Life got exciting today. I made my raw food recipe for raw cashew cheese and it turned out great! I have been preparing raw food for some time now but the cheese, the ones that you have to make and set-up for a day, seemed a little daunting. Well, as my friend Michael often says, sometimes you just have to pull the bands back and let them fly. I’m glad I did. A few handfuls of cashews, some rejuvelac, and a little patience turned out a delightful cheese spread that is a welcome addition to any raw diet.
If you are wondering what rejuvelac is, it is a fermented liquid made from sprouting wheat berries that is said to be high in enzymes, friendly bacteria, vitamins and minerals. It is known as a health drink. If you have been following this site, you know I am sprouting a lot of wheat berries these days. I decided to put some of those sprouted wheat berries to work, make some rejuvelac and then, the cheese.
Rejuvelac
- 1/2 C sprouted wheat berries (sprouted just until tails start)
- 4 C filtered water
Place the wheat berries and the water in a jar. Leave in a warm place for 24-48 hours. You will see a little fizz. The liquid should be a little tart but not smell off.
Cashew Cheese
- 2 C Cashews
- 1/2 C rejuvelac
Cover cashews with water and soak overnight. Drain off water. Place cashews in vitamix and process with rejuvelac until a smooth paste forms. You can add a dash of celtic sea salt. Line a strainer with 2 layers of cheese cloth. Spoon mixture into the cloth. Set in a warm place and let set for 24 hours. Form into the shape you want. I coated the outside with cracked pepper. Put in refrigerator to finish setting. Store in the refrigerator for about a week. Serve with Onion Sunflower Seed Flat Bread.
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you got to figure an APP where we can share the food over Twitter……..pictures tell a thousand stories………one taste of that and I will personally move you to Colorado to make that!!
Nice work!
You need to come to Colorado to share all of the great food you are tormenting us with here on this great site. What do suggest as a pairing with this cheese?
Your site looks amazing! love it, come see me at
http://www.debbiedoesraw.blogspot.com
deb
Susan,
just a quick question. The water that you pour over the wheat berries, is that all rejuvelac or only the top fizzy part? How much water would I need to prepare to have 1/2 cup for the cheese recipe? I don’t have a jar that fits 4 cups and was wondering whether I can just make less wheatberries with less water and still have enough rejuvelac for the cheese.
And will room temperature (it’s summer here currently) be enough for the rejuvelac process to work?
Thanks for your help
Eva
Yes…all of the water that is produced is rejuvelac. You can use a smaller jar, just use a little less sprouted wheat berries.
I can’t wait to try this cheese *getting up to prepare the rejuvelac right now*
Thank you so much for this recipe.
Thanks for proving the link to your site…what a great resource you have here. Can’t wait to try this recipe…looks delicious =)
Once sprouted what do you do with the Wheat berries? I’m very new to all of this.
Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.
As stated in the recipe…you then take 1/2 C of the wheat berries and 4 cups of water. Combine and let ferment for 24-48 hours to get your rejuvilac.
My cheese has been on the counter overnight, but it still feels like a thick yoghurt. Is it supposed to be like that?
You need to refrigerate it once you have let it sit out.
If one is allergic to wheat, would they also be allergic to sprouted wheatberries? Curious…
I think it would have to be determined by what exactly you are allergic to concerning wheat and is that present in the sprouted wheat.
The cheese looks amazing!! I am alergic to milk so this looks like a great alternative however…I am also trying to follow the blood type diet and cashews are not beneficial, have you every tried this with almonds? Do you think it would taste just as good? I see lots of recipes using cashews and I’m imagining substituting almonds, what do you think?
I will do a little research. The reason people use cashews are because of the texture. Let me see what I can figure out.
i saw this and had to lift my jaw off the floor! it looks amazing!! i tried it but it seems too fluffy… almost like a solid cashew mousse (hum… recipe idea here? maybe not… haha!) when setting the mixture in the cloth do you wind it tightly or is it just lightly covered?
I do wind it. You can also set a plate on top of it. Did you make sure your rejuvelac was fizzy? Did you let it set up long enough?
the rejuvelac was fizzy, though i forgot to mention that the mousse texture was before i put it in the fridge to set. it is much firmer now and tastes pretty good!
what do you do with your left over wheat berries?
To Kevin: I think mac nuts would be another option if you are allergic to cashews.
