Here’s something I never thought I’d say, and this is going to sound crazy, but here goes: my beloved cashew just might have met it’s match. I know, you’re shocked. So was I. I never expected this. I was just messing around in the kitchen one afternoon when I’d finished up the day’s lawyering activities a bit early. It kind of just…happened. I had some leftover hemp seeds lying around, and since I did try making hemp milk once, and found it to be the most creamy, delightful non-dairy milk I’d ever tasted, I thought cheese was worth a shot. It was great! So let’s talk about hemp cheese versus cashew. They’re both delicious, just…different. They both make for delicious spreadable vegan cheeses. One thing hemp cheese has over cashew is that the seeds do not require soaking. Instantaneous cheeze! Another thing - nutritionally, hemp seeds have more of what I’m looking for than cashews, namely protein and omega 3’s. There’s definitely some difference in texture between blended cashews and hemp seeds. Where cashews blend up creamy, hemp seeds become more smooth and buttery. So if the texture of blended cashews is analogous to cream cheese, I’d say hemp seeds are more like brie or (sorry in advance) Velveeta. Finally, there’s flavor. Initially, the blended hemp seeds definitely took on an herby flavor, which I didn’t mind, but I could see how some folks might not be into that. The addition of dill and garlic took care of most of that, and once I spread my hemp cheese on toast, it was pretty much eradicated (why toast would do that, I have no clue, but trust me). This was all really exciting for me. I didn’t have any bagels on hand when I whipped this up, otherwise you’d be looking at photos of one (or not, as I’d have devoured it). I’m still excited. I’ve got more work to do with hemp cheese. More hemp fun is on the way.
