It wasn't until after I purchased this product and really looked at the label that I realized this cheese substitute is not intended for vegans, since it still contains milk ingredients. Then I tried it, and really couldn't think of ANYONE who would choose to eat it. I suppose if you were lactose intolerant or wanted to avoid cholesterol and wanted something VAGUELY (I repeat, VAGUELY) cheese-like, you might purchase this.
I chose to try the Mozzarella flavor, since it is one of my favorite cheeses, and since it seemed like it would be hard to mess up -- even artificial mozzarella (like the kind you find on really cheap frozen pizza) is usually passable. It comes packaged just like other processed cheese slices in a plastic wrapper, with each slice individually wrapped.
The veggie slice, once unwrapped, still resembles a processed cheese slice. It has a similar consistency and texture. The smell is pretty disconcerting, though. This should have been a big red flag.
When I first put it in my mouth, it actually tastes alright -- almost cheese-like. But after a couple of seconds, the flavor changes. It's TERRIBLE. The first time I tried it, it actually went back and forth between okay and god-awful every few seconds the entire time I chewed it -- a very bizarre and unpleasant experience. Also, the texture in your mouth quickly goes from American-cheese-like to tofu.
So what did I do with all the other slices? I'm not the type of person who can just throw away food. I decided that it might not be as bad if it were hidden in some other food, so I crumbled a slice and added it into some Nature's Burger mix. I had to be careful about the fake cheese burning and sticking to the pan, but it actually wasn't too bad. It added another, interesting dimension to the flavor of the Nature's Burger. In fact, the next time I had a Nature's Burger without the crumbled Veggie Slice in it, I found that I missed it!
This brand, Galaxy Nutritional Foods, makes many other flavors of cheese alternatives, some even rice-based. They do also make some vegan cheese alternatives, both soy- and rice-based, but I can't find any of these in any local grocery stores. Among all of these, there might be some flavors that taste better than this "mozzarella" -- but I'm not about to try them myself.
Allergens: Soy, milk
Vegetarian
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3 comments:
Your description of the flavor rollercoaster in your mouth when chewing the Galaxy "cheese" had me rotfl!!! I've found that fake cheeses often taste better when melted. It would be nice to find a rice cheese you could just eat straight.
Love your blog!
Which fake cheeses have you tried? Any you recommend?
And, thanks! Yay!
I just bought it as well, and warmed it up on some leftover quiche and it melted quite nice. I thoroughly enjoyed it until I too read the label and now deeply REGRET buying this. Why would you put a milk product in a vegetarien cheese? Who do they think is buying this? If I wanted lactose-free cheese I would just buy "lactose-free cheese"!! I bought this cause it said "veggie" on the package and I assumed it was a "cheese alternative"! I'm so disgusted! I'm writing the company to tell them how disgusted I am!
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