this recipe is not soy-free.
You are so completely right. I had forgotten that it contained miso and it was completely my mistake. Thank you so much for pointing it out to me- I have altered the post to show that.
Sounds intriguing! How long does it keep in the fridge, would you say?
I would say about 7-8 days. You can always freeze half for later too.
Here’s a crazy question – how bad would it be if I left out the nutritional yeast? Looks like that might be a pretty key ingredient, but I can’t eat it. Hm… this looks amazing though Kristy! You’ve done it again.
Hmmmm. Can you do chickpea flour? That can add a bit of flavor. Otherwise, I would skip it, but it won’t be as cheddary. Thank you, Heather! xo
Yep, I can do chickpea flour – I’ll try it and let you know if it works! Thanks Kristy.
Oh my word. This recipe is gorgeous! I can’t wait to make this. Found you over at Wellness Weekend. Such a smart recipe. I’ve been dairy free for nearly 10 years…and so this recipe looks so amazing. Pinned and will be making very soon!!
Be Well,
–Amber
Thank you, Amber! It’s so nice to meet you! Good luck with recipe and be sure to let me know how it turns out!
How exciting!! This looks awesome! I definitely need to get my hands on some pectin, so that I can try this out. (Speaking of which, the links to the pectin & agar are broken. They have your website in front of them, instead of going directly to Amazon. Sorry for becoming your volunteer copy-editor lately!)
Thank you, and I mean that in the most sincere way I possibly can. There is something up with my link system because it is constantly breaking links are switching out links with links to other posts on my site. When I proofread it, the links always work, so it’s something that happens once I publish it. I ALWAYS appreciate when someone lets me know if links aren’t working/I make totally ridiculous mistakes. Thank you so much for keeping an eye out for me.
Wow Kristy, so amazing! I don’t actually miss cheese very much so I never find the motivation to actually make my own. But if I ever made my own, your recipes are the first place I’ll go because oh man do they look unreal! This one especially- it looks exactly like cheddar! You my dear are a genius.
Thanks for sharing on Healthy Vegan Friday and have a lovely weekend
Thank you, Gabby! I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s “genius” but I’ll take it.
I hope you’re having a great weekend!
This looks so good! Like “real” cheese. I will have to try this asap!
oh, one more question: how much pectine is in one package? I live in Europe and we don’t have that brand…
Yay! In the pectin packet, there is about 8-9 tablespoons and you will also need 1/2 – 1 teaspoons of mono calcium phosphate, which activates the pectin. I hope you like it!
THis looks amazing Kristy! I love your would have been convo – and if it was me I would totally have said “and made with love” hahaha i tell people that all the time
Really though, this is so unique!
Thanks, Heather! I have would-be conversations all the time and they’re always much better than the actual conversation. I’m always much wittier and better received.
This is very intriguing to me. Is the Pamona’s Pectin a vegan version of geletin?
Thank you. Pectin is derived from citrus peels and is used as a jelling agent, mostly in jams and jellies. Pamona’s pectin comes with monocalcium phosphate which activates the pectin. I hope that helps!
I am allergic to soy and have found at whole foods a chickpea miso which is soy free enough for me. I ran out weeks ago so i no longer have the container. I think it was westbrae. Also miso river makes one.
Have I been living under a rock?!?! Thank you sooooo much for telling me about this! I’ve adjusted the recipe to show that one can use chickpea miso instead to make it soy-free. You’re the best, Lia!
This recipe looks incredible and will be my first in attempting vegan cheese. I’m wondering… do you think I could substitute xanthan gum for the agar powder? I have a large quantity of it and hate to buy another thickener that is expensive and used so infrequently. Thanks so much!!
Thank you!!! I don’t think xanthum gum would work in this application. The agar powder only firms the cheese up a bit and the xanthum gum won’t be able to do that. I would reccomend leaving the agar out altogether. You will still have a solid cheese, but it might be a little softer. I hope that helps! Good luck!
