A Guide to Vegetarian and Vegan Cheese

It's hard not to like cheese. The sumptuous feel, the rich flavor, the many ways you can use it to enhance vegetable dishes, not to mention the phenylethylamine that acts as a mood-booster. But if you're a vegetarian or vegan, the regular cheese you find in the supermarket isn't usually a good option. Even lacto-vegetarians, those who avoid meat but eat dairy products, keep away from traditionally made cheese because it's curdled using rennet. Rennet is an enzyme that occurs naturally in animal stomachs and animals are slaughtered in order to obtain the rennet, which makes the cheese essentially a "meat" product in the eyes of some.

Vegetarian Cheese
The good news is there are vegetarian and vegan cheeses available. These cheeses are usually curdled using plants, fungi, or bacteria. Keep in mind, though, that these are real cheeses. In fact, vegetarian cheese is hard to distinguish from cheese made with animal rennet. It's almost impossible to tell difference just by looking at or even tasting the cheese. The only reliable way is to check for the phrase "vegetarian cheese" on the label. Do to the increase in demand, some grocery stores have started labeling their vegetarian cheeses themselves to make them easier to find.

Vegan cheese
Now, "vegetarian cheese" doesn't refer to the "cheese substitute" products that have either no diary products or no animal products whatsoever. This type of vegetarian cheese is still made from milk and is appropriate only for lacto-vegetarians, but not for vegans. If your goal is to avoid any animal products at all, a cheese substitute made from tofu, rice, almonds and even hemp seed is your best option.

Even with these products, though, a vegan has to be careful. Some of these so-called vegetarian cheeses have added casein to give them more elasticity so they'll melt like real cheese. Unfortunately, casein is an animal product. Often a manufacturer will specialize in either vegetarian or vegan cheese so once you find the brand name of the vegan cheese you like, you can just look for other cheese substitute products from that company. For example, Follow Your Heart, Instead O'cheese, and Sheese are all both dairy- and casein-free. Some of the non-dairy cheese substitutes that do contain casein are those made by Galaxy, The Good slice, and Soy-sation. Just keep in mind that some manufacturers product both non-dairy with casein and non-diary without casein. If you're looking for a truly vegan cheese that contains absolutely no animal products, the only reliable way to find out what's in the cheese is to check the label.

A healthy choice for everyone
If your doctor has advised you to cut back on dairy in order to lose weight or bring your cholesterol levels down, consider adding vegetarian or vegan cheese to your shopping list. With this cheese, you can still enjoy your favorite cheese dishes and toppings without the high calorie and fat content of traditional cheese. Just make sure if you're looking for a meltable cheese that you choose one that contains casein.

Vegetarian and vegan cheese allows everyone to enjoy the texture and taste of cheese without the drawbacks of traditionally made cheese. In fact, with more people looking for cheese alternatives, companies are putting more and more effort into making cheese substitutes that really taste and feel like cheese. Whether opt for a rice-based cheese with casein for your low-cal pizza or prefer a completely vegan cheese to stay consistent with your beliefs, there's a cheese out there for you. Remember, too, that a lot of the manufacturer's that produce vegetarian and vegan cheese also make packaged products like mac and cheese.