product review: Daiya

Daiya is one of the newest cheese alternatives on the market. I ordered mine online (you must order it with a cold pack for shipping) in small shredded portions of "Italian Blend" and "Cheddar Style".

While Daiya has won awards and rave reviews, I still found the taste rather plastic-like and the smell bizarre. But it did indeed melt. And it melted quickly and easily, unlike most non-dairy cheeses on the market. The kids loved it, and once I got used to the taste I was happy to have more...it's just not something I'd sit down and eat plain.

What is most amazing about Daiya is its ingredients...no soy, among other things. Here's an excerpt from their website:

"Daiya is made with nutritious planted-based ingredients and is:

• 33% less fat than dairy-based cheese with equivelant attributes
• Cholesterol free
• Trans Fat free
• Dairy free
• Free of all animal products (Vegan and Parve)
• Free of common allergens including:
  • Soy, Casein, Lactose, Gluten, Egg, Wheat, Barley, Corn, Whey, Rice, and Nuts
• Free of Artificial Ingredients
• Free of Preservatives
• Free of Hormones & Antibiotics
• An excellent source of a naturally occurring vegan vitamin B-12 as well as an excellent source of B vitamins in general"

Seriously, if you are dairy and soy allergic, you should probably give Daiya a try. I'm hopeful with such a great base, that they will be able to improve the flavours over time.

Here are a few examples of how we used our sampling of Daiya:

pizza







quesadillas








cheezy kale








mac & cheez








bagel pizzas