January 2, 2010
The Problem with Finding the Right “Chreeze”
Chreeze, is what my girlfriend and I have come to call any type of vegan mock cheese. The problem we have discovered is the way in which products are labeled can be misleading. Many times we have come home to discover we have purchased a product that is not vegan.Soy-Sation has the slogan, “The Good Health Cheese Alternative” on it’s packaging. One might make the assumption that this a non-dairy and vegan product when in actuality the second ingredient listed is Casien. Casien is milk protein, not exactly a non animal ingredient.
Veggie Shreds is another common cheese alternative with, “Lactose Free” proudly displayed on the packaging. Again, the second ingredient is Casien along with enzyme modified cheese flavor (cultured milk, salt, enzymes, and calcium chloride), butterfat, and dried yeast. Also, if your lactose intolerant you might want to note the text listed at the bottom of the ingredients list, “*ADDS A TRIVIAL AMOUNT OF CHOLESTEROL & LACTOSE.”
We have been using Vegan Gourmet; it comes in a variety of “cheese flavors.” This cheese alternative is fully vegan, tastes great, and even melts. It comes in a block so you do have to shred it but it is definitely worth it. I can get way more out of one block of Vegan Gourmet than I can other pre-shredded brands and still keep my vegan values!
Always remember to check the ingredients of any new products before purchasing and using them. Brands like Soy-Sation and Veggie Shreds do have soy products listed as their first ingredient, so they have the right to the brand names they use though they may at times be misleading. I hope sharing my adventures in finding the right “chreeze” was helpful, or as my non-vegan friends like to say, trees 
Sean-Michael said,
March 2, 2010 at 10:13 am
This just reminded me of years ago when I was first dealing with Fibromyalgia a doctor once told me that although I was not lactose intolerant I was casien intolerant. I really should fork up the money for a full food allergy test
Miles said,
March 2, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Hello Sean, maybe you could try a week or two of casien free and then a week or two of lactose free and see how you feel if allergy tests are a ways off? You may also want to look into if your allergic to whey. I can usually point out anything that has whey in it because it has an odd texture and my throat gets a bit scratchy. Whey is used in a lot of protein bars and drinks, always read through your ingredients list carefully before eating it.
aedan said,
April 22, 2010 at 11:29 pm
You should try the Daiya vegan cheeze at Whole Foods. Apparently it is the best stuff ever. Its in the fake cheese section, and its in small deli containers b/c they buy it in bulk and package it. When you run out of the other cheeze that is
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