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The Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese for Pizza... 6 Brand Taste Test #vegan #tastetest
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May 3, 2024
Special thanks to my taste tester Dominique (IG: @cinema.sewist) for her help in this video! Vegan cheese might be the final frontier in the world of vegan food, as it's one of the most difficult things to get right. In this taste test, I made six vegan pizzas using six different vegan cheeses and tasted them along with my friend Dominique to find out which one melts, browns, and tastes the best. If you prefer to read this as an article, you can find it here: https://www.stephsunshine.com/vegan-life/best-vegan-cheese-pizza-taste-test My vegan pizza sauce recipe is here: https://www.stephsunshine.com/vegan-life/detroit-style-vegan-pizza Reddit r/pizza American style dough recipe: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pizza/wiki/recipe/dough/#wiki_american_style_2 Search all my recipes here: https://www.stephsunshine.com/vegan-life/all-recipes Find me on the socials (IG, Pinterest, TikTok, FB) @msstephsunshine Timestamps 00:00 Intro & Process 02:32 Violife Just Like Mozzarella Shreds 04:23 Miyoko's Liquid Vegan Pizza Mozzarella 07:28 Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds 09:52 Miyoko's Organic Cashew Milk Mozzarella
View Video Transcript
0:00
Today we are testing six vegan mozzarella cheeses to see which ones are worthy of your pizza
0:07
We're going to see how well they melt, brown, and most importantly, how they taste
0:12
I'm going to use the same dough and the same sauce for each pizza, and I also have a friend here with me to help me taste them
0:20
The cheeses I'm testing today are, biolife just like mozzarella shreds, Mioko's liquid vegan pizza mozzarella
0:29
Dea, Mozilla-style shreds. Miyoko's organic cashew milk mozzarella. This is the block
0:38
Follow your heart, vegan mozzarella. And 365, plant-based, mozzarella-style cheese. The Miyoko's cheeses are both cashew-based
0:48
which makes them unique in this group. The others are oil and starch-based
0:54
The day does advertise that it is made with chickpeas, but chickpea protein I believe is
0:59
pretty far down on the ingredient list, so I wouldn't call it base
1:03
So here's my procedure for each pizza. For the dough, I am using a basic American pizza dough recipe that I found on the pizza subreddit
1:13
and I am making multiple batches so I can get lots of small pizzas
1:17
And I am letting the dough sit in the refrigerator for four days before making the pizzas
1:22
This recipe says to refrigerate for three days. 8 days with best results at 5 days so we might be a day short but I am also using my homemade
1:30
sauce which comes from my Detroit style pizza recipe these are not Detroit style pizzas that I'm making
1:36
today but the sauce works on pretty much any pizza and it's delicious I'll leave some links in the
1:42
description below if you want to check out either the dough recipe or the sauce recipe to try to keep it as
1:47
even as possible I weigh the sauce and the cheese and I use 70 grams of sauce and 60 grams of cheese
1:53
of cheese on each pizza. And I'm cooking the pizzas on vented pizza pans at 550 degrees
2:00
Fahrenheit for seven minutes. I will say that all the cheeses melted very nicely at this temperature
2:06
So if your oven goes up to 550, I would definitely use that temperature for your vegan pizzas
2:11
So with all that out of the way, let's get to the taste test. So here to help me taste test these
2:17
vegan pizzas, I have Dominique. No, everyone. You probably have seen her in some of my past
2:23
taste test. Yes. So thank you for helping me. Thank you for having me
2:28
Alright, you ready to try some pizza? Yes. Let's do it. Our first cheese is the by-life, just like mozzarella shreds. The shreds in this one are
2:37
pretty thick and it melted really well, but you can still see the shape of each original shred
2:42
pretty well with this cheese. There's also a bit of that greasiness from the sauce breaking
2:47
through the pizza, but let's taste it and see how it does. All right, we have cheese number one. It looks
2:53
melted yes yes it looks pretty good does have a little bit of a plasticy look to me sure
3:01
okay let's see how to taste well this is very mild there's not too much to it i don't detect any
3:11
undertones flavor wise it's kind of normal pizza cheese to me like mozzarella-y
3:18
i think as far as the texture it's just melted but with no stretch at all yeah
3:23
Yeah, it goes into cheese sauce territory. Mm-hmm. It's not bad. No, it's decent
3:29
I guess it's about expectations. If you are really expecting something to really stretch out, this is not going to be it
3:35
But as you say, it has a nice mozzarella flavor. I like that it doesn't have, that it tastes like coconut oil or something that you would really taste texture-wise
3:44
A bit me, I think it's taste to me kind of standard vegan pizza
3:48
Not bad for a vegan pizza, but it's... It doesn't wow. Yeah, it's what you would expect from a vegan cheese
3:56
If you need cheese for a pizza, I think it's going to make the pizza edible
4:02
Oh yes, no, no, definitely. And it has a nice flavor. You couldn't fool anyone with this
4:07