Thank you for responding! I so appreciate it! I will give it a go without the agar — I’m sure it’ll be wonderful!
oh nut cheese.. this is a realy treat!! i never make it, just order it when i am eating out. the thing is that i cant finish a whole cheese myself and would have to make more so I rather not make it and save it for special occasions when eating out. it just doesnt work in small batches, does it?
It could possibly work if you halved it, but I think splitting up the pectin packets would be difficult. I would suggest freezing half and saving it for later. Let me know if there is any way I can help you more, Alexia!
haha, YES, you should definitely carry some in a special cheese purse from now on, Kristy. This looks and sounds amazing and I will definitely give it a try even though there are a few ingredients (miso, pectin) that I’m not sure where to find. It will be a sunflower seed and love adventure!
Thank you, Bex! You should check out the link to Annie’s cheese- hers is cashew cheese, but doesn’t use pectin or miso. Have fun with it!
Oooooooh, will do, thank you!
This is very neat! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! We had some fabulous entries this week! Our gluten free blogger directory is growing too! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest!
See you next Friday! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Thanks, Cindy!
How awesome! And I even have most of the ingredients! Do you think I could get away with using Xantham Gun instead of Agar Agar? Thanks!
Thank you! I’m not totally sure, to be honest. I’ve only used xanthum gum in baking and when I make butter. You can leave the agar out altogether and get it won’t affect the taste at all. It will just be slightly less firm.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I made the cheese, and it’s chillin’. I am so looking forward to it – cheese is a taste I miss. Keep up the good work!
That’s great to hear! I hope you like it! If you can, send me a pic!
I’m really excited to try this recipe! Have you ever used agar agar flakes? My local healthfood store had those, but not the powder. Would it be possible to substitute the one for the other. Thanks!
I have not made this recipe with agar flakes, but I have made a cashew cheese with agar flakes (see the An Unrefined Vegan link on the page). You could leave the agar out of this recipe- it will just be slightly less firm. The cheese made with only agar flakes was definitely firmer, but it didn’t get as melty.
I hope that helps! Good luck, Rebecca- I’m so excited to see how it goes!
this looks really exciting – in fact I think I would love to meet you and have you pull some cheese out of your purse – I do eat cheese but lately have been eating less as I find other ways of making cheese – the pectin sounds a bit unlike what is in my kitchen but I have these sunflower seeds that are just calling out to be cheese
Thanks, Johanna! Should I ever meet you, I will try to be sure to have cheese in my purse, at the ready for you.
If you don’t have pectin, see the link to An Unrefined Vegan (under recipe title), which shows an all agar powder version. Good luck!
Hi Kristy, I gave this recipe a go today after importing some pamonas pectin (live in Aus).I had trouble with the consistency, I ended up with was more like a ball of dough in the food processor! It definately didnt “pour”
Any ideas what could have gone wrong?
It is in the fridge now, I had to add a heap more lemon juice so will have to wait and see what it is like
I am soooo sorry it has taken me so long to respond to this- work has been extremely busy and I haven’t been able to tend to the blog as much as I would like. One time, I forgot to add the calcium mixture at the end and it was very thick (and ended up tasting a little weird), but not like a ball of dough. I wish I could be more help. The only thing I could suggest is to use more water when preparing the pectin mixture. And it should be poured immediately after mixing because the longer it sits, it will harden.
Please let me know how it turns out and let me know if you give it another go. I am so sorry it didn’t work. I wish I could be more help. Take care and good luck.
Not a worry Kristy I only just got around to checking back here
I will have another go after Christmas, I am keeping this batch to go into soups, it is a little too sharp from all the lemon juice to have on its own 
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Hi! I’d really love to make this.. do you know if any pectin will work? Or, does it have to be that specific brand? It is only sold in 6-packs, so I’m not sure I want to spend $24 on pectin to make the cheese. But, if it’s as good as it looks, it might be worth it!
Thanks, Rachel! I would love to say that another Pectin would work (it seems like most pectins would be the same, right?), but I’ve only used Pamona’s. Perhaps you can check you local health foods store/Whole Foods? That’s where I usually get mine (I provided a link so people would know what I was talking about and for those who can’t find it in their local stores). Good luck and let me know how it goes!