Is there such a thing as a healthy parchment paper to line your dehydrator? Don't they all have wax or something on it? Any brands or any other thing you recommend to line a bowl to shape a cheese rind ? I made a raw vegan "cheese"...well...sort of.. kind of ( it is still looking like a savory pudding right now because it is still in the blender). Anyhow..if I wanted it to have the firm texture of cheese, I would need to put it in the dehydrator...right?

I rarely use the dehydrator so I don't have a lot of practice.

Tai,

Have you made your raw vegan cheese yet? I just used walnuts and sunflower seeds, a little lemon and probiotics. I'm starting simple because its my first time but I got the idea from your previous post that showcased some cool looking vegan cheese.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2015 07:38PM by la_veronique.

Russell James has an EBook on making cheeses and a home study module on making nut cheeses. Here is a peak at some of his creations being plated ...

[www.youtube.com]

"Any brands or any other thing you recommend to line a bowl to shape a cheese rind?"

I'd probably go with slightly dampened then oiled food grade dried leaves or seaweed instead of paper. Even using raw deveined kale, etc., would probably be adequate. Experiment. Be creative. Have fun.

SueZ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Russell James has an EBook on making cheeses and a
> home study module on making nut cheeses. Here is a
> peak at some of his creations being plated ...
>
> [www.youtube.com]
> oad=10

He has a free recipe for macadamia cheese on his website. It doesn't appear to needs parchment paper, Teflex, or anything else added under it in the dehydrator at all. It firms up and dries in the pressing.

seaweed
that's an idea.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2015 04:17AM by la_veronique.

Hi La Veronique

I gave up on the idea of aged cheese. I realized that the seeds would just get oxidized and that I would need to use too much salt. So, I let it go.

This is how I have been making "cheese" so far. I sprout sunflower and sesame seeds. I blend with a little water and pour through a very fine mesh sieve. I add powdered chia seed to thicken it. I let it drain through the sieve for a couple of hours. It will pick up a culture just by being exposed to the air, but another idea is to add a probiotic when you blend the seeds or to blend with rejuvelac. When the "cheese" is relatively drained, I refrigerate and it lasts 4 days or so. I make a raw vegan eggless egg salad (I add dill, herbs, celery, mustard, etc) with it or many other things.

You can use a nut milk bag made of nylon or whatever they sell in health food stores and drain your "cheese" through that, but I get really tired of cleaning those bags. THat is why I just use stainless steel sieves and buy the finest mesh for making nut milk and seed cheese.

la_veronique Wrote:
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> seaweed
> that's an idea.

It works! You can use the drained "whey" in smoothies, in other savory recipes, or as a starter for your next nut cheese batch.

Tai

That's an interesting method you have. I am kind of too lazy to drain the "cheese pudding" through any mesh/sieve etc. But...I'm realizing that I must do something in order to put it in the dehydrator because it can't just sit in a glass bowl (glass too thick...air won't go through it).

It has to be MOLDED somewhat and it can't be that way without some of the
liquidy aspect drained out. So...thanks for that tip. The other thought I had was to simply add more of the dry powdery nut flour after I put it through the blender...that way, I don't have to drain it and I kind of think it is very messy draining. What do you think if I just added more dry nut "flour" in order to be able to mold it? Then, i could put it in the dehydrator.


You said you don't wish to dehydrate it because it would expose it to oxidation. Okay...however, I'm also thinking that dessicating it would kind of retard the oxidation process much more readily than if it were
put in the fridge where it still has more retained moisture and is thus more susceptible to oxidation... what do you think?

I have another question.

HOw DO people make thick or high things.. like..cheesecake,, for example...in the DEHYDRATOR.

I mean, how do they MOLD it prior to it going to the dehydrator without it falling apart? is it just a matter of thickening it or something?

Some of those raw vegan cheesecakes look like they are 4 inches tall (thickness). How do they not topple over?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2015 05:57PM by la_veronique.

la_veronique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> HOw DO people make thick or high things..
> like..cheesecake,, for example...in the
> DEHYDRATOR.


