So in the whole wake of the no cheese drama, there was much flailing and wailing and gnashing of teeth. I grabbed The Uncheese Cookbook and kept trying stuff. There was a recipe in there for a faux buffalo mozzarella that the author swore would melt. It totally didn’t and the pizza I tried to make with it was possibly the most demoralizing food experience of my life and triggered a total food depression. Various other dairy free friends had been recommending Daiya as THE CHEESE SUBSTITUTE. They don’t carry it at my local grocery and I was expecting to have to wait until I drove through the state capitol next month to pick some up at the Whole Foods there. But as luck would have it, I found some in a town an hour away. I picked up the cheddar shreds, the mozzarella shreds, the cheddar wedge (actually their version of block cheese), and the jalapeno garlic havarti wedge.
That night, I came home and tried tacos. They tasted like tacos and the cheddar shreds melted like cheese. I had a cheeseburger after that and the Daiya melted all over my fingers just like a real cheeseburger. Tonight I tried the mozzarella shreds with mini pizzas. OMG, y’all, I cannot tell you how happy I am. IT MELTS. IT TASTES LIKE CHEESE. I give it, two thumbs up! I no longer feel like my food life is over.
6 thoughts on “Review of Daiya Cheese Substitute”
Persistence pays! Way to hang in there.. 😉
I’m so glad you found this! Too bad you can’t get your grocery store to order it. I guess they don’t have a way of shipping it, or you would have gone that route already.
I can order it by the case, but because it has to be refrigerated, that means overnight shipping and it makes 12 8 oz. bags of the stuff over $70. It’s far cheaper and easier to just pick some up when I go visit my mom.
I need to give that a try. I don’t know if I actually have a problem with dairy, or if my stomach is still healing from the gluten, but much as I love cheese and other dairy products, it doesn’t love me quite so much. 🙂
I have to say though that even with the shipping, $70.00 for 12 bags isn’t too bad. Of course I’m used to buying gluten-free stuff, too, so I’m used to paying outrageous prices for fake food, lol. That said, I’m glad I only have to travel about 45 minutes to buy a few bags at a time. Same place I get a lot of the GF foods, too, so 2 birds with one stone. 🙂
Hi, Kait!
Not sure how I have missed this site of yours yet the point is, I found it. Not surprisingly, it is wonderful.
As for cheese, I use Lisanatti Foods’ Almond Cheese, either cheddar or mozzarella. I have used it for cheeseburgers and omelets; every morning I slice some cheddar to eat with an apple. It is also gluten-free and costs about $3.50 for 8 oz. I shop at EarthFare (I am in Tallahassee) so I am fortunate in that regard. Not sure if there is one in your area.
I eat GF, dairy free, sugar and sugar substitute free (only raw stevia cut with inulin) so my fruit intake is limited but I am beginning to tolerate apples and pears (only organic), As well, no yeast or nightshade vegetables, the latter having been known to be problematic for people with autoimmune issues.
Again, great site and thanks for all the recipes.
Karen
Yum.