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The full range (minus the pre-grated cheddar)

Everyone had a bit of a laugh some time ago when vegans got all excited about Sainsbury’s stocking vegan cheese. A now infamous post on Facebook went viral when a cheese lover suggested in the strongest terms that vegans should not call it cheese, but ‘Gary or something’. Henceforth, Sainsbury’s vegan cheese was casually and affectionately known in vegan circles as ‘Gary.’

Made by Bute Island Foods (who make ‘Sheese’) from coconut milk, I can highly recommend them all. There are a few different varieties in Sainsbury’s, something for most occasions.

My favourite's the caramilsed onion flavour... — My favourite’s the caramilsed onion flavour…

There’s a cheddar style, which comes as a block, or as a bag of pre-grated cheese, which I’ve found brilliant on pizzas. It melts really well and the block is good for toasties.

The cheddar also comes in a block of caramelised onion flavour, which is my favourite of the solid cheeses. It’s crumbly to slice, but goes well in toasties too, or in a salad sandwich.

...it can be a bit crumbly when sliced though. — …it can be a bit crumbly when sliced though.

The other two solid cheeses are a Wensleydale-stye one with cranberries which is lovely on crackers. It’s quite creamy tasting too, so perhaps a good one for converting the cheese lover in your life.

The last solid cheese is the Greek-style, which is great in a bowl of salad or anywhere else you’d normally use Feta.

My favourite soft cheese is the garlic and herb flavour

There are also two cream cheeses, original and garlic and herb flavour. I love both, but I must admit that for me, the garlic and herb one has the edge on bagels. There’s nothing like a freshly toasted bagel smothered in this stuff – just heaven.

So there you have it. I must admit to being a bit disappointed in vegan cheese when I first went vegan, but it just shows you what progress can be made in just a few years. I’d happily give all these cheeses to non-vegan friends, especially the Wensleydale and cream cheeses. Innovation in this area is improving all the time, so expect to see more varieties hit the mainstream shops soon. This particular range exceeded Sainsbury’s projected sales figures by three hundred percent, so even if profit is the only driver, things are looking good for vegan cheese.

I never thought I’d invest in a tofu press to be honest with you. It just seemed a bit posh and seriously, what could it achieve that a pile of books and a couple of tea towels couldn’t? Well, quite a lot, as it turns out.

The logo gets pressed into the tofu

I picked up my Tofuture tofu press at a recent vegan festival as I’m always in a buying mood at these events. There’s just something about everything surrounding you being suitable for vegans (SFV) that makes me open my wallet and, well, keep it open all day. The nice lady at the stall said that she’d recommend pressing the tofu for about four hours in the fridge for the best results. After I took it home, one morning I got up, put the tofu in for the morning and was impressed how much liquid had come out. It was kind of funny seeing the logo pressed into the top, but I can’t deny the effectiveness.

The bands on the side seem really strong

Also, when you’re pressing tofu the old fashioned way, you have to make room on the counter for it and then after you’ve wrapped it in tea towels you precariously balance heavy books and cans of beans on top of it. It’s also advisable to turn it over halfway through and maybe change the towels. I always managed to get my tofu block all lopsided using this method, which made it more difficult to slice afterwards.

So, with this handy little gadget, you basically just pop the tofu block in the tray, pull down the lid with the super-strong elastic bands and stick it in the fridge and forget about it. It really couldn’t be easier.

Once I’d pressed the tofu, I cleaned out the main bottom part of the try that catches the water. I thought it would make a great wee marinating dish. See, most of the time when I’ve marinated tofu before, it can be a bit tricky to find a container that is the right shape. I was glad to discover that popping the cubed tofu into the tray worked really well. And because the press had been so efficient at squeezing out the water, I reckon the tofu absorbed even more flavour from the marinade than usual.

Baked, marinated tofu can make a great ‘meat replacement’ on a plate full of veggies. It’s also good to pop in wraps with some salad or have at a buffet table. Tofu is mega versatile (see my article here) and the Tofuture tofu press makes preparing and marinating your own just that bit easier.

Sainsbury’s Vegan Cheese

Tofuture Tofu Press

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