Growing up I never liked milk unless flavored with chocolate and I preferred dark or bitter chocolate to milk chocolate so I was very happy when I learned to make milk substitutes using soy and cashews in the 70’s and that I actually liked them. Now there is ‘milk’ made from hemp seeds, oats, coconut, almonds and rice and most come unsweetened. While in Japan I had a very good ‘milk’ beverage made from sesame seeds, delicious and full of calcium.

My first venture into making a no-dairy ‘cheese’ used cashews, blended with water, lemon juice, salt, seasonings and carrot for color then set with agar-agar a seaweed product that will gel. It was tasty and even melted. That was in the ‘70s and now you can buy several no-dairy ‘cheeses’ made from soy, almonds, and rice. To truly stay off dairy make sure your ‘cheese’ has no casein or lactose milk derivatives.

For a basic simple no-dairy ‘milk’ blend 1 part nuts with 4 parts water…adding water slowly to maintain a creamy texture.

For a ricotta like substitute try the Mock Cheeez Sauce.

For a spread to make ‘grilled cheez’ try the Cashew Cheez

One nice thing about cashews is they thicken with heat making a great gravy without corn starch or flour.