Right. Oh, no. This is real cheese. Nobody's going to buy it
4:11
You want to tell me what cheese this is? This is Violife
4:16
Okay. Nice. Yeah, I think it's pretty good. Teason. Thumbs up. All right. On to the next one
4:22
Next one. The second cheese is the Miyoko's liquid pizza mozzarella. Since it's already liquid, there is no melting that has to happen
4:29
and there are no visible shred shapes. It was a little weird to pour on, but after the first try, it wasn't too challenging
4:36
You do have to keep it pretty thin so that it will actually firm up in the oven
4:41
And I think it's a pretty nice-looking pizza, but will it taste as good as it looks
4:45
Let's find out. That looks very different from the first one. It does
4:51
Completely solid. melted. It has like little bubbles? Yeah. Okay, let's go
4:58
It's a little brown. Mm-hmm. It was more like a little solid layer of cheesiness
5:06
I think the other one gave you more of an imagination of cheese because this is like very Solid Yeah Yeah the other ones you could see the pieces this has no stretch but it does taste cheesy it does yeah there a mild flavor i think a little
5:22
milder even than the first one all they're on the same level mozzarella is not a strong flavor i kind of like the flavor of this one better not sure why i like it
5:32
overall i just think it doesn't have any stretch at all even for vegan cheese again more like a sauce
5:40
That's actually a pretty good guess of what it is because this is the Miyoko's liquid pizza mozzarella
5:48
That's a new stuff. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you pour it on. Yeah. It's had very good reviews, so I definitely wanted to try it
5:54
I think the thing that stands out to me about this cheese, as far as bang for your buck
6:02
this doesn't really take a lot of the bottle to make one pizza
6:07
So I've made two of these pizzas. with the cheese in the bottle and I probably haven't used more than a quarter or a third of the bottle
6:15
So you could probably get six small pieces out of it. You know, I paid $6.99 for it
6:22
That's an okay price. I mean, the Yoko products are higher price anyway
6:26
but they're also quality-wise. They're really good. Yeah. I think it's a good option
6:30
It is, it is. It looked really nice, like coming out of the oven with like you said
6:35
like the slightly brown effect. even though it doesn't have stretch it still gives you a little bit of that baked cheesy quality for look wise approved all right this one versus the first one it's very different from a profit type of deal probably this over the first one even not considering the price I think I prefer this one to the first one because the first one just had that super vegan cheese what you would expect from a vegan cheese and this one I feel
7:07
Even though it doesn't really replicate cheese exactly, it's not as noticeable as like
7:14
this is vegan cheese. Especially if you put a lot of toppings on it or something, you probably wouldn't notice
7:20
that it's cheese or not cheese. So I would probably go with this one over the first one
7:26
All right, let's go to the next one. The third cheese we're testing is the Dea, mozzarella-style shreds
7:32
And this cheese melted well, just like the violife. The schweeds are a little smaller though, so you will get more of that shredded cheese look if you like that
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Deya kind of shocked us by winning our grilled cheese taste test, so let's see if the shreds live up to the legacy of the slices
7:50
This looks again like vegan cheese. Yeah, kind of has some like greasiness looking on top of it
7:58
Yes, I saw that too, yeah, yeah, it's kind of like melting into the sauce. Yeah. Yeah
8:04
Let's see. It stretches a little. It stretches more than the other than the first one
8:14
It still feels a little goopy in my mouth. Yeah. This one has a little bit of that vegan cheese taste. Yeah
8:23
I don't know what it is, but... It tastes even more than the first one, I would say
8:27
Could be like potato starch or something. But he had the stretching factor
8:32
Probably the nicest on this one. It's a decent. decent cheese, a decent vegan cheese
8:37
Yeah, it's different than the others, and it does have a little bit of stretch when you like pull it apart
8:42
It kind of stretches a little. But as far as taste, I think for sure the Miyokos was better. Yes
8:51
My life versus this one, I think the BioLife might be even a little better
8:56
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I find this kind of like the worst in terms of having it that vegan cheese taste that people might be
9:05
put off by. Yeah. So this has a stronger. Yeah, it's almost like, I don't know, I think of it like
9:10
plastic-y kind of. It's not plastic but... Yeah, it's not going that extreme. I think in earlier times
9:16
those shreds were going into that real extreme, but this gives you most of those hints
9:22
Alright, well, this one was the day up. Okay. Yeah, our last cheese taste test, that was the winner
9:31
I know. This one did not live up. No, no, that's so weird because we really like the grilled cheese
9:38
Maybe they kept this with the old recipe or the... They haven't receded this recipe, I know
9:44
I don't know. But it's still decent. It is okay. It's kind of like..