To Susan: I applaud you, your recipes are beautiful!
You can use the wheat berries in breads, etc.
Once you’ve used the wheatberries for rejuvelac, you should discard them, according to Ann Wigmore at least. They get a very special taste/smell after using them to prepare rejuvelac, which might be something to keep in mind.
You are correct…the sprouted wheat that is used in the rejuvelac should be discarded. I believe that I was referring to sprouted wheat berries in general, not the ones used in the rejubelac. Thanks for making that clear.
How long should the cheese set in the fridge? And how long till the cheese is ready to eat?
Long enough so it firms up. It will take at least 5 hours. It is ready to eat right away.
Sorry for this question- English isn`t my first language. Is wheat berry the same as a wheat grain or seed? If not, what is it?
Thank you. By the way- I love this homepage ! The information, the pictures- everything! You are doing a great job. Thank you!
Yes…it is the wheat grain.
I am so very new to the raw diet and I have stumbled across this site…… I am learning and going to try and make a few things here……… Thank you for sharing.
I am also trying the “Eat Right For Your BloodType” while trying to maintain a mostly vegan/raw diet. Cashews are used in lots of my recipes. I was wondering if you had researched a cashew substitution as yet?
You could try Brazil nuts?
my mom makes adds olive pimentos to her cashew cheese, really tasty but i’m wondering if they are raw- aren’t they just pickled with the olive?
The Pimento comes from pimento peppers. I believe that they are just pickled along with the olives.
I’m purely amazed at what you do, you could write a book of your own with all your pretty pictures !
)
BTW, do you have a Flickr or some place you keep them ? I find them uber inspiring
I was wondering, is there a way of making a hard raw cheese? Something you could possibly shave onto a salad, instead of crumble. Or would you more or less have to make, say a ‘parmesan tuile’ type cheese shard in the dehydrator to mimic shaved cheese?
I do not have a recipe as it would require special aging and equipment that I don’t have. You can order it here: http://www.dr-cow.com/
Wow, fab ! Been looking for a firm cheeze for some time ! Looking forward to giving this a go !
Many thanx
Susan,
Which wheat berries are you using for this? Aren’t there Spring and Winter? Whole foods only had the Winter…could not find the Spring. I thought Rejuvelac was supposed to be made with the softer Spring variety? Do you know? Does it matter?
Thanks so much,
Barbara
Are the cashews blended while still wet from soaking or do they need to be redehydrated before hand??…thanks
This raw cheese is the best!! 4 REAL!!!
I added some chopped nuts and stuffed jumbo olives with this cheese for an event I did and people are emailing me, calling me, sending telegrams, smoke signals and the likes asking “what was in those olives?” : )
I have celiac disease…..can you make rejuvelac with something other than wheat berries?
I believe you can use buckwheat.
Thanks for the recipe. I just had this in Vancouver at Radha, and I’m excited to try making it. I’ve got the Rejuvelac setting up now.
Debbie: Rejuvelac is prepared using whole wheat, rye, quinoa, oats, barley, millet, buckwheat, rice and other types of grain (according to WikiPedia).
Hi Susan…I love this site…so much info…thank you for your dedication and generosity…you inspire me…ok..re: cashew cheese…I started my mixture with the cashews and half cup of rejuvelac but my mixture was so dry that I added more…I didn’t squeeze the cheese mixture while it was straining…wondering if its possible to use too much rejuvelac?
Thanks
Did you soak your cashews? There should have been plenty of moisture. And yes, you can add too much. Cheeses are tricky.
Rawfully Tempting: Yes, you can use winter wheat for making rejuvelac. I live in a place where that’s all I can get, and it works fine. You just might have to soak it a little longer before sprouting. I soak mine for 24 hours, then set them to sprout.
Debbie: You can even make rejuvelac from cabbage: http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/cabbage-rejuvelac-recipe
You can actually use all different kinds of grains for rejuvelac.
Hi,
I’m about to make this for the weekend. How long will the cheese last before it goes off if kept in a fridge – providing it’s not all eaten at once?
In my experience, the nut cheeses do not have a very long shelf life. It is best when used within a few days.
i am happy i made this cheese:) thank you for recipe. this is the picture of my cheese: http://rawdessertrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/10/almond-and-cashew-cheese.html
Have you tried freezing it?
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