Pros: Neutral flavour, great cooking product, keeps well, reasonably priced, widely available, melts (particularly well in sauces).
I love this versatile cheese absolutely. It’s plain enough to be used in a number of different ways, and doesn’t noticeably taste any different to cream cheeses I remember. It’s not fancy, and it is fantastic in its straightforward approach. It can be used as a great cannelloni filling, for cheesecakes, in sandwiches and even melted into sauce. It’s smooth in texture, no grit that’s commonly found in vegan alternatives, and vastly superior as a cooking cream cheese to any other on the market. It is also that perfect consistency, not runny or stiff, but soft enough to be scooped up by a rice cracker on a sneaky picnic.
It’s on the savoury side of neutral, despite being usable for either sweet or savoury dishes, and most closely resembles Philadelphia cream cheese. It also keeps well in the fridge, although should not be frozen, and I’ve used it for up to five days after opening and it has been fine.
Tofutti also includes recipes for the lovely cheese, which is incredibly helpful if you’re using vegan products for the first time or you’re not a keen cook. If not, I recommend just going for it and seeing how you can weave it into your usual cooking.
It comes in an easy plastic container that can be washed and re-used to store bits and pieces in.
It’s also not vastly expensive, depending on where you shop, and is available in some of the bigger supermarkets, including Woolworths (I regularly get mine from Southern Cross Station’s Woolies) for up to $6 for the 227 gram net container. Fairly decent value for a vegan cheese
Water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, non-gmo (isolated soy protein), maltodextrin, tofu, nondairy lactic acid, sugar, locust bean, guar and carrageenan gums, sugar, salt, vegetable mono and diglycerides and potassium sorbate (added as a preservative).
Called an ‘Imitation Cream Cheese — Plain’ by the US-based Tofutti brand (whose icecreams are absolutely to-die-for, if a bit fast melting), it’s gluten free, non-GMO and serves around eight if you stick to the conservative suggested portion size of two tablespoons, which will add 60 calories and five grams of fat to your daily quota. Luckily, there’s no cholesterol.
Nutritionally, it’s certainly not up there. It’s not even a good source of calcium, despite many concluding otherwise (the white colour and the word ‘cheese’ usually have assumptions popping up), and it notes that it’s not a good source of Vitamin A, C, potassium, iron or phosphorous, but it’s such an easy product to use that I can barely complain.
You can order it online.
Email me when Vegan cheese reviews publishes stories