Simple Almond Cheese
(recipe at end of post)
Nut cheeses are a great item to have in your raw food recipe collection. They are tasty, easily support the addition of many herbs and spices, and will impress your raw and non-raw friends a like! There are a couple of different ways to make nut cheeses.
Macadamia Nut Cheese made with probiotics.
(From the Rawmazing Holiday Book)
Probiotics: Probably the easiest, but most expensive way to make the “cheese” is to use probiotics. I love how this “cheese” tastes and the texture is wonderful and it is quite fail-proof. The only drawback is the cost of the probiotics. Most recipes require at least a teaspoon, which can be more than half a bottle of capsules. On the plus side, the cheeses are wonderful, the probiotics don’t require advanced preparation.
Cashew Cheese made with Rejuvelac
(recipe here: Cheese)
Rejuvelac: Raw Cheeses made with rejuvilac also have great taste and texture but can be a little more temperamental. Plus, you need to add a couple of days to your process to make the rejuvelac. The grain needs to be sprouted first and then made into rejuvelac. It can be a bit time consuming. That said, it makes a great cheese with wonderful, tangy taste and good texture.
Simple Almond Cheese (recipe follows)
Simple Cheese: Simple cheese spreads and simple cheeses can be made with just nuts and no fermentation process. I usually prefer these cheeses for spreads, but they can also be firmed up and dehydrated to form the rind.
Different nuts not only taste different, but also will give different textures. Almonds make a clean tasting cheese that is a little grainy. Macadamias make a beautiful, creamy cheese that develops good firm texture. Cashews make a smooth, easy to flavor cheese that has a bit of a softer texture.
Today’s recipe is pretty simple. I started my “cheese” when I got up. I threw the ingredients in the food processor, spooned it into a nut-milk bad and tossed it in the refrigerator. The next morning, I took it out, patted it into a round and tossed it in the dehydrator (to form a “rind”). By the evening, it was ready to go!
I hope I have inspired you to try your hand at nut cheese making. It is fun and tasty!
Simple Almond Cheese
- 1 cup almonds, soaked, drained and skins removed
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- pinch Himalayan Salt
1. Soak almonds overnight in water. Drain and pop off skins.
2. Place all ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth. This will take a bit of time, don’t rush.
3. Place nut mixture in nut-milk bag or colander lined with cheese cloth.
4. Give a light squeeze and place in refrigerator over-night to set up.
5. You can use the cheese at this point or if you want it more firm, place it in the dehydrator for 6+ hours (at 115 degrees) to form a rind.
Soaked almonds with skins removed. It takes a little time but is very easy. They just pop right off.
The almonds should be well blended and smooth.
The mixture in the nut-milk bag, before putting it in the refrigerator.
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There is no need to use that much acidophilus in your nut cheese. I’ve been successful using anywhere from two to five small capsules to a 16oz (1lb) bag of cashews or macadamias. I’m not sure if it takes longer to ferment, but it generally takes me from 48 to 72 hours to get a nice tangy cheese. If it is warm even less time. I’ve notice other recipes calling for tons of acidophilus but can’t figure out why. Maybe the brand I use (Jarro) is stronger? I’ve also found cashews to produce a firmer cheese than macadamias. I am still toying around with sunflower seeds (much cheaper alternative), they definitely need to be soaked ahead and seem to have a sunflower taste to the cheese. Not bad if you season up the end product.
Hello! Thank you very much for the recipe. It is very tasty! Although I liked the liquid state (do not wring). I add this “sauce” in a salad of tomatoes and greens. Great!
thank you for the lovely recipe! I was curious – how do you get the cheese into such a nice looking wheel shape?
Have you ever tried making cheese with just sunflower seeds?
CAN THE ALMOND CHEESE BE MADE FROM SUNFLOWER SEEDS?
THANKS FOR ALL THE RECIPES, ANXIOUS TO HEAR FROM YOU.
JAN
I have not tried making it with sunflower seeds but you certainly could try and see what you get. Thanks for asking.
Is the 3/4 cup water used to soak the almonds or is it added when processing all ingredients together?
No, as mentioned above, you soak, drain and rinse the almonds. The 3/4 cup of water is listed as an ingredient so is added to the recipe. Cheers!
Hi,
How long does the simple almond cheese keep in the refrigerator? Thanks!
Can the almond cheese be made without a nut milk bag or cheese cloth??
You need something to drain the cheese.
The skins easily come off from non-raw, pasteurized almonds … but if you have truly raw, unpasteurized almonds, it is very difficult to remove the skins. Can you make this cheese leaving the skins on?
@ Terry: I never tried to make almond cheese, but standard ways to remove skin from almonds are:
a) boil almonds in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain them and put them on a big napkin. Brush them with the napkin to peel them easily. You have to allow almond to dry before using them for common recipes.
b) grill then for some minutes in the oven, under the hot grill, then use a napkin to peel them. They will have a grilled taste after, but you don’t need to wait them dry.
c) put the almonds in a microwave safe bowl covering them with water, cook them at full power for 1 minute, them peel them squeezing them with your fingers, or brushing them with a napkin. Allow dry.
All techniques works with all other nuts, as far as for what I know
Unfortunately, when you have raw nuts, truly raw nuts, the application of heat destroys the raw status.
Can you use an oven instead of a dehydrator?
These recipes are formulated for a dehydrator. You could try but I don’t have instructions for that and can’t guarantee results.
If you don’t have cheese cloth what can you do?
You need either cheesecloth or a nut milk bag for this recipe. So, I would suggest that you get some.
Thanks, that’s a great recipe. I’m going to experiment a bit this cheese making.
In the meantime i want to share one of the bi-products of this process:
i blended some dates with the “milk” that was filtered from the cheese untill it became smooth and thick (enough) paste.
The outcome was delicious. It reminded me dulce de leche. Off course, you need to have good dates. And i suggest to soak them in water for 10 minutes and peel them before blending.
how long does it keep for?
Do you need the probiotics to make this cheese? Or not?
It keeps for about a week in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.
I am not sure what your question is…there are no probiotics listed as an ingredient for this recipe.
thanks for the response! Good to know that it keeps for a week in the fridge.
For those who are asking about a nut bag…
Hardware and paint stores sell mesh bags used to strain old paint. The ones I use are large (designed to strain a gallon of paint), good mesh size, strong and very easy to clean. And did I mention they are inexpensive at a hardware store?
I have heard of people doing this but honestly, since they are not designed to be used with food, who knows what might be in the mesh. Another cheaper alternative is to get the produce bags at your coop. They are designed to be in contact with food and I believe a bit safer. Cheers!
The nut cheeses look great but what crackers have you got the almond cheese on they look devine!
I thought you can age the cheeses for a couple of months? Also muslin works great for draining the cheeses.
You can age cheeses. But this recipe is made to be a quick one. Cheers!
http://www.rawmazing.com/bbq-brown-rice-crackers/
I have found Chux Paper wipes (clean and unused of course) are a good alternative for cheese clothe if you don’t have other options.
I would be careful to make sure there aren’t any bleaches, etc., that could be left in the paper from manufacturing.
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