Rejuvelac - Adventures in Vegan Cheese Making

I decided after 5 years of being vegan it really was time to make vegan cheese properly. That means using rejuvelac - a fermented liquid from grains. I've been getting my directions from Miyoko Schinner's amazing book "Artisan Vegan Cheese". If you haven't checked out Miyoko's Kitchen I suggest you try some of her cheeses - they are AMAZBALLS!

To start you have to soak the grains (in my case 1 cup buckwheat groats) over night in a large jar covered with a cheese cloth, then rinse but keep moist and keep rinsing and keeping moist twice a day for a few of days until tiny sprouts appear. You're supposed to keep them in a warm place but out of the sun...I'm not sure exactly what that means but where I live that's near impossible so I'm just keeping them on a shelve near the window.

Once sprouted, divide the grains between two jars and pour 3 cups of filtered water in each. Cover with fresh cheesecloth and put back in the same warm spot. after a few days the water will turn white and have a tart lemony smell. Drain the liquid into clean jars,cover and can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 weeks. 

After around 3-4 days I had some sprouts so I rinsed and added the water and 3 days later I had the cloudy water. I should have read the instructions more clearly - apparently quinoa seeds only take a day to sprout - doh! 

This made about 1 litre of rejuvelac and most recipes call for 1/2 - 1 cup.

Smelled like egg farts but hopefully will do the job!

Use the first basic cashew cheese recipe in Miyoko Schinner's book, left it over night. Then used the basic cashew cheese for a Brie recipe.

Cashew Nut Brie

Used the rejuvelac to make a batch of sharp cheddar - this was so delicious!!

Sharp Cashew Cheddar