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I am what you would call a wannabe vegan. I really like the ethos of being a vegan, I love animals and wish I didn’t eat them. I just love the taste of certain meats and dairy! I’m always on the lookout for alternatives and I actively try and reduce my meat and animal content. My family, however, is less than supportive shall we say. My Dad actually was vegetarian for a large part of my upbringing. He became vegetarian when he stopped smoking when I was born and he needed something else to focus on. He always said when he turned 50 he would start eating meat again. I never really understood why, but true to his word, he ate meat again after his 50th birthday.
My husband is a die-hard meat-eater. I have tried meat alternatives with the children, but they spot a vegetarian swap a mile away. In my head, I would like to live with the lady who repairs china on the repair shop in a beautiful cottage, we are vegan and we keep rescue chickens. In reality, I’m a married Mum of three nugget-loving children who loves salami. But, I like to try, hence I wanted to review the range of vegan cheese alternatives Violife has to offer. Here’s the range they sent me to sample.
The first one we tried was the pre-grated vegan cheese on crumpets. Cheesy crumpets are a Sunday favourite here in the Lord household and I was pretty amazed Mr L made them with vegan cheese, to be honest. He put quite a thick layer on, and whilst the taste was OK for me, the texture was a bit off. That’s the hardest thing to replicate I find. The kids weren’t a fan but they did eat the crumpets. I think a thin layer would be better and done crispier with a layer of marmite. Is marmite vegan? Yes, it’s totally vegan apparently – yay! I was pleased to see the cheese did melt well and looked the part.
Violife in sandwiches
Next up we tried the slices in sandwiches. Now, one of my favourite sandwiches is salami and Leerdammer which is the most un-vagan you can get, I know. But, every little helps. I tried swapping the cheese for the Violife slices and I was pleasantly surprised. The texture is very good and the cheese was tasty. I also had one with just the cheese and some salad and chutney and I would have it again. Mr L tried the smoked cheese slices in a sandwich and he said it ruined his sandwich. I don’t know if he’s the best audience as he doesn’t even like normal smoked cheese so I don’t think it’s a fair comparison, but I say this as a matter of being honest.
Lastly, we tried the Le rond Violife, meant to be a camembert alternative. There are a couple of vegan recipes you can try with this. You can bake it like traditional Camembert and serve it with veg and breadsticks, salad, and chutney, or you can slice it horizontally, dip it in plant milk and breadcrumbs, and shallow or deep fry it. We made up a cheeseboard of sorts to try it out and added on the extra mature violife.
I quite liked the mature cheddar, it tastes like cheese flavour crisps. If you’re a cheese connoisseur and you want something that tastes and feels exactly the same, you’re going to be disappointed. You’ll never get an exact replication unless they start making it in a lab or something. But, as an alternative, they do work well. The Le rond cheese has a soft texture a bit like cream cheese but with a bit more form. I am not sure what flavour it has, it does remind me a bit of Camembert, but quite mild. It is better melted and with an accompaniment like a carrot stick.
What do you think? Have you tried any vegan cheese before? Would you be open to trying the different options or serving them to guests? My brother is vegetarian and so many people have allergies and intolerances now that it’s a good idea to have some alternatives in mind. I’ll get to be vegan one day, and if the lady from the repair shop is reading, let’s run away together.
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