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I need smoother "cheese"

I need some tips on how to get smoother nut cheese. My food processor is not the greatest and my blender is only good for smoothie making. Do I need a Vita Mix (i e better equipment..blender or food processor) to get the results I so desire??? I love nut cheeses but I dream of creamier fluffier concoctions…... looking for advice please. Methinks the time is nigh to invest in some better appliances….if you get nice smooth nut cheeses please enlighten me. Thanks.

Comments

  • heather, you may want to add a little more liquid to your recipes. Although I not longer eat nuts, I do occasionally eat sunflower seeds and make sunflower cheese. When I make the cheese, I add a just a little water at a time to make sure I don’t get a watery consistency. I have never been able to get a real cheese consistency like the ones I’ve gotten in raw restaurants, though. Would love some tips on that one!

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    I recommend a cuisinart 3 cup food processor, especially since you’re making small pates, sauces, dressings, cheeses – 3 cup is better for small quantities. if you prep food for 2 or more people, perhaps the 7 cup is better, but you’ll have to commit to larger amounts of cheese, pate etc cause you’d need about 2 cups of food so the 7 cup processor will work right.

    Cusinart is cheap, and it REALLY works – gets the food nice and smooth. Vitamixes aren’t the optimum for nut cheese – the cuisinart is the way to go!

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    Thanks Winona!! Thats perfect advice :) cheers

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Glad it’s helpful advice! I bet you’ll use that processor all the time.

    I recommend macadamia nut cheese if you really want to indulge. Raw mac’s are $15/lb at livingnutritionals.com – just blend em with water/lemon/salt and it’s SOOO creamy and good. Especially on raw sushi!

    there are two kinds of 3-cup processors:

    DLC-1 Our popular Mini-Prep® Processor is available in black or white. Small enough to keep on the counter or in your cupboard – cord wrap helps keep your counter clutter-free. Two speeds, Hi and Lo; work bowl is shatter and heat-proof.

    DLC-2 Mini-Prep® Plus Processor – This larger capacity 3-cup version chopper/grinder is truly handy for everyday small food prep tasks. Mince a clove of garlic, chop nuts for a salad or grind hard cheese to top off a batch of spaghetti using the Cuisinart exclusive SmartPower™ blade that knows enough to spin one way for chopping and the other for grinding. It prolongs the life of your blade.

    It looks like the DLC-2 can chop AND grind. That looks like a better choice perhaps. I have the 7-cup, but i’m going to buy the 3 cup cause the 7 is too big, impractical for salad dressings, etc.

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    Awesome. Ill be looking for a 3 cup one. Im glad I dont need to get a Vita Mix (funds arent that flowing at the moment) THANKS!!!!

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Oh, one more thing to try. If the seed cheese is STILL not smooth enough, do this: grind the seeds/nuts in a coffee grinder (anything except pine nuts will work). Then you’ll have nut powder. NOW put the nut powder in the food processor and blend away. Coffee grinders are only $20. You can use the grinder in the future to grind sprouted buckwheat into flour for bread, grind raw oats into oat powder for cookies, grind flax seeds into powder for crackers.

  • cuisinart does make a great food processor, but after extensive research i chose the kitchenaid food processor. you’ll get the same consistency, but i find it a little easier to use, in the same price range, and the kitchenaid comes with a small bowl attachment so you get an 11 cup (good for cracker doughs and larger dishes) and a 3 cup attachment that you can use with the same base. check out this one too before you buy the cuisinart.

    http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KFP720OB-7-Cup…

    also, make sure you’re soaking your nuts for about 8 hours before making your cheeses. this makes a huge difference in creaminess factor.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    lalala – tell us more about the kitchenaid food processor. The one in the link you sent us is 7 cups, not 11 cups. Is this 7cup processor the one you own? Does it have a lot of power? How well does the 3 cup attachment work?

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    PS – I DO soak nuts and still they stay grainy. I def need a better food processor!

  • kitchenaid makes a 12 cup too, and that’s the one i’ve used. i’ve used one, but not yet purchased (i’m moving into a new house and this is supposed to be a housewarming present, but for now i’m using my mom’s cuisinart prep plus). don’t get me wrong, i love the cuisinart, but i had the large prep plus, and a mini-prep, and the kitchenaid has both in one piece of equipment. the kitchenaid doesn’t have the greatest seal for liquids, but neither does the cuisinart in my opinion, and for liquids i use my blendtec. I’m a huge cooking show fan and i find more of the cooking shows are using the kitchenaid as well, likely because of a difference in design in the lid locking mechanism that makes it faster to use the kitchenaid. this was, actually, my decision making point. the cuisinart is built so that the feed tube must be removed (“unlocked” at least) before the lid can be removed to scrape the sides of the bowl. usually, my feed tube has stuff on it and i hate putting it down, then removing the lid, then scraping the sides, then putting the lid back on, then replacing the feed tube. the kitchenaid lid just twists off without removing the feed tube.

    i tried to test the kitchenaid as much as i could and was happy enough with it, it has all the same features and is just as powerful and durable as the cuisinart. i also love the touchpad buttons that are easy to clean – the cuisinart prep plus has that too, but the basic cuisinart still has the paddles. really, if i could chose, i would get an old school cuisinart prior to the locking mechanism because i love using the paddle for pulsing, but since i don’t have one of those that works anymore, i’m all kitchenaid!

    i suggest going to a housewares store and playing with it – taking the lid off and on, checking the buttons and attachments. if you have a friend who has one, like i did, go and use it if you can! either machine though is a great food processor. thus ends my monologue on food processing!

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    My tricks for a creamier pate:

    1) Add oil when processing the nuts (the nuts have been soaked and drained, by the way); and 2) Process them for a looonnnggg time 3) Add some yeast or probiotics at the end of the processing, then turn the mixture out into some cheesecloth and let it hang for a day or so. Some of the liquid will drain off and it will ferment or break down a bit, becoming creamier.

    I have the Cuisinart but the Kitchenaid looks intriguing.

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    I just bought a 14 cup Quisinart sounds like I should keep my good 7 cup, too. Oh for a bigger kitchen.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    magic bullet is cheap and makes PERFECT creamy cheezes, sauces, dips, puddings, smoothies… no stopping this thing

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    all very good posts and I thank you!! BTW I tried the spring onion cheese recipe that is so popular around here for the first time this morning with soaked sunflower seeds (semi-sprouted) and it came out pretty good, considering my not-so-great processor. I spent ages running the appliance and I thought for sure the motor was gonna blow!! But patience is key until I find a better appliance. Thanks again for all the input.

  • I've been told by friends who swear by their Blendtecs, that if I invest the $ in a Blendtec or Vitamix, I will virtually eliminate the need for a separate food processor.

    Is this true???

    I can't afford the $$ anytime soon, but considering that my current f/p is literally as old as I am, and I have a teeny-tiny kitchen with no spare storage space, the idea of one less machine to contend with sure sounds nice.

    As of last night, my current (old $20) blender has developed a small leak, so I need to replace it soon anyway. I am just overwhelmed with the options.

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    I love my vitamix for nut cheeses. It grinds it really smooth when you add a little water (provided you soak the nuts first)

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    Coffee grinders can be difficult because there is usually a little black plastic rubber casing around the base of the blade, and sometimes this plastic can leech into the food. It depends on the grinder i think.

  • FeeFee Raw Master

    Oh Beany - I too long for a bigger kitchen!

  • believe it or not. my trick is bean sprouts. i thought i was a raw genius when i discovered this!!!!! it makes almond ricotta REALLY look like ricotta.

    maybe try it on some of your other recipes.

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