I'm searching for a tolerable substitute for cheese. Maybe a good soy cheese.

[midnight]

If anyone is lactose intolerant and could recommend some cheese that would melt on pizza or pasta please let me know-thanks.

[Warpy]

1. Melting is the one thing soy cheeses don't do well

but the flavor has gotten quite good on many of them. When I was too poor to afford the real thing, I used to get shaker bottles of soy Parmesean and it was better than anything in those stupid green cans. I also like jack and sharp cheddar.

What I'd do for soy pizza is do the sauce, then the grated soy "mozarella," and then hide it under toppings and a little drizzle of olive oil, herbs and hot pepper flakes, then cook. Hiding the fact that the cheese didn't melt under the toppings is a great strategy. People won't be expecting that bubble gum texture but they'll notice all the flavor it gives.

[midnight]

6. Warpy you are too cleaver... Hide that cheese.. It is awful isn't it...

I can't remember the name of the horrible cheese I purchase a few weeks ago.. But it was cheddar and horrible... I grated it and tried to make mac and cheese... So if so is not so good for melting... What is? I hope a good chemist can work this out....

[Warpy]

9. The flavor is actually pretty good

You just can't melt it and stretch it out like bubble gum. That's why I suggested hiding it under the toppings, so you'd get the flavor and disguise the texture a bit.

[GoCubsGo]

2. Have you considered making your own cheese using lactose-free milk?

Here are instructions for making mozzarella: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/MOZZARELLA_JOYCES.HTML

I have made it with regular 2% milk, and I don't see why Lactaid milk wouldn't work. It is really not that difficult or horribly time-consuming. There is also a link to making ricotta from the whey.

Also, do goat's milk and sheep's milk cheeses cause the same issues? My cousin's boy is lactose intolerant, and I remember her giving him goat's milk. And, good, imported Peccorino isn't made from cow's milk, so there may be little or no lactose in it. Ditto for imported "buffalo" mozzarella. I'm not sure, but it's something you might want to look into.

On edit: I got the link here, which has instructions for yogurt and other kinds of cheeses:

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/cheese_course/cheese_course.htm

[Warpy]

3. Milk allergy and lactose intolerance are separate animals

and quite often small children who are allergic to cow's milk can drink goat's milk.

People who are lactose intolerant are unable to digest the sugar present in all milk across the board. Since they can't break it down, intestinal bacteria go to town on it and the result is gas, bloating, diarrhea.

Adding rennet to Lactaid might produce a form of cheese. Also, if yogurt is well tolerated, a quart of plain yogurt drained in a colander lined with several layers of cheesecloth will produce a very palatable soft cheese.

[GoCubsGo]

4. Yes, I am well aware of that.

Now that I think about it, my cousin's kid probably was allergic, rather than lactose intolerant. It's been 25 years so...

Yogurt cheese is good stuff. I use it in place of cream cheese sometimes. One can even make a sort of Greek-style yogurt that way.

[midnight]

7. I wonder if I could make cheese from almond milk or goats milk...

I have bookmarked this... Thanks... So I will have to think about all the chemistry of what is going on here... It does sound like an option worth exploring...

[freshwest]

5. I found an almond cheese that was very good, are you interested in that?

[midnight]

8. Very much.... Please post.... thanks...

[freshwest]

13. I'll bookmark this and get back with you. I threw away the packaging and forgot the brand, but

It tasted exactly like cheddar and was vegan. I don't do soy, and a lot of people where I live are avoiding it.

Instead they use mushrooms and almond products to not use it. All of these protein substitutes end up costing about the same as the non began or non vegetarian items from dairy.

I still use dairy but very sparingly. It's a shame that we have to question all the food, but after getting away from most standard fare, whenever I've regressed for social reasons or convenience, my body quickly revolts. My food choices are becoming fewer.

But then, I'm getting up there, too, and years of not eating properly have taken their toll. At least I'm reversing all I can. It feels good.

[midnight]

15. Thank you... When ever you can get to it... I would appreciate thanks..

[freshwest]

18. Okay, I'm back, but I found something online that may be a no-go for you.

I found the brand I used, but it turns out it does has milk casein, so it's not entirely vegan. Sure took care of that dairy mania, though. Sometimes I wonder about the romancing of the faux meats and stuff; just taking the leap instead of recreating something we may say we don't want to eat anymore.

