Vegan Cheese for your meatless Burger
If you love burgers, you must complement it with the right kind of cheese. While for most of the dairy-consuming population finding the perfect cheese is not an issue, vegans traditionally had limited options. However, with the revolutionary growth of the plant-based burger patties in the last few years, the accompanying cheese industry has also decided to jump on the wagon and make more vegan options available. This is wonderful news for everyone, vegans, non-vegans, flexitarians, and all of us who like to sample a nice tasty cheese either from a cheese platter or in our burger.
When you consume one of these meatless burgers, it is no longer necessary to omit the cheese. Plant-based cheeses for meatless burgers are evolving as an industry by themselves and there is always a suitable vegan cheese for your kind of palate. Replicating that cheddar or swiss taste, even a provolone flavor, is really a remarkable accomplishment by the vegan foods industry. Read on to know more about vegan cheese options and the industry.
The Vegan Cheese Market
According to recent research by the firm Technavio, the worldwide vegan cheese market is all set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8%, or by $1.11 million through 2019-2023, Businesswire reports. This has been primarily attributed to the expansion of the organized retailing sector.
Plant-based dairy products are typically sold by these large organized stores and they have, in recent years, branched out into specialty stores, convenience stores, and so on. This ensures consumers can find the products easily.
This growth of the vegan cheese market globally is led by 5 main players, namely, Bute Island Foods in England, Little Green Leaf in Ireland, Gardener Cheese Company in the US, GO VEGGIE® in Canada, and Violife in Greece.
The way these companies are geographically spaced indicates that the dairy-free revolution is not restricted to any one country or continent and can be seen as an indication of prompt growth of the industry shortly.
Types of Vegan Cheese
Vegan cheese is often considered simple enough to make at home. However, the retailers make it easier for consumers as they offer most vegan cheeses in styles that you are familiar with. Vegan cheese can be classified into various types depending on the key ingredient(s).
Most vegan cheese is made from a variety of nuts, such as cashews, almonds, pecans, macadamia, etc. Coconut milk and cream is also a popular combination. Further, there are flour-based cheeses made of different kinds of starchy flours (yes, there are gluten-free options as well). Starchy root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots are also used as sources for plant-based cheese.
The styles in which vegan cheese is available are boundless. You could choose from shredded, cream cheese, blocks and slices, soft cheese, parmesan, and many more. If you are looking for minimally processed cheese, nut-based is your best option. Cheddar and mozzarella are common among shredded cheese and could be nut-based or flour-based.
The cream cheese style is usually obtained by using a coconut-based product, while sliced or block cheese is made primarily from flour-based components. Blocks and slices come in cheddar, provolone, smoked gouda, and American styles. If soft cheese is what you crave the most, vegetable or Aquafaba-based cheese is the one to have.
Which Vegan Cheese suits your Meatless Burger?
Traditionally, burger patties have always been garnished or topped with square sliced cheese, American, Swiss or cheddar in most cases. Well, we get to keep the shape and flavors minus dairy, which is wonderful. Most of us will buy already pre-sliced versions of our favorite cheese and some of us who are a bit more skilled chefs like our friend Thee Burger Dude who is an amazing chef from California will make their own homemade versions of vegan cheese for a vegan patty melt option.
With so many different options available in the vegan cheese category, how do you know which goes best with your plant-based burger? Well, leading brands that either produce or market meatless burgers have come up with offerings to make your choice easier and of course, more delectable.
White Castle, for instance, is a chain that was one of the first to add the Impossible Slider, from plant-based meat pioneer Impossible Foods, back in 2018. Early in 2019, the chain introduced a dairy-free cheddar cheese from Good Planet Foods that attempts to make the slider completely vegan.
Similarly, another American chain, called Fatburger, which also has the Impossible Burger on its menu, launched vegan sliced cheese by Daiya to go with the meatless burger.