It's a very easy process. Use a bottomless ring to contain the drained and pressed contents and then use a tamper to further compress and level. Unmold by pushing the compressed contents through the ring as a block and flip to the more perfect side and then off into the dehydrator it goes.

To La Veronique,

I forgot to add that when I make the seed cheese, I usually don't have time to mess with rejuvelac or probiotics, so I end up just using lemon juice with some orange to blend the seeds. The lemon makes it taste like it has been cultured, when it really hasn't been. But still letting it drain for a couple of hours does cause slight fermentation. The trick is adding powdered chia at the end (not when I blend it) because chia thickens it.

I always thought cheese cake was frozen, never dehydrated in the raw vegan world. SueZ is correct about the device that is used. The way they get it to not topple over is using coconut oil. So they mix it all and then freeze. When they keep it in the refrigerator, the coconut oil stays hard and so the cheesecake stays firm. ANyway, I developed my own technique, because I stay away from so much oil. I will share it one day when it's perfected.

Suez

<<It's a very easy process. Use a bottomless ring to contain the drained and pressed contents and then use a tamper to further compress and level. Unmold by pushing the compressed contents through the ring as a block and flip to the more perfect side and then off into the dehydrator it goes>>


Can't fully picture this. I'll look for some videos unless you already have one.

Tai,

Chia ( for thickening the cheese)

and coconut oil for the cheesecake..okay. I did not know that. Very interesting.

Lemon juice. Yeah, I used a lot of that for the "cheese". You know what? I ended up eating the whole thing and did not even bother putting it in the dehydrator.
I just put it on veggies. It tasted pretty good!

<<ANyway, I developed my own technique, because I stay away from so much oil. I will share it one day when it's perfected.>>

Please do. The sapote vid was cool. Please post more

<<SueZ is correct about the device that is used.>>

I'm sure she is... but I just can't picture any of the processes because there is some disconnect between the words that were used and how I'm trying to picture it.

For example, how can a "bottomless" ring contain and drain the contents if it has no bottom? Is it a cylinder with a mesh at the bottom..now THAT makes sense.. but I don't understand it otherwise.

And, how can you do that for a big 7 inch diameter cheesecake? I'm thinking that might work more for a cheese mold.

Anyhow.. I'll try to find some videos that can help me on that...maybe look up " how to make a RV cheesecake" ..maybe they will talk about the "bottomless ring" and the tamper..and how that all fits in.

la_veronique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm sure she is... but I just can't picture any of
> the processes because there is some disconnect
> between the words that were used and how I'm
> trying to picture it.
>
> For example, how can a "bottomless" ring contain
> and drain the contents if it has no bottom? Is it
> a cylinder with a mesh at the bottom..now THAT
> makes sense.. but I don't understand it otherwise.


You have to press it first as just as you do for dairy cheeses and for bean tofus. You can't skip steps in raw food recipes except for the cooking step.


> And, how can you do that for a big 7 inch diameter
> cheesecake? I'm thinking that might work more for
> a cheese mold.


You can't. For raw cheesecakes you use the same spring form pans you used to use for dairy cheesecakes and tortes before you went raw.

I am not familiar with raw frozen cheesecakes. The ones I am aware of that use coconut oil stay solid if they are refrigerated and stay under 75F. Cara Brotman, and other raw chefs, use Irish Moss to firm up their raw cheesecakes.


>
> Anyhow.. I'll try to find some videos that can
> help me on that...maybe look up " how to make a RV
> cheesecake" ..maybe they will talk about the
> "bottomless ring" and the tamper..and how that all
> fits in.

As I said before, Russell James has a free rv cheese recipe at his site. He is very good at explaining and showing what to do and how to do it for beginners. All you have to do is watch his free rv cheese video. He shows you everything you will need to know to answer the questions you have. He will even show you three different ways to press and drain your cheese.

will check out RJ cheese videos