Brie au Poivre
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Brie is a type of soft cheese that is pale in color. Au Poivre means a heavily peppered (coated) cheese. So, what I am presenting to you is a pepper-crusted, cultured, raw, vegan, cashew cheese.
If you are new to making raw cheeses–well, I guess I should say raw “cheeses” and let me clarify, this is not the typical dairy cheese that you may be used to. Most raw “cheeses” are nut-based and vegan.
Creating That Cheesy Tang
There are a few ways to create the cheese flavor. My favorite way is by using probiotics. It can take anywhere between 8-48 hours to culture. The reason that I quoted such a large time span is that it all depends on how warm the ambient air is and how strong you like the tangy-cheesy flavor.
Another way to boost the health benefits is through rejuvelac. It is made from sprouted grains, and the process just to make that takes 24-48 hours. Then you still have the culturing time of the cheese.
The addition of nutritional yeast also helps to give it that “cheesy” flavor. All raw vegan cheeses can be quite delicious, and if you are new to making them, I encourage you to give them a try. They may seem intimidating at first, but in reality, they are effortless to make. For more ideas, textures, and flavors, be sure to check out some other recipes that I have posted here. I hope you enjoy this recipe. Many blessings, amie sue
Ingredients:
Yields about 2 cups
Cheese:
- 2 cups (286 g) raw cashews, soaked 2+ hours
- 3/4 cup (158 g) warm water
- 1 tsp (2 g) probiotic powder
Add-ins:
- 2 1/2 Tbsp (12 g) nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp (9 g) onion powder
- 1/4 tsp (1 g) fresh powdered nutmeg
- 1 1/2 tsp (10 g) Himalayan pink salt
- 1/4 tsp (1 g) white pepper
Crusted with:
- 3 Tbsp crushed pink peppercorns
Preparation:
- First and foremost, make sure all of the utensils and pieces of equipment you use for culturing are sterilized to avoid growing bad bacteria.
- If at any time you see mold–fuzzy, black, or pink–it will need to be tossed.
- After soaking the cashews, drain and discard the soak water.
- Soaking will help soften the cashews for blending, and it will help to reduce the phytic acid.
- In a high-speed blender, blend the soaked cashews with probiotics and lukewarm water until smooth.
- Depending on the blender, this can take up to 4 minutes.
- Place in a glass bowl and cover with a towel.
- Allow it to rest at room temperature for 24-48 hours to culture.
- If you don’t want a robust fermenting flavor, stop it around 8 hours and give it a taste test.
- After it is through culturing, hand mix in the nutritional yeast, onion powder, nutmeg, sea salt, and white pepper.
- After placing it in a container, cover the top with the crushed peppercorns.
- If you wish to create a rind, skip to that section below; otherwise, cover and store in the fridge.
- Keeping the cheese in the fridge will slow down the culturing phase.
Creating a rind (optional)
- Transfer the “cheese” to a ring mold or the ring of a Springform pan, lining the base with plastic.
- Place the mold in the freezer for several hours, so it sets up nice and firm.
- Carefully remove the cheese from the mold and place it on a non-stick sheet. Coat with cracked peppercorns.
- Dehydrate for 1 hour at 145 degrees (F), then reduce the heat to 115 degrees (F) and continue to dry for up to 24 hours.
- This process will cause a rind to develop around the edges, but the cheese within will remain soft.
- Once done, enjoy it! There should be a nice rind on the outside and creamy “cheese” on the inside.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for approximately 7 days. The “cheese” will continue to culture, but once chilled, it slows down considerably.
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Alkaline, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegan
This looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
I hope you do Beth. :) Have a great day, amie sue
This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try it. Your site is beautiful. I’m so glad I stumbled upon it today. You have a new subscriber and I will be bringing friends!
Good evening Christa, I am glad that you stumbled upon my site as well. :) And thank you for sharing it with others. I hope that you find great inspiration throughout it and if you have any questions never hesitate to ask. Have a blessed evening, amie sue
Aime, I made this cheese 2 days ago and put it in the fridge after it fermented for about 12 hours, but it is still more like a heavy cream than a spreadable cream cheese. The taste is very good, but it’s not thickening up and just runs off my bagel! Is there something I could add to it to help it thicken, like coconut oil? I know that is adding more fat, but would that help without taking away from the flavor?
Hello Cherie,
Hmm, I wonder why it is so runny? Did you drain the cashews really well? You can either try the coconut oil or a little psyllium husk (powdered). Even ground chai seeds. With any of them, use small amounts and build up. I hope this helps, amie sue
Well, my daughter thought it tasted just like sour cream so that’s how we’ve been using it! It’s delicious on tacos or as a dip with chips. I will be sure to drain cashews better next time!! Thank you
Well that works too! hehe
One of the problems with making cashew cream (for cheese, or as raw vegan whipped cream substitute) is that you have to add water to make it smooth. Adding as little water as possible helps, but sometimes to blend or process is smooth, you have to add more water (or liquid) than you’d like.
But the solution is easy — dry it out. If you have a dehydrator, just dehydrate it for a few hours. Or spread it on a cookie sheet and leave it in the sun. Or in your oven at the lowest possible temperature.
This way you can get exactly the consistency you want.
Thanks for the ideas Sam :)
hi Amie can i use arrow root powder to thicken too.
cheers
Hello Martha, I don’t use arrow root so I can’t say for sure how it would come out. I find this recipe is be perfect in texture but there are many ways to make it to your liking. Sam suggested an idea to thicken it… read above in comments. :) amie sue
I love your recipes. I’m going to the health food store today to get some ingredients. Do you have a book?