9:49
Alright, let's in the next one. Yes. Next to you are testing Miyoko's vegan cashew mozzarella, which is the cheese in the block form
9:57
To get this on the pizza, I had to put it in the freezer for 30 minutes or so and then grade it
10:02
So even after it's in the freezer, it was still. still pretty soft so when I put the shreds on the pizza they were sticking together in small
10:08
clumps you might prefer to actually slice this cheese and put it on the pizza rather than
10:14
grate it but this has been my go-to pizza cheese in the past so let's see how it compares
10:20
with the others again very different look it does have brown browning on top yes we love a shredded quality yeah stretch Mm But I like the taste of it It very melted very very Mm
10:38
But maybe not quite as liquidy as some of the others. No, it seems the most like the Italian mozzarella
10:44
Like the ball of mozzarella. Yeah. I like it. It doesn't give me that classic pizza taste, but... No
10:52
But it melts. No stretch. No stretch. light, not as heavy as cheese
10:58
Yeah, yeah. But all of them, I think, I like that. True
11:01
None of them really have a pronounced flavor. Like, I always taste the sauce more than the cheese
11:08
I'm actually having a hard time picking them out from each other and which one I really like the most because they're all kind of similar
11:16
Yeah, and they're all decent. So none of them is terrible. Yeah
11:21
I think I prefer the second one. There's just a flavor of it. To me, this is a close second though, at the moment
11:27
Yeah. Yeah, it doesn't have that vegan cheese taste, like the fire life and the Dea
11:33
I think I would put this in second for right now. Yeah, me too. And this is the other Miyokos, the block
11:41
Oh, I see. Okay, so you had to shred it yourself. Yes
11:46
Very nice. Yes, approved. All right, on to the next. Yes. On our fifth pizza, we are using Follow Your Heart, vegan mozzarella
11:53
Right out of the oven, I would see that this one looks the most like a real cheese pizza
11:59
So let's taste it and see what happens. This is the most melty
12:04
Yeah. Yeah, I wanted to say, boy, is this something? This is like really, wow
12:09
But it's kind of goopy, like. It is, yeah. And it doesn't stretch, but it looks very melty
12:20
And it tastes very good. Yeah, it does have a good taste. It mingles nicely with the tomato sauce
12:26
It's kind of like, again, the vegan cheeses are not gonna really compete with the dairy counterparts, but from the mouth feel, this feels the most like it so far
12:38
It is, I think, denser than the others. So I think it's close to cheese in some ways. Yeah
12:46
But I don't know if it's in a great way. It's almost in like a mall pizza kind of way
12:52
More pizza. I never had more pizza. Sorry. I know you're not American
12:57
I mean, it kind of looks like it too. Yeah. That's not the greatest pizza. It's like the kind of a cheap pizza
13:05
I gave what you mean. When I took the first bite I was just like, I really liked this
13:11
But it's then it's also like, this tastes kind of unhealthy. Yes, it almost is like a little greasy as well. Yeah
13:19
It reminds me when I was young and we would have the greasy pizzas and we would take our paper towel and napkin and like blot the grease off before me
13:28
because it was so greasy. They probably didn't have pizzas like that in Germany
13:33
No, no, not that I can recall, but yeah, I get the juice food, you know, oh my lord
13:40
This kind of reminds me of those kind of pizzas. Yeah. So it's good
13:45
But also bad. Right. In an unhealthy processed kind of way. Yeah, junk food. Yeah
13:52
So if you're looking for vegan junk food, this is probably the vegan cheese for you
13:57
It's still not spot on for cheese. No. It still has a little more goof, not a stretch, it's not like solidifying like the way
14:06
of regular cheese work when you just pull it and you know. But when I was cutting it and you pull the slices apart, I mean you had little strings
14:14
and it was very, it had that look. So I think this is a pretty good option
14:21
It is. So who is this candidate? Now it's stuck to my..
