You won’t be missing out with these delicious vegan alternatives!
When making the adjustment to veganism, dairy is often the food group that people not only miss the most, but also find the most challenging to replace. Luckily, today there are various plant-based alternatives on the market, so you can find everything from plant-based milk for your cereal and grated ‘mozzarella’ for homemade pizza, to vegan cream for desserts. What’s more, making homemade alternatives is much easier than you think!
Switching to vegan products also opens up a world of possibilities: with dairy products, your options are typically limited to cow, sheep, or goats’ milk; either skimmed or full-fat. With non-dairy versions, however, the world is your (vegan) oyster. Today, people are making plant milk, yoghurt, cream, butter, and even ice-cream with everything from oats, soya beans, almonds, and cashews, to coconuts, hemp, and hazelnuts. So rather than feeling deprived, you’ll likely discover new tastes and textures that you didn’t realise were possible! Here are some simple recipes so you can start creating your own DIY dairy delights.
Butter
Is there anything better than melted butter on toast? Butter is one of life’s little luxuries, but it’s also extremely versatile. Besides working its magic on bread, it can be used in various baking recipes. There are surprisingly few vegan butters on the market today, and many of them contain unsustainable palm oil. Luckily, making your own butter is quite simple, and there are various methods and ingredients, including coconut and olive oils. Keep in mind that as olive oil butter is soft and melts easily, it’s ideal for use in winter. Soya butter, on the other hand, is great on toast or in pastries. To try your hand at making butter, here’s a simple recipe to get you started...
Olive Butter
Makes about 180g
100g coconut oil, liquid or soft
40g olive oil
40g corn oil or another
neutral-tasting vegetable oil
a pinch of turmeric (for colour)
1/₈ tsp Himalayan salt
1 Mix all of the ingredients together in a stand mixer or blender until the salt has dissolved.
2 Put the mixture in small silicone muffin trays, and chill them in the fridge for several hours. The butter can then be kept in the fridge for about five days, or stored in the freezer until needed.
BOOKSHELF Recipe extracted from Homemade Vegan Cheese, Yoghurt and Milk by Yvonne Hölzl-Singh (Grub Street, £15.99)
Milk
