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So we've had to go down the diary free route for my daughter to attempt to clear up her Eczema. She hasn't been totally clear of it for 4 years or so now so the Doctor suggested we try this!
So far, so good but being a pain in my arse she is proper picky. She's a big fan of my Chili and bastardised Burrito/Fajita meals but I need to find a dairy free Soured Cream alternative as she really misses having it to 'wiggle and splodge' on top.
Anyone have any suggestions?
TIA
Oatly do a creme fraiche that might be worth a go (i have not tried it).
It's called Oat Fraiche and you can get it from Waitrose but I'm sure others sell it as well.
Plant yogurt (soy, coconut or tofu etc) with some,lemon juice stirred in to taste (for the sourness). A little added salt will get you there.
If she doesnt have a nut allergy then a dairy-free cream or cheese is better made from almonds. I tried a friend's vegan cheese recipe a while le back and it was awesome. I say this as someone who is a cheese fan and has customarily spat out or gacked at every shop-bought vegan cheese I've tried. That home made almond stuff was as good as or better than many cow's milk cheeses I kid you not. Was somewhere between a boursin and a brie and more-ish to a fault
Back to soured cream, here's an almond-based recipe:
The nutritional yeast powder in the recipe is (in the UK) branded 'Engevita' and commonly found in wholefood stores or online. Increasingly in supermarkets. Dont know if strictly necessary for the recipe though but it will provide B12 and a cheesy tang.
Note - it's taken me 30 mins to get this STW page to load fully so I could post. Increasingly the case. I'm beaten! Let us know how you get on OP, I like a soured-cream on chilli.
Hummus is a good general purpose substitute for stuff like this. Not in terms of taste but in terms of having that texture and temperature difference in a dish, Play around with a few brands (or blends if you make your own), theres better stuff than the supermarket own brand. So I use a splodge of hummus in in things like soup where you'd maybe otherwise have a splash of cream or a sprinkle of cheese
Personally - as someone who also had to quit dairy - I think trying to use dairy-free versions of products can be doubly problematic. One is you're not allowing your tastes to change (which they would do very quickly otherwise) and the other is you're making yourself hostage to the availability of 'special' food and its a pain if you're eating out/travelling etc to make yourself dependent of hard-to-get stuff.
Dairy really dulls the flavour of a lot of food (which is why people's salt intake is often high) so it takes a bit of adjustment when you're cutting it out it can be best to go for big changes and seek out different tastes rather than make little adjustments.
I went from breakfasts of milky tea and cereal to espressos, orange juice, chilli and eggs.
If you don't muck about with pretend dairy substitutes then I reckon it took about two weeks to get into a different set of flavour-habits. After a month, if I did have any dairy in, say tea or coffee it just wasn't something I missed, now its something I just don't really like.
Its extraordinarily convenient too- you can't run out of milk
Would Mayo do? It's only eggs, oil, lemon and seasoning. I have it in my fajitas, with refried beans, yum.
Tesco have a free from sour cream. Though not tried it myself. I usually just add a bit of vegan mayo (Tesco or Plamil is nice).
Oatly crème freche FTW!!! (Vegan here)
Oatly stuff is all very very nice - milk, cream and creme freche. Highly recommended. The milk in particular is available in loads of shops now I find. For coffee the barista addition is delicious.
I tried a friend’s vegan cheese recipe a while le back and it was awesome. I say this as someone who is a cheese fan and has customarily spat out or gacked at every shop-bought vegan cheese I’ve tried. That home made almond stuff was as good as or better than many cow’s milk cheeses I kid you not.
Wouldn't mind the recipe for that. Must admit I'm not a bit fan of dairy substitutes (prob stemming from when I first went vegan, the nearest soya milk was a 40 min train ride away and tasted of cardboard anyway), but the family is.
That said, I'm impressed with this brand: https://followyourheart.com/ It's American but seems widely available.
I've reduced my dairy intake significantly over the past few years. Some of the substitutes are great, but the levels of sat fats from coconut oil in things like the cheese substitutes are frightening. Be careful out there people 🙂
We make a lot of South American food and find guacamole can be a good substitute for sour cream. (Although we normally have both). I make mine very simply with mashed avocado, lemon juice, garlic and salt.
Thanks for all the input guys, really helpful!
*erratum:
Sorry I had a brain-fart back there and typed 'almonds' everywhere instead of 'cashews'. Why do I get them confused? Have gone nuts
wouldn't mind the recipe for that
Me neither 😉 She seems either too busy or cagey to give it out as yet so I took to looking on Youtube for cashew nut cheese recipes, of which there are many. Go have a browse, there're some really interesting variations, some blue ones with added cultures, some with garlic, etc.
Maybe not look at it so much a 'substitute' for dairy cheese, rather as a whole food item in itself, plenty of protein and taste, texture etc. Not to mention the satisfaction making it at home. No plastic required either. Same can't be said of those potato/rice/filler type of vegan 'cheeses' you get in the supermarket, they taste like the wrapping, ie plastic.
OP: I forgot to put the recipe page for the vegan soured cream, here:
http://www.glutenfreeveganpantry.com/the-best-damn-vegan-sour-cream/