Not all soy cheeses have milk extracts, but yep, some of them do (especially "Soycheese", which has casein in it). Cheezly (can be found in Organic on Flinders, and you may luck out at Macro) is probably the best; Tofutti is also vegan, but tastes a bit plastic to me (it even comes in plastic-wrapped slices, like "real" plastic cheese).
Really, though, I'd recommend your friend get out of the habit of cheese for awhile. Cheese (and dairy in general) is actually a highly addictive food (because of lactomorphines & casomorphines in the milk). It's annoying, and not very healthy, to eat soy cheese a lot, as it's a highly processed food. It also tends to be on the expensive side, especially for Cheezly (the only decent replacement out there, I'd say). One block will set you back about $6.
What I would suggest for lasagne is that your friend makes up a bechamel sauce: put some dairy-free margarine (perhaps nuttelex) or olive oil, at a pinch, in a saucepan, then put in some flour and fry it for a minute or so (not long enough to go brown, or you've got a roux), then add in dairy-free milk (I like to use oat milk) slowly, stirring the whole time. A LITTLE garlic, and maybe some marjoram or rosemary here can be nice. If you have some, add in perhaps a tablespoon of nutritional yeast (NOT the same thing as brewer's or baker's yeast). NY gives a nutty, slightly cheesy flavour – though like most things, the longer you haven't had cheese, the more cheesy it tastes. NY can be found in health food stores, either as flakes (we have Engevita here) or as a powder (our powdery NY is Torula).
This will make a creamy layer for your lasagne, and is how my parents always made lasagne, though of course they always topped it with cheese. No cheese in their bechamel, though. Your friend could likewise top hers with some grated Cheezly, or she could just top it with breadcrumbs or wheatgerm for a crunchy finish (which is what my friend Chris always did for his dairy-intolerant friend).
If your friend gets a jonesing for dairy-free pizza, by the way, she should try Plush Pizza (http://www.plushpizza.com.au/). They do fabulous vegan pizzas, even with "cheese". They're so tasty. Probably a bit out of the way, but if your friend happens to be going in their direction, or can pick it up on the way home from work (assuming said friend is even a Melburnian), it's soooo worth it.
Your friend might want to invest in a couple of good vegan cookbooks, like Vegan Planet, by Robin Robertson (which has a dozen or so variations on lasagne), or The Uncheese Cookbook, by Joanne Stepaniak.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2007-03-19 09:23 pm (UTC)Really, though, I'd recommend your friend get out of the habit of cheese for awhile. Cheese (and dairy in general) is actually a highly addictive food (because of lactomorphines & casomorphines in the milk). It's annoying, and not very healthy, to eat soy cheese a lot, as it's a highly processed food. It also tends to be on the expensive side, especially for Cheezly (the only decent replacement out there, I'd say). One block will set you back about $6.
What I would suggest for lasagne is that your friend makes up a bechamel sauce: put some dairy-free margarine (perhaps nuttelex) or olive oil, at a pinch, in a saucepan, then put in some flour and fry it for a minute or so (not long enough to go brown, or you've got a roux), then add in dairy-free milk (I like to use oat milk) slowly, stirring the whole time. A LITTLE garlic, and maybe some marjoram or rosemary here can be nice. If you have some, add in perhaps a tablespoon of nutritional yeast (NOT the same thing as brewer's or baker's yeast). NY gives a nutty, slightly cheesy flavour – though like most things, the longer you haven't had cheese, the more cheesy it tastes. NY can be found in health food stores, either as flakes (we have Engevita here) or as a powder (our powdery NY is Torula).
This will make a creamy layer for your lasagne, and is how my parents always made lasagne, though of course they always topped it with cheese. No cheese in their bechamel, though. Your friend could likewise top hers with some grated Cheezly, or she could just top it with breadcrumbs or wheatgerm for a crunchy finish (which is what my friend Chris always did for his dairy-intolerant friend).
If your friend gets a jonesing for dairy-free pizza, by the way, she should try Plush Pizza (http://www.plushpizza.com.au/). They do fabulous vegan pizzas, even with "cheese". They're so tasty. Probably a bit out of the way, but if your friend happens to be going in their direction, or can pick it up on the way home from work (assuming said friend is even a Melburnian), it's soooo worth it.
Your friend might want to invest in a couple of good vegan cookbooks, like Vegan Planet, by Robin Robertson (which has a dozen or so variations on lasagne), or The Uncheese Cookbook, by Joanne Stepaniak.