Pre-Vegan days (PV days), I loved cheese. I ate cheese at every meal and had the cholesterol levels to prove it. When I couldn't think of anything to eat, I went to cheese and crackers. When I decided to go vegan, I went cold tofu after reading Vegan Freak by Bob and Jenna Torres. I knew if I weaned myself off of cheese slowly, I would, as Vegan Freak suggested, look forward to that little bit of cheese and I would never quit. Every since I gave up dairy, I haven't really craved it BUT have been on the look out for a good vegan cheeze. I have heard from several people that VeganRella was the best vegan cheeze they have found. We were craving pizza and decided to give VeganRella a try.
First, I tried a little VeganRella on crackers and it had a nice firm texture, although tasted nothing like mozzarella . . . but I was expecting that. Not bad, just not great. Another thing was the smell. It smelled funky, but not in the stinky cheese kind of way. In fact, it kinda stunk up the apartment when I shredded it up for pizza topping. But I was determined to have a cheezy pizza! I made a perfect crust, chopped up some red onion and green peppers, had some good tomato sauce ready and veggie pepperoni for an extra kick. The oven was set high and ready to melt the cheeze. Well, the good news is that it did melt. The bad news is that it melted into a glue-like, pasty goo all over the rest of the toppings. Every time I took a bite, it stuck to the roof of my mouth and front of my teeth. In other words, it was bad. Really, really bad. There was no way to pick it off so Jared and I ate the whole thing since the crust was really great and hey, that was what was for dinner.
I'm not sure if anyone else has had this experience with VeganRella but we will never buy it again. I think I'll just stick to silken tofu or go cheeseless.
Here is a shot of the goo at it's worst:
Sunday, February 24, 2008
a big thumbs down for VeganRella
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14 avocados:
Aww I'm so sorry to hear you didn't like it.
I find the problem with Vegan Rella is... if you overheat it, it becomes hard and gross. So I nuke it for less than 30 seconds and put it on my pizza in the last 5 minutes or so to avoid this.
Everyone has their own tastes though. And from what you say, you were a big cheese fan, so it's going to be tough to get your tastebuds to enjoy something other than authentic cheese.
Yeah, I'm just not ready to even try vegan cheese. I can't see how it would ever compare to brie or gouda (or am I just being close-minded?).
I too am sorry to hear you didn't like it! I second Romina, you have to be careful when heating it.
But I do have to be honest, I prefer my pizzas cheeseless!
I JUST made a pizza with VeganRella!! I googled it just now, trying to find a website, and stumbled upon this. I got the exact same results. I'm on my second slice and can't bear to eat anymore, so I think I'll refrigerate the rest. Maybe it'll harden up--I'd rather eat plastic "cheese" than glue "cheese."
I agree. It is bad. And it is like hot glue. Yuck! We are a former cheese loving family and finding a good vegan cheese has been difficult.
I've never had veganrella... I like FHY Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella the best... to me, it really hits the spot. It's not healthy.. but it's not full of transfats like tofuitti and tastes much better than tofutti.
Vegan Rella might be the grossest thing I've ever put in my mouth. Yeah.
I really enjoy the Follow Your Heart Mozzarella on pizza.
That sucks... I've never tried veganrella. Maybe now I won't. My hubby keeps saying to me that a truly tasty vegan cheese is one big "cash cow" if anyone can ever figure it out...
I hate vegan rella. It's so gross. Follow Your Heart is the way to go.
I know you're health-ifying right now :) but the cashew ricotta from veganomicon is yummy, and since it tastes good is baked pasta dished I've made, I bet it would be yummy on pizza too!
I tried Veganrella once in my early early vegan days (8 or 9 years ago). i remember it being the sickest thing i had ever tasted! ;D part of that was probably that my tastebuds weren't very adventerous yet, but i bet i'd still dislike it today. follow your heart's vegan cheese is 100% better, so if you have access to that, i'd say give it a go.
i don't dig the cheddar veganrella... but the mozza veganrella is good enough for me. i prefer it grated cold on a salad. that is when it really shines.
and it is much lower in fat than i expected.
ORIGIONAL VEGANRELLA - tasted like crayons but in a larger form.
RECENT VEGANRELLA - used the formula from "Vegan-Kaas" which was the best vegan cheese available in america.
CURRENT VEGANRELLA - updated formula to decrease cost and unfortunately also flavor and taste. write the company and tell them they ruined the best recipe in america! tell them you're switching back to follow your heart or toffuti singles(now without hydrogenated oils) unless they switch back to this awesome formula of last year.
Does anyone know how to get a hold of the Veganrella company? I keep coming up with nothing when I google it (except for your commments) and there's no contact info on the package...? Would love to offer comments - we need a soy free, dairy free cheese alternative and Veganrella is all I can find!
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