The Vegan Creamery (homemade cheese, milk and ice-cream)

The Vegan Creamery is a book by a Japanese-American chef who founded Miyoko’s Creamery, one of the USA’s top vegan artisan cheese companies. Recipes include French-style soft truffle cheese, Reggie goat cheese (good on pizza) and homemade mozzarella and halloumi (these are more complicated).

Avoid blue cheeses for pregnancy/nursing, children and week immune systems.

Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe near animal friends). Bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) and citrus/tomato/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. It’s okay to put them in food waste bins (made into biogas).

For tinned foods, fully remove lids (put inside) or pop ring-pulls back over holes (and pinch tops closed) before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.

The Vegan Dairy Cookbook has over 50 simple recipes including chive cream cheese, by a Dutch chef.

Homemade Vegan Cheese, Milk and Yoghurt is by a European home chef, and includes recipes for tomato rosemary cheese (made from almonds) and a herbal cream cheese made from coconut cream.

Thomas’ homemade vegan cheese recipes

Truth be told, most of us are not going to bother. But if you fancy having a go yourself, here are some simple recipes.  ‘King of the vegan cheese chefs’ is French Thomas at Full of Plants. He obviously offers French vegan recipes (like the blue cheese below), but also many others (like the smoked hickory cheese above).