Say cheese, again

A few posts ago, I mentioned that Bute Isle "scheese" - a vegan cheese substitute that has won rave reviews - is now available by mail order in the U.S. and promised to give a report. I ordered three flavors – smoked cheddar, blue and gouda – and am enjoying them, but not significantly more than some other vegan cheeses I have tried.... They still have a sort of processed flavor and texture. The smoked cheddar was my favorite of the three.

In general, vegan "cheese" is getting better and better - in years past, I've thrown away packages after one taste because they were so unpleasant. There are many acceptable brands now, and hopefully vegan-cheese technology will continue to improve.

I do have a rave review to offer of another vegan dairy substitute: Wildwood soy yogurt. Fruit-flavored soy yogurts are just fine, but until Wildwood I had never found a plain soy yogurt that I liked. Plain soy yogurts tend to be sweet, and lack that yummy yogurt "twang." But Wildwood is wonderful – I couldn’t tell it from dairy-based yogurt.

The only drawback is that I haven't yet found a local source for it. The tub I had came from The Home Economist, a health-food store in Charlotte. I mean to make inquiries soon to see whether any of our local stores can order it. Meanwhile, if you know of a place that carries it around the Winston-Salem area, please let me know!