Post Punk Kitchen Forum

The fettuccine with gruyere and mushrooms is SO good!Everyone I served it to (omnis) thought it was regular alfredo. Definitely my new favorite cookbook.

I made the Philly cream cheese and am enjoying it! I'll probably whizz my cashews in my coffee/spice grinder next time so the texture isn't like thick hummus.

Since I have all this unsweetened yogurt now, I'm going to make another batch or two, though I'm curious to see how much it costs with all the cashews involved.

That's good to know. I wasn't sure how to determine if it was degraded. I just used extra agar powder for my first two batches, which I can't wait to try!!

I'm super bummed. I tried my two cheeses this morning. The American was grainy but the flavor was pretty good. The provolone was way too pungent and super soft. I think my rejuvalac might be too strong for the provolone. I used the agar powder sub she suggested because I didn't have carrageenan. Maybe that was the problem. Big sad face. I want to love this book. Ordered carrageenan today.

Make the pub cheddar and you shall be in love.

Here's what I've done so far:

brown rice rejuvelac: never sprouted
millet rejuvelac: smelled borderline bad, so I tossed it
quinoa rejuvelac: quickly sprouted! yay

kappa carrageenan: ordered online late last night from modernist pantry, and already shipped!

air parmesan: been air-drying for a week now, and although it separated into many pieces, it looks great/intriguing and the little bits I've tried are really tasty

air-dried gouda: setting now - I made this with soaked sunflower seeds subbed for cashews (allergy)

air-dried cheddar: ditto - but used a mix of cashews and soaked sunflower seeds since I ran out of cashews (this one is for Julialegume & friends to eat - I won't try it but I'm so, so curious)

sharp cheddar - ditto - made with all soaked cashews

Hi PPKers :)

I have just eaten Brie with whole peppercorns, after 7 hours in the refrigerator (I know the book says at least 8, couldn't resist). It's very tasty, but I do hope peppercorns become softer with time. I used 5 heart shaped silicone muffin moulds :)

I've never eaten non-vegan Brie. I can't tell if my vegan Brie turned out similar to it. I never cared for dairy cheeses in my pregan days and am just starting to develop a taste for them.

Air dried Cheddar is still fermenting on my windowsill. I taste it every 8 hours with a clean spoon. It still tastes of miso and nutritional yeast. It's tasty, but Miyoko says the flavour should change. I used Sojade plain soya yoghurt which is perhaps not a yoghurt by definition, because it contains Bifidus and Lactobacillus acidophilus, but it's the only "yoghurt" I can get my hands on that works as a starter for homemade yoghurt (I have a yoghurt maker). I used barley miso. I think it's unpasteurised. I wonder which microorganisms now ferment the cheese, probably some koji is alive (miso gets darker with time), lactic acid fermentation bacteria from yoghurt, lactic acid fermentation bacteria from the air / rejuvelac and perhaps some yeasts from the air (although my rejuvelac didn't smell or taste alcoholy).

A few months ago I made Miyoko's Buffalo Mozzarella from her blog, I used rye rejuvelac. But my rye won't sprout any more, I've tried 5 times since. So, I made Kamut and quinoa rejuvelac. I used Kamut rejuvelac for Brie and Cheddar.

I have kappa carragenan from Modernist Pantry and am looking forward to trying to make some melting vegan cheeses soon :)

Can people with coeliac disease eat rejuvelac made from grains which contain gluten? (I know they can eat shoyu which is made with wheat.)

My sharp cheddar is sitting on the counter at home but it tastes great already! My blender hates me for putting it through that, though. I had hoped to go oil-free but I needed the extra liquid just to get the blender to cooperate. I think I'll just have to experiment with blending the mixture in batches or something.

I think a lot of my pay tomorrow is going to go on cashews.

Okay, so I tried to sprout another bit of rejuvalac and this time I made it sit in my oven. (controlled temperatures and everything). It sprouted (REALLY) fast (like long tails and everything) in a day and a half. Whoop! I am now going to add water and let it cultivate. (in a bowl, and stir it like Daphne Suggested. (THANKS DAPHNE! :)) if I can find a big enough bowl. If not, I'll just use my big pickle jars


then. Chevere will be mine!

(and everything else).

I was reading but I didn't really read. 'indepth' yet, since I couldn't master the first recipe of the book yet - but agar can be used instead of carageenan, or basically, "Daisy, start looking for the stuff, now?"

My gouda is drying. It totally cracked open, though, is that normal?

Daisy - there's a good number of recipes that seem to call for agar or either or. They are some that call specifically for carrageenan, but just saying. I made three recipes this morning with agar.

thanks jdfunks. :)
Im just searching right now where I can get it in Canada (maybe the health store). or a website.

Daisy, there's a place I found on the net, www.powdertothepeople.ca
They have everything you need. I think I'll get the book and order what I need form them.

Cheddar is drying now. When I cooked it to thicken it, it was dough-like and it was very hard to stir it. It's gummy now. I salted the surface, but I plan to brush it with wine and salt brine every day from now on.

By the way, they also carry Versawhip 600K Julie and others use to make vegan marshmallow

Ta! for the website! :)

Oooh. Vegan Marshmallow...

My parmesan has been air-drying about a week and a half now, and it's hard, but not super easily grate-able. That said, it's very tasty.

I also made the smokey provolone - we've decided to fridge it vs. additional culturing (the air-drying freaks my girlfriend out) and I'm culturing the pub cheddar (subbing in soaked sunflower seeds). Even in my Vita-Mix, that one called for some extra liquid.

My first attempt at mozzarella failed. Not miserably, but still not a success. Was far too soft. Not sliceable more like cream cheese. I mixed it with some garlic powder, basil and lemon and it was yum. So I think I'll do that with the rest of the batch. And try again next week. Still waiting for my book to arrive..... Got lost on the way here :( it's been 4 weeks since I ordered it now ill have to wait another 2-3 for the replacement.

I'm culturing some pub cheddar now. I used a food processor and didn't need any extra liquid. Maybe it depends on how long you soak your nuts/seeds for.

I got started on the gouda last night, it's chilling in the fridge now. This one was more for Boyfriend than me, because I always loved really sharp cheese while he prefers milder ones, but from tasting it last night I think he's got a fight for it on his hands! My blender was a much bigger fan of this one, too.

I made the sun-dried tomato and basil cheese with cultured sunflower seeds earlier today. It smells so good. I'm storing the cheeses I've had cultured tonight before going out of town for a few days. Next up, cooking the pub cheese and air-dried cheddar.

Hi jdfunks,
have you tasted the sunflower cheese yet? I'm really interested!

I'm interested in making cheeses from other nuts and seeds as well (cashews have too much saturated fat and are expensive).

I brushed my cheddar with brine today, and started wondering how is it going to dry if I moisten it every day. Maybe I should salt it every day. Salt should attract water from it. The texture is still gummy and I have to turn it upside down on the rack to brush all sides.

I would think that subbing something lower in saturated fat for the cashews would affect the hardness of the cheese.

Could be, maybe I would need more agar and tapioca then.

Brie is made with cashews and coconut oil, it gets pretty hard in the fridge. I have only one heart shaped Brie left, I should remember to take a photo tomorrow.