Sprout & Kernel ‘Taster pack’ cheese range
A range of five delectable tree-nut cheeses in a giftable box
Pros: Natural ingredients, raw, creamy, probiotic
Cons: Shorter expiry date than other cheeses, not meltable
I was so excited to get this cheese. It’s made by the new Sydney brand Sprout & Kernel, and I went to Wynyard to buy it off the lovely Bec who makes them. I had decided to purchase the $28 tester box — which is so adorable in the way it’s packaged. I asked the Sydney Vegan group first whether these cheeses are worth trying and there was a resounding ‘Yes’. So they’re certainly building up approval quickly.
We caught up at Wynyard station, and I was greeted by Bec — very sweet and with awesome hair of that modern style I can’t pull off — who is clearly very passionate about what she does (she has also hosted some vegan cheese making workshops in Sydney). When I saw the box, I couldn’t help but smile — I don’t usually call food “cute”, but I can’t think of a better descriptor for this cheese!
I mean look at it! It’s so adorable.
There’s something so lovely about receiving products in cardboard and twine, particularly when topped with their adorable little logo. While it reminds me Dumb Ways To Die from the Melbourne Metro, it’s basically the sweetest thing ever, and you can tell it has been very thoughtfully put together.
Little Sister Macadamia Cheddar
This first cheese I decided to try — Little Sister Macadamia Cheddar — was due to it being a family occasion staying at my older sister’s house, and so the name suited perfectly. It comes wrapped in white greaseproof paper, stuck down with their logo stickers and ingredients.
I peeled it open carefully — despite sitting in a block shape, it’s actually creamy and a little bit like a solid paste.
Putting a sharp knife into the cheese, I was excited that I was actually able to slice it. Where mine came off into a paste, this does hold together solidly — although it is not going to be the right texture for grating — and is easily put on a platter and on biscuits.
It reminds me of a (much nicer and more refined version) of my homemade cashew cheese once it had started to settle and be kept overnight. In a strange way, it also reminded me of a tangy brie in the way that you’d consider using it. It’s beautiful looking — even the taster one, which is half the regular size of the usual product — and has a smooth appearance that I really like. I’m not a huge fan of the colour — but it is clearly a natural, artisan, homemade product.
When you cut it, you can see that slightly aged edge that takes the place of omnivorous cheese’s rind. Just slightly tougher in texture, it’s slightly drier than the inside of the cheese itself.
It goes nicely spread onto crackers, as well as in slices.
I tried this on pizza — as that was the dish that was going. Of course, it doesn’t melt — it’s not that kind of cheese — but it acts almost as feta does in the heat, going slightly dry on the edges but retaining its moisture and settling into the dough. I’d also recommend using it broken into little pieces in salad — perhaps with baby beetroot and corn.
It has that unmistakable macadamia nut taste with a nice tang from the onion and garlic. It’s hugely exciting for there to finally be a vegan cheese that embraces the use of garlic and onion — I know some Buddhist cultures avoid them but I love garlic so much. There’s also the slightly musty nutritional yeast cheesy flavour, and sure enough the ingredients (below) use it.
It has a lovely smooth texture courtesy of those macadamias, which makes it stick in your mouth a little bit like peanut butter does — thick and rich but with an inherent moistness. When it is heated, it does go a little granulated and bitty, but eaten as I did on a pizza it was completely fine. It particularly suited the more acidic vegetables and condiments that were on there — tomatoes, tomato sauce, capsicum, mustard and hot sauce. (My sister made the below pizza and pizza base, however if you’re looking for my homemade GF vegan recipe for pizza then check out this post).
It turns out that of all the hard cheeses in the box it’s the most subtle, perhaps because of the macadamia base.
Cashew cream cheese with dill and garlic
This little pot of cream cheese was also opened while I was in Sydney, although I managed to save some for when I got back to Melbourne as well. I had it on crackers, and it’s one of the lightest feeling cream cheeses I’ve had — almost whipped in consistency or like a mousse (if you’re a whipped peanut butter fan then you’ll know what I’m talking about). This makes it a beautiful accompaniment to a cheese platter that’s usually heavy, and also makes it better for dipping than other cream cheeses.
In flavour, it most closely resembles the Peace, Love & Vegetables cashew cream cheese with dill, although it doesn’t seem as processed in texture nor as thick, and is slightly more cream coloured than theirs. It’s also very far removed from the dill version from Botanical Cuisine, which I previously reviewed. Sadly I didn’t have Botanical Cuisine’s lemon and dill on hand to compare.
I love that it’s a little more subtle, and I think it would go well as a sandwich spread, and it went beautifully on crackers — and my sister’s omnivore fiance, Matt, loved them too.
With the remainder of the cream cheese, and the other cheeses in the box, I decided to make a platter for when I returned to Melbourne. I kept the cheese carefully refrigerated and while the box got a little destroyed in my hand luggage on the plane, we arrived home in one piece and with the cheeses carefully ready to be devoured on the day we returned.
For the cheese platter I also added a leftover bit of Vegusto No-Moo Piquant, a scoop of Botanical Cuisine’s walnut cheese and the rest of the Peace, Love and Vegetables dill cheese (for comparison purposes of course… as in the above pic). I then bulked it up with mashed avocado, dried figs, chopped tomato and my Mum’s homemade chutney (date and onion based, but the recipe is a well-guarded family secret, sorry!). For crackers, we had a selection of black sesame rice crackers, plain rice crackers, chilli rice crackers and sesame wheat crackers (as well as some plain crisps that we had leftover). This fed three with heaps of leftovers.