14:25
This one is very... Stick to my mouth. It does, yeah, I've had that a little bit too
14:33
This is Follow Your Heart. Okay. This is pretty good. I think it just depends on what you want
14:41
The Miyoko's liquid one. I would probably choose that over this one
14:45
Yeah, yeah. I think just flavor-wise. But this one has a good flavor
14:50
different. Yeah, it's not, if you want to make a pizza that is a bit more like for me or if you
14:57
really want to put an effort into it, I probably wouldn't go for that cheese either. Yeah
15:02
like really junk food. I want something greasy. That's very good, but in that category
15:09
Yeah, yeah, definitely. All right, we've got one more. Our final cheese is the 365 plant-based
15:17
mozzarella style cheese. This one almost didn't make it into the taste test because they were sold
15:22
out on my first trip to the grocery store, but I did go back for it again, so I guess we will
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see if it was worth the extra trip to the grocery store. All right, last one. Let's try it
15:36
Yes Very similar to the first one I feel It has more of a taste than the first one The look of it The look is very similar Yeah And yeah it does have a little more taste but it almost has a little after taste
15:52
Like, the taste kind of changes as you, as it goes. Yeah
15:56
It's also very lippity. Yeah. It's kind of like blending with the sauce
16:02
Yeah, yeah. It mingled. Yeah, yeah. I think they all have that kind of in common
16:08
Like none of them is like a dairy. cheese that it's kind of like forming a different layer really at some point
16:14
they marry the sauce and that's it but yeah there's an aftertaste I can't put my
16:20
finger on it what it is makes it a bit artificial yeah and this does have a little
16:26
bit of stretch to it not like a ton but between this and the follow your heart
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probably those are the only two that even had any stretch so if you want that visual of the
16:40
stretch the follow your heart for this one. That's it. Yeah. The Miokos, that liquid one, had the least amount
16:47
It was just like cut it and separate, what's it? Yeah. And the other Miyoko
16:53
Not really. And the Dea. Yeah, maybe that one had a little bit
16:56
I would rate this as like a meat's expectations vegan cheese. It's solid
17:02
It's not great. It's not bad. Even with that little after taste. It's nothing that you would hate
17:07
I do feel like if you serve this to people who are not vegan
17:10
they would probably not love it. True. Some people might, like, I'm not going to eat it
17:16
It's not, this is not a cheese to convince on me. Right
17:20
I think if I was going to, then it would be the Miyokos liquid
17:25
Actually, either of the Miyokos or the follow your heart. Yeah. Depending on if they're junk food people or, you know, clean, healthy eating type of people
17:34
Yes, yes, yes. The Miyoko is definitely more for the clean eating people
17:39
Oh, I didn't even tell you what this is. I kind of figured because I bought this one before and..
17:44
Okay, so you... I kind of, yeah. You recognize it. I don't know of this one, yeah
17:48
But yeah, I would say the other three feel a little more artificial. Yeah, probably this one the most
17:53
I would say follow your heart is probably the best as... Yeah
17:57
And then Vialife and then the 365. Yes. As being like the most artificial tasting. Yes
18:03
So Miyoko wins? Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's... I don't think it's an enthusiastic win
18:09
win but I would devour that pizza. If I'm judging it as a whole pizza and not just judging it on like the quality of the cheese itself, I would definitely eat that pizza
18:22
Yeah. Especially if you're putting other toppings and things on it, it's an unobtrusive cheese that's not going to destroy the pizza
18:32
Right, because some of the fake vegan cheeses, I a lot of times don't put any vegan cheese on
18:39
my pizza at all because I feel like it's going to stick to my mouth. I would rather just eat just
18:46
the bread, the sauce and the toppings. Yeah. But I think with the miokos, I actually either one of them
18:55
Yeah. It would add something subtle and nice. It's harmonic. Yeah, so the whole pizza
19:00
Yeah, that's probably what I think I would use the most. Yeah, same here, probably, yeah
19:06
and then the follow-out you are hard when you really want to go into the junk food
19:11
I mean it's very good on that level. Yes. It's just two very different routes. I think those three are like the top three
19:22
And the other three, I mean, if you buy them, you're not really making a mistake
19:27
It's nothing that you would really regret. Right, yeah, you would still eat the pizza
19:31
Yeah. I mean, if I bought one of those I would probably eat it and then, okay, maybe I'll
19:35
I'll try a different cheese next time. Yes, yes. But it wouldn't be something that would go in the trash
19:40
Yeah, exactly. None of these have been a failure, which is great. Right
19:45
Okay, so there you go. A pretty close matchup between these six cheeses
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So in our top three, we would put the Mioko's liquid on top
19:52
and then in a close second, depending on what you want, it would be the Follow Your Heart or the Miokos block
20:00
All of those three, we would put in the very good category
20:04
And then we'd have five. have Violife, Dea, and 365 in that order rounding out the good but not convincing anyone
20:13
to go vegan. Can't worry. In case you watched our grilled cheese taste test and you are wondering
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in this batch of cheeses, we did not see as many coming from Greece. Only two of these cheeses
20:24
were made in Greece, which were the Violife and the 365. And those two tasted the most similar
20:30
in that vegan cheesy kind of way with 365 having more of that
20:35
pronounced vegan cheese flavor. Dea is made in Canada and the others are American made
20:41
I hope this video has helped you if you're looking to find a vegan cheese for your next
20:47
pizza. Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one
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