I did a great transition to vegetarian and then to all raw a couple years ago without all the special recipes. Just a lot of smoothies and a ton of salad, nuts, Kombucha, probiotics, etc. Never felt better. Won't go into the details why I'm not there now, but I'm working my way back. It's all about detoxing, which is hard at times.

Here are a couple of things I thought you might like. First link is about the 'almond' cheddar cheese, if you're still interested. The one I used is right behind the vegan cheese package. Still not clear on the name, but I thought it was Sun Harvest. It's in the health food section of our stores here, next to the soy cheeses.

Second is a recipe for a raw meal with faux cheese (it does sound very good to me) but it does take a lot of work though, I'm not that complex. And my funds are tighter than ever right now, so I don't get much variety. Here goes, hope this helps you out:

http://rmcrayne.hubpages.com/hub/Dairy-Substitutes-for-Vegan-Diet-and-Casein-Free-Diet#

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cranberry-Almond-Cheese-raw/

This is another listing of raw substitutes, but there are lots of sites:

http://www.reallyrawfood.com/recipes/

[ginnyinWI]

10. Vegan pizza can be done...

I stopped eating dairy in March and pizza is the one thing that's been hard to do without the cheese. I have a few ideas for you though:

1) Caramelized onion is a good substitute for cheese. The texture is all melty-creamy on pizza. Saute in a heavy skillet: 3 T. olive oil, 2 large onions, chopped, 1 tsp salt, 1 T. vermouth or white wine, 2 T. brown sugar, 1 tsp dried thyme or oregano, 1/4 c. water, black pepper to taste. Cook for 25 min until done. Makes 2 cups.

2) Cheezy sauce: mix in blender or food processor: 1 1/3. c. water, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 T. lemon juice, 1 1/2 T. cornstarch, 2 T. tahini, 1/4 c. quick oats, 1/3 c. nutritional yeast, 1 roasted red pepper. Blend until smooth.Then transfer to saucepan and cook and stir until thick. Variation (for other uses than pizza): for a cheddary taste, add 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp dry mustard, 1/4 tsp add'l. salt, and 1 T. light miso. Cook and add 2T. water at the end, or to the right consistency. (you can get nutritional yeast in the bulk bins at some stores cheaper than in a bottle.)

3) Garlic Herb Sauce: Saute 1/4 c. sliced onions and 1 T. non dairy butter or oil. Add a pinch of fennel and 1 T. flour and stir. Add 1/2 non dairy milk, 1 tsp each of: basil, oregano, and chopped garlic, plus a pinch of red pepper and S and P to taste. Cook and stir until thickened.

4) Melty Pizza "cheese": mix in a saucepan: 1 c. water, 1/4 c. nutritional yeast, 2 T. cornstarch, 1 T. flour, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp garlic. Bring to boil and simmer 1 min. Then whisk in 2 T. more water. Drizzle on pizza while warm.

[freshwest]

14. Wow, thanks, sounds terrific! Will attempt.

[midnight]

16. This looks like a lot of thought went into this... I'm going to book mark this .

Thank you for sharing this... I miss my pizza...

[The empressof all]

11. I haven't found one yet and just do without

Some find that the Daiya brand scratches that cheesy itch. I really wanted to like it but no- it's yucky to me. It took me a while to embrace soy yogurt so I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to tolerate the dairy free cheese. I do like popcorn with nutritional yeast though which right now is about as cheesy as I can go.

[midnight]

17. That is the brand that I made some mac and cheese with the Daiya brand.

It was just like working with rubber trying to shred... So I was hoping someone here had some alternatives....

[supernova]

12. I'm LI and cheeses are hit or miss

with me. I found this chart you might find interesting. It's a chart of percentages of lactose in milk products including whey mixes and powdered milk. Cheeses are listed at the bottom. Some of the lower lactose cheeses are gouda, swiss, parmesean. I can tolerate some cheese pretty well, once or twice a week, but the wheat crust, ugh.

http://www.stevecarper.com/li/list_of_lactose_percentages.htm

[silverweb]

19. Has anyone tried Teese?

I remember hearing about an awesomely delicious vegan cheese substitute some time ago and I think it was Teese.

It still seems to be available mostly by mail order. I'm thinking of ordering some soon, but would love to hear from people who have tried it already.