I also made my signature hummus, which always goes well on a platter. Here’s my quick recipe for it.
Jennie’s hummus in a hurry
Chickpeas (1 tin, drained and rinsed)
Sesame oil and olive oil (enough to cover three quarters of the chickpeas in a small vessel)
Two large cloves of garlic (finely sliced)
Fresh lemon juice (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Two heaped tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
Sesame seeds (to top)
Put all the ingredients into a container and blend it. I use a stick blender and I don’t get too caught up in making it an even texture — consider it rustic! Taste it once you have blended it and you’ll quickly know if you need to add more of any of the ingredients — this often takes me a couple of goes until it’s perfect. I don’t always include the nutritional yeast, but for a cheese platter it adds a lovely nutty flavour that I really recommend.
This recipe is all about proportions to your own taste. I use quite a lot of oil, others might use some tahini instead, and we use plenty of garlic. I’ve previously added coriander or chili, and even turmeric, so shake it up with your favourite ingredients.
Put it into a nice container, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper on top lightly and add a few sesame seeds to the top to make it look gorgeous.
Cashew cheese log
This was the first cheese created by Sprout & Kernel and stood out to me as one of my favourite from the box overall. With a pepper crust, it’s air-tight packed in plastic, and you can see the oil around it that keeps it moist. I was very surprised that, once I’d cut it open, it retained its shape perfectly.
It reminded me of a cheese I’d bought a couple of years ago from Dr Earth in Newtown, which was from Apt when it was open — the same peppery, cream cheese combination — and I seriously think that supermarkets would be wise to stock this in their delis, it’s that good.
It acts in a way that reminds me of a Gournay cheese/Boursin. It’s spreadable, but looks so good that it’s worth keeping for a platter as we did. It also looks so beautiful sliced up as you see the contrast between the dark pepper and the light cashew cheese. It’s really fabulous, and it’s great that the pepper — while a strong flavour — isn’t entirely overwhelming.
Aged Cashew Cheese
This is a slightly crumbly, beautiful cheddar style cheese with a sharper flavour. It is great on biscuits, particularly with guacamole, and I was head over heels from the opening of the package onwards.
It had a light rind on it, that basically made it sit more nicely on the plate, and it would go fantastically as a feta replacement on salad.
It was perfect on crackers, as it went into a smooth paste like the Little Sister cheese does, but a little stronger in flavour. Of the three hard cheeses, I think this one is likely my favourite.
It went beautifully with the fresh tomatoes, being smooth and creamy but with a slight bite, so I think it would be tremendous spread or cut into a sandwich, or with my bruschetta mix that I previously wrote about in my Bio Life/VioLife cheese review. I also had it the next day in pieces crumbled onto a vegan spaghetti bolognaise with coriander, basil and fresh chili and it was excellent. While it doesn’t melt, it does go somewhat softer in the heat and added an extra dimension to the dish.
Monster Cheddar
This was my least favourite in the box, largely due to a tougher texture that I didn’t quite like. It had a slightly dehydrated feel about it, a thick ‘rind’, and a strange greyish colour that I wasn’t hugely keen on.
It wasn’t a bad flavour, but I’d definitely opt for the others in preference. It is nice in that it’s quite clearly different from the other cheeses — and the aged cashew cheese and the little sister could be seen as quite similar — but it is a bit too tough for me and of that mustier flavour I dislike.
In saying that, it was a hit with my family as it stayed in its cut shape the best for putting on biscuits, and was notably different from other cheeses we’ve tried.
Sadly, all of the cheeses don’t seem to last long — which is a shame. These had either a mid or an end of August date on them… but it didn’t look like I’d be able to resist from eating them until that date anyway!
The price
At $28, the taster pack is perfectly priced. It’s cute, gift-worthy and for a ready-made cheese platter that is a very decent price.
If you buy individually and have the larger sizes (double those I have):
Little sister macadamia cheddar — $12 (75 grams)
Aged cashew cheese — $12 (100 grams)
Monster cheddar — $12 (100 grams)
Cashew cheese log — $8 (100 grams)
Cashew cream cheese with dill and garlic — $10 (and if you take the jar back you get a discount the next time) (200 milliliters)
Individually, I think these costs are high for a 100 gram cheese comparatively to what is on the market. However, it’s easily justified by the fresh ingredients, the adorable presentation and the fact that your money doesn’t go to a big corporate.
The ingredients
Little sister macadamia cheddar — Macadamias, water, probiotics, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic, onion
Aged cashew cheese — Cashews, water, canola oil, citric acid, sea salt
Monster cheddar — Cashews, water, probiotic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic, onion
Cashew cheese log — Cashews, water, canola oil, citric acid, sea salt, pepper
Cashew cream cheese with dill and garlic — Cashews, water, lemon juice, dill, garlic, onion, salt
The nutritional value
It’s gluten free, raw, probiotic for some, and nice that she opts for tree nuts, which helps those with specific allergies. All the ingredients are straightforward, which always makes me more confident in the product, and natural. I love that the use of oil is minimal, being a major ingredient in only a couple of the cheeses, and I didn’t get that icky aftertaste from cheeses that over-do the oils and claggy ingredients. Again, probably best in moderation, but the flavours are strong and there’s definite protein from the nut base.
Where to get it? Usually, they’re available at Newtown markets. Sadly those in the rest of Australia need to wait as she has recently started up the venture. If you trek to Sydney though, I really recommend picking some up.
Keep up to date on Facebook and keep an eye out for when the new website launches and hopefully, with enough support, we’ll see the brand expand to Melbourne and beyond in no time.
