Food Battle: the Toastie

The other I decided I really wanted a cheese toastie so I went and bought a toastie maker... but wasn't happy with the cheese I used. In the fridge I had the cheddar style slices by Violife. These are nice and I eat them uncooked in sandwiches, or on top of a burger. This is because they have a firm texture and non-offensive mild taste - sort of like a posh american style cheese slice or a cheap cheddar. However...in a toastie it wasn't that great, the cheese melts (which I suppose is a good thing) but it turns into a thick orange liquid, like nacho cheese, rather than any kind of dairy cheddar... not stringy or firm as it should be. And the texture had a kind of slimy feel. I did manage to eat it all, but this is likely due to having sausages in it too, because I really wasn't that impressed with the cheese. Put it this way, I won't be making it in a toastie again. So I bought a couple of different cheeses to try. I got one that I've had before and liked which is Cheezly White Cheddar Style, and Violife for Pizza. I decided on getting another Violife one because I had only ever had their Cheddar slices and thought it might be different; looking at the picture on the packet it looks like mmozzarella.. it's pale and the lifted pizza slice is stringy! What followed was much disappointment...

I folded a slice of bread to make a tester of each cheese, as you can see from the picture at the end (the Violife one is on the left). I tested it against the Cheezly as I knew I liked the Cheezly one (though it's not perfect) and didn't want to do it from memory as I haven't had it in ages. The Cheezly one was good. Not stringy but the flavour was alright and nothing really bad about it (some people say it's a bit chalky, but this is more when it's uncooked). The Violife one? Nothing like the packet... it went into a yellow liquid, that picture on the front can't be right! I will try using it again on a pizza... just to see if maybe it needs to cooked with ventilation but I'm not holding my breath. It was maybe a bit better than their other one, but it had the same slimy texture... like PVA glue. So yeah, I'm still holding out for a decent vegan cheese that has some stringy-ness, be it like a cheddar style or a mozzarella style. If you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments! Many vegan cheeses I've bought don't get finished because I don't like them, so I'm hesitant about wasting money/food, especially as I don't like strong cheese smells or flavours.

For toasties only - I'm giving Violife 2/5, and Cheezly 4/5. (But remember I still like Violife uncooked).

inSpiral: Raw Banoffee Creme Tart

Today I found another banoffee dessert and decided I had to try it. This one is quite different to the pot I tried Pudology, as it's raw vegan and I'm guessing more healthier. This cake slice made by inSpiral has three layers - to copy and paste from their product page:

"Layer one: a light and uplifting coconut, sunflower seed and date crust
Layer two: banana, date & coconut cream “caramel”
Layer three: a filling creamy layer of young coconut flesh, pure raw extract of banana (from the wonderful medicine flower company) and xylitol. Xyltiol is a very low G.I sweetener extracted from the sap of the Birch Tree (yes, that elegantly beautiful silver tree from the English forest). Xylitol is also used in dental products as it has been found to aid in the prevention of cavities."

And the taste? I quite like this. The strongest flavours are banana and coconut - with coconut pieces being the aftertaste. The texture is fairly dense, much like a cheesecake. I think it would benefit from a firmer base as there's a fairly even texture running throughout. I do miss the toffee taste of banoffee - but I suppose this is raw, and that would make it not raw - plus its hard to put that in a semi-fresh product. That aside - very nice - and I can recommend it for any banoffee / raw fans out there. 4/5