Vegan, Dairy Free "Cheese" (Redwood Cheezly Mature White Cheddar Style)

Member Name: ariom

Product:	Redwood Cheezly Mature White Cheddar Style
Date:	18/09/08 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: vegan, dairy free, tastes nice in sandwhiches or pasta

Disadvantages: not good for cooking, not very similar to cheese

I came across Redwoods Cheezly about 6 years ago when I made the decision to move from vegetarian to vegan. The product is made from a soya base and comes in a vacuum packed packet, that requires scissors or a knife to open, and once open needs keeping in a plastic bag or cling film. It should always be kept in a fridge. You can purchase it from local specialist shops such as Wild Carrot in Buxton (the best one I've found for price at £1.85), chain shops such as Holland and Barrett (where they have a fridge section), online from goodnessdirect or from Redwoods themselves (though the carriage charge is steep unless you place a large order). This makes it a lot more readily available than other cheese replacements. It normally costs £1.99 approx for the 190g block.

Nutritional Information (typical analysis - 100g)
Energy: 1033.00 kJ 247.00 kcal
Protein: 3.50 g
Carbohydrate: 18.40 g
of which sugars 0.30 g
Fat: 17.50 g
of which saturates: 10.30 g
Fibre: 1.70 g
Sodium: 1.10 g
Calcium: 200.00 mg

Cheezly is meat, fish, egg, dairy, gmo free and free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colours or preservatives. It seems to be free of so much stuff that it may surprise you that it isn't suitable for some people - those suffering from a soya or gluten allergy.

When I first came across cheezly, I was excited, though becoming a vegetarian hadn't been a big step for me as I'd never been keen on meat, becoming vegan had been a bit harder. However, I was disappointed. Neither the texture or taste was very similar to real cheddar. However, a few months later when the memories of real cheddar had faded in my mind, I gave it another go and was pleased. It had a reasonable taste (though not one I would describe as cheesy) and I started to enjoy it in sandwhiches, on pasta etc. The Cheddar style Cheezly is not part of Redwoods melting range, so is not good for cooking with. It's a pleasant, cheese resembling product. but doesn't do well in comparison to the real thing.

Summary: a fine product unless you try to compare it to the real thing