No book Ginny… just my site and over 1,000 recipes :)
i think irish moss will give is a soft texture
Good day Marcia,
I am sorry that it took me a bit to respond to you. I have been on a “walk about” for the past 6 weeks (see blog posting). I am not fully integrating back into things but I wanted to start tackling some of the questions that have been collecting. :) All that to say, I appreciate your patience with me. :)
I do too. Did you give it a try? I would to hear your experience. Have a blessed weekend, amie sue
Hi Amie sue,
Would it still be beneficial health wise (gut friendly) to only ferment the cashews for 4 hours? I don’t want a strong fermented flavour but i still want a probiotic rich spread. Thank you in advance :)
Hello Caitin,
I am sorry that it took me a bit to respond to you. I have been on a “walk about” for the past 6 weeks (see blog posting). I am not fully integrating back into things but I wanted to start tackling some of the questions that have been collecting. :) All that to say, I appreciate your patience with me. :)
To answer your question… you will still get the benefit of the probiotic within just four hours of culturing… just as you get the benefit when swallowing the probiotic in pill form… but it increase the longer it ferments. You can stop the fermentation at any time, creating a tailored taste for your taste buds. :) I hope this helps and encourages you. Keep me posted how it goes. Blessings, amie sue
For the probiotic powder, could you just open up some pills to add? I didn’t want to spend so much money just buying one thing here and one thing there just to use it for one recipe. Thanks.
Yes indeed Sherri, that is exactly what I do. Blessings, amie sue
Hi Amie Sue,
I have followed you for several years and love to see your creations and I have made a few but not enough. Aquiring the right kitchen tools takes time and money. I have been ill since 2007 and know this is what my body needs to be healthy. But I can’t go full on raw. Baked sweet potatoes, creamed soups are two things I can’t live without. Being single, to save money buying in bulk, have variety of cereal, crackers on hand I bought a 7 cu.ft. chest freezer. I have lost so many nuts, flours, can’t store almond pulp or veggie pulp from juicing was so sad. Restricting things I want to make. Problem solved. :) When you add that a recipe would make 1 Or 2 dehydrator trays that was awesome. Now I see the spring form pan for the cheese. I have just bought a set of 3- 3″ pans. Many sites leave out the size of dish, tray etc. So I’m thinking 3″ is good? I would love to see a master list of ingredients you keep on hand. Now I need to look at bread recipes. Are they full loaf or mini loaf? You can answer this by email if that works better, edit it or delete it since it all over the place. Thanks for being here and all you do!
Renee
Good morning Renee,
No need to delete your posting… I love hearing from you. :)
It does take time to set up a kitchen with all the right tools. It has for me and I see other items get added in as my knowledge base increases and find that certain tools just make life easier. In the past I picked a lot of my kitchen tools up second hand. And to this day, I still use some of them. :)
I think you are doing wonderful Renee, you don’t have to be 100% raw to reap the benefits. I don’t ever want a person to lock themselves into a dietary label (raw, vegan, vegetarian, SAD, etc) I just want people to learn to understand their own body and what makes it thrive. What works for me, won’t necessarily work for you and so forth. So enjoy your sweet potatoes and soups. Just keep adding in as much whole food as you can.
I don’t know if this pertains to you but you might want to read this posting that I did…. https://nouveauraw.com/raw-recipies/pastries/espresso-infused-chocolate-donuts/. It’s all about eating without guilt and negative thoughts… which many people do, specially if they struggle adhering to a “dietary food label”. I have been there myself so I speak from the heart. :)
Oh, your 3″ Spring form pan will be awesome for a cheese mold. I have one too and use it often. Spring form pans in general are just so great to use for many different type of recipes. My bread loaves are all full-size loaves but they can be made into 2 small ones, 4 small ones, bun shapes, breadsticks shapes… the beauty of raw really gives you the versatility to play around and be creative.
Well, I best get to work. Have a wonderful day, amie sue
I looked everywhere for my flax cracker with peppercorn cheese on it.
The reason is I had already eaten it and then forgot completely except the taste of the cheese was still on my tongue. It’s that good. This cheese is wonderful. It is like an expensive brie, and the pink peppercorns have just the right amount of heat, besides being beautiful.
Amie Sue we love you!
lol Judy… this is priceless. I love that you shared this with me. This cheese is always a hit when I make. Such a great thing to make for the up and coming holidays too! Sending you blessings and love! amie sue
How do you keep cheeZe for aging? I’ve kept some for up to 5 months and the flavors were amazing! I just used a deli container. However, I noticed that depending on the moisture content of the cheeze, the container will have water droplets which might make it go bad. I’ve used parchment paper, but if it is stored in a container, it still creates moisture, and if stored just in the fridge it dries out.
Good morning,
Honestly, every time I try to make some to age it, it gets eaten too quickly. There is a special cheese wrapping paper that you can get online that might help with that. It allows the cheese to breathe…https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BEDW76W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I hope this helps, blessings, amie sue
I am allergis to cashews and wanted to try this recipe with sunflower seeds. Is it okay to ferment the sunflower seeds like you did with the cashews?
Thank you
Hello Salferg,
I haven’t tested it but if it were me, I would use macadamia nuts in place of the cashews. The macadamia nuts have a nice neutral/sweet flavor (like cashews) and will be much creamier in texture. I hope that helps. blessings, amie sue
Hi amie!
Im new in your blog and I ll like to know if I can use rejuvelac o kombucha for the fermentation of this cheese ? And ¿how much?
Thanks :)
Good day Nataly,
I haven’t tested kombucha but regardless of which one I would use 1/4 cup of either one. Keep me posted if you give it a try. blessings